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Top 10 tips to beat fatigue (well, I’d call it 5… I should try some!)

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Category : Coaching

Essential advice on how to avoid tiredness

How do you beat fatigue? We’ve all been there: those days when you wake up shattered, can barely drag yourself into work, and then struggle to keep your head off the desk. More often than not this is because you had a particularly late night which has left your body crying out for more sleep.

On the other hand, sometimes you may be getting to bed in good time, thinking you’ll get a good night’s sleep, and yet when the morning arrives you still feel like every waking thought and movement is a real effort.

So, how can you beat fatigue, regain your verve and put the spring back in your step? Simply check out the following realbuzz.com top 10 tips — which aim to help you beat fatigue and ensure you get the most of yourself and your day!

Get enough sleep
It may be stating the obvious, but to avoid tiredness you should ensure you get enough sleep! Remember that your body needs sleep in order to recharge — and staying up and watching a movie which starts at midnight isn’t going to help! If you are having any trouble sleeping, then aim to have a better sleep routine such as going to bed and getting up at the same time. You could also improve your sleeping environment by making sure your bedroom is quiet, dark and comfortable. Also, by using your bedroom for sleep alone, your body will come to associate it with sleeping rather than reading or watching TV.

Try to avoid stress
Stress is one of the most common reasons for feeling tired — so beating stress will naturally help to alleviate your tiredness. There are several ways in which to tackle stress, but the most important thing to do is identify what is causing your stress in the first place. It may be work that is the main cause of your stress — perhaps because of bad work relationships, long hours, or an unfulfilling job. If that’s the case, then look at your options about how you can improve the situation. Also, make sure you switch off from work in your leisure time, and try out some relaxation techniques such as having a massage, taking a hot bath or listening to some music.

Eat well
Your diet can have a big impact on how you feel. Without a proper, balanced diet you can start to feel a bit sluggish and are likely to become fatigued — so ensure that you eat healthy meals and at the correct times. Skipping breakfast will ensure you start your day on the wrong footing and force you to run on empty until lunchtime! Eating ‘little and often’ can work for some people, as it means that they’ve got something to sustain them rather than going for longer periods between meals — which will help them to avoid the feeling of being hungry and tired prior to their main meals. Keeping blood sugar levels stable is also important to avoid fatigue — so make sure you eat enough carbohydrates.

Avoid caffeine in the evening
While caffeine might be great for giving you a boost in the daytime, and while some people just can’t do without their early morning wake-up cuppa, by the evening time you really need to start thinking about laying off the caffeine unless you want to get a restless night’s sleep! Caffeine — contained in things such as tea, coffee, chocolate and cola drinks — can cause restlessness and sleeping difficulties, which will only add to your tiredness the next day. It may also result in you needing more caffeine to keep you going — so it’s best to try and break the cycle by cutting down on the amount of caffeine you drink.

Slow down
People frequently get in the habit of trying to do too much. The demands they are putting on themselves may leave them feel fatigued — and if there are not enough hours in the day to juggle their job, family and friends, then they may end up not getting enough sleep either. On the other hand, having a more balanced lifestyle, making some time for yourself, and learning to relax and slow down sometimes will mean you’ll be more able to function efficiently. Think about what you could change to give yourself more time for relaxation. It’s also best to have realistic expectations about what you can achieve rather than running yourself into the ground!

Taken from realbuzz.

Find your S.H.A.P.E.

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Category : Career, Christian, Coaching, Personality Profiling

See more information on the SHAPE course via Rick Warren’s site. It’s SO important that people understand that every time we talk about “Ministry”, that we see this in the widest context… it’s not about what role you can find to do within your physical church, but what God has designed you for in the global sense, to be the best: physically, emotionally and spiritually!

  • S: Spiritual Gifts (which have you been given?)
  • H: Heart Motivation (what do you love to do?)
  • A: Abilities & Talents (appreciate natural talents you have)
  • P: Personality (God-given temperament)
  • E: Experiences (how have you been prepared for your unique ministry?)

1 Corinthians 12:12-27

My Score: S

Having undertaken an 138 question survey, we each produced a unique list of those specific ‘gifts’ that we excel at (recognisable in my past history)

  • Leadership (24/24)
    The special ability the Holy Spirit gives to recognise and communicate the vision of God’s purposes, and to accomplish it through the motivation and direction of a group of people.
  • Hospitality (23/24)
    The special ability the Holy Spirit gives to make people feel welcome, accepted and safe in their home and in a variety of settings.
  • Organisation (21/24)
    The special ability the Holy Spirit gives to perceive the way an organisation works, and to conceive and implement procedures that maximise the church’s ability to function, and release people – especially leaders – to fulfil their calling/gifting.

My Score: H

  • I am motivated to lead/be in charge; help; persevere.
  • I would most like to encourage others to be the best they can be (but they need to be willing to engage with me).
  • I would most like to help those who want to help themselves, and who want to learn
  • The issues I feel strongly about are Education and Communications Literacy
  • I am therefore likely to be able to make the most significant contribution tutoring/mentoring in groups.

My Score: A

  • I have particular experience in research, teaching and writing, and project management.
  • I have specialised abilities in researching, managing, (teach/interview/write/promote?).
  • I am most likely to be used in Christian Service in social groups, training in digital communications.

My Score: P

For this exercise, I thought that I would come out as PEOPLE/UNSTRUCTURED, but I came out as TASK/UNSTRUCTURED (maybe that explains why I haven’t seen enough of my friends, as I always feel that I have to have completed my task before I can go out!), although to be fair although I was ‘maximum’ unstructured’, I was borderline on people/task, and some questions could have fallen either side!

TASK/UNSTRUCTURED people like:

  • General guidelines
  • Helps wherever needed
  • Versatile
  • Likes tangible tasks.

Require roles with a degree of creativity and adaptability in order to produce the best results.

PEOPLE/UNSTRUCTURED people like:

  • Spontaneous situations
  • Relates well to others
  • Very conversational
  • Tends to be flexible

Require roles that give you the freedom to respond to people spontaneously.

My Score: E

A great number of experiences have shaped my spiritual journey, and the ones that came to mind on the day (and I am prepared to share publicly) include:

  • Billy Graham Mission
  • Taking voluntary redundancy, going travelling, and learning to lose some of the expectations of others (not finished yet)
  • Going on retreat (taking time out in any way)
  • Oak Hall leadership
  • Social group leaderships (I throw a great party, given half a chance!)
  • Academic world – skills, enthusiasm & challenge

I would like to challenge others to take time out from formal ministry roles, and not to get stuck in roles. We need to find roles to fit people, rather than people to fit roles!

I just love to encourage people to share, and try out new things!!!

Feedback

We are given the opportunity to ask others for feedback. All comments are moderated, so if you want to say something off the record, or I’m not comfortable publishing it, it will be held – but I will see it!

  1. What spiritual gifts do you think I  might have?
    (3 from: Organisation, Celibacy, Counselling, Deliverance, Discernment, Encouragement, Evangelism, Faith, Giving, Healing, Hospitality, Intercession, Interpretation of tongues, Leadership, Mercy, Missionary, Pastoring, Prophecy, Service, Teaching, Tongues, Voluntary Poverty, Wisdom)
  2. What do you think I’m particularly good at doing?
  3. What areas of my like seem to be ‘fruitful’?
  4. What 3 words best sum up my personality?
  5. What qualities do you particularly admire?
  6. What can you see stopping/hindering me using God-given gifts?

Daily Diaries of Lecturers @timeshighered

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Category : Academic, Coaching

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night worrying about work? Feel that you have really “earned something” only after a session teaching? Or think about the learning process over the washing-up?

If so, you are not alone, according to a series of accounts academics have written about their daily lives.

To inform Share, a research project that is investigating the ways in which academics around the world represent, share and change their teaching practices, university teachers are being invited to keep a diary on the 15th day of each month over the course of a year.

The first batch of diary entries – extracts from which have been published in a newsletter to contributors – reveal what was on participants’ minds on 15 September.

For one, the day began at 4am with sleep broken by “worrying about the tsunami that is the new academic year that is going to hit us in two weeks”.

Other diarists blur the boundary between home and work, “checking emails while in my nightie” or “answering emails from my sofa” at 6.45am.

Read full story.

Daniel Pink: Motivation

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Category : Coaching

Great wee mind-map there…

Screw Work, Let’s Play by @johnsw

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Category : Career, Coaching

I’m chuffed to say that I’m ahead of the game on this book… it’s not yet out, although I’m looking forward to receiving my signed copy as soon as it’s available!

How did I meet John?

In 2007, having taken voluntary redundancy from the University of Manchester, I was trying to work out where next, and came across one of Barbara Sher’s books, which I found very revolutionary! I started to hunt around for something similar in the UK, and came across Scanner Central, run by John Williams, who had been on one of Barbara’s retreats (see a recent blog entry as to how he has made his ‘career path’, or should we say career hop, skip & jump, so successful). To be honest, I’m not sure whether I braved a Scanner’s Night ‘cold’, or whether I had already been chatting to @johnsw on Twitter… ah look, a previous blog entry tells me that it was the pull of a talk on social media that pulled me up to London! I have since been to several events (even made it onto the video here), and look forward to more (and wish I’d blogged about ALL the events I’ve been to..), but here’s one more from the event re: “getting yourself on TV“.

Share photos on  twitter with TwitpicScrew Work, Let’s Play

Since taking that redundancy, I’ve been ‘playing’ with various ideas, and in training as a life coach, realised how much I wanted to recapture that sense of ‘fun’ in whatever work I did, re-injecting life with colour. I have been experimenting with various things to see where I want to take it next, and so far have discovered that I love teaching (especially when I can inspire others to think differently) – especially groups, although I enjoy one-to-one mentoring also, that I can’t stand a 9-5, that I want to work with many different people, on many different projects (all informing each other in sometimes interesting and surprising ways), and that I am a real ‘Digital Resident’ (but that I very much want to find ways to ensure that I am in charge, rather than the digital life taking over!) – really enjoying developing community and communication (hence my PhD, and why I enjoyed being a tour leader so much). For years, as I’ve played around in the online world, I have produced material that others have found helpful, so in April  2009, I decided to rethink my ‘Web Consultancy’ ‘Mydesigna’, and focus it more towards social media (I’m more into structure, content and community, rather than programming or design – although I know what looks good!), creating  http://digital-fingerprint.co.uk/.

Screw Work, Let’s Play

In January 2010, John offered a few places on a 10 week teleseminar course (plus reduced entry to Scanner’s Night), which, despite an already over-heavy workload (which I want less of in the future… hence why I seized the opportunity), I decided to seize. I am looking forward to 5 weeks time, when teaching/marking comes to an end, and I can start to find some space to go back over the material, and consider where I want to develop some more thinking! The first activity we undertook was to determine our wealth dynamics profile (included as part of the course) – apparently I’m a “star”. I’m always fascinated by any kind of personality profiling (and would like to train in administering some!), whilst also determining what we were going to focus upon on this particular course – which I decided would be developing Digital Fingerprint. I plan to be back in the summer with more illustration of how I have developed since this course, but for now, it’s back to that pile of marking!! I’ll let you disappear off to read the blog for more, and order the book (recommended in today’s Sunday Times as one of the six hottest self-help books around – see image above)!

PGCLTHE: Coaching Assignment

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Category : Academic, Career, Coaching, drbexl

Below is the introduction to an essay I have just had returned from the module “Examining Professional Practice” for the PGCLTHE. The presentation, which I didn’t really have enough time to prepare for, gained me 55%, and the COACHING in Higher Education Essay 66%.

“Since the 1990s the field of coaching has grown in professionalism, and now affects most business sectors. As Parsloe and Leedham outline in their first chapter, coaching and mentoring have moved ‘From Marginal to Mainstream’ for anyone interested in people development. As the profession continues to evolve, professional bodies are emerging, including The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the International Coach Federation (ICF).[1] Having taught in Higher Education (HE) since 1998, I encountered professional coaching at a CIPD event,[2] and trained as a life coach in early 2009.[3] This assignment offers a reflective consideration of implementing coaching practices within learning and teaching practices in HE. With a particular interest in facilitating group work in seminars, the presentation considered how exploiting learning and personality styles, and offering encouragement, improves student engagement with the process. (Read the entire essay in Word.doc.


[1] Parsloe, E. & Leedham, M. Coaching and Mentoring: Practical Conversations to Improve Learning 2009 (2nd Ed), pp. 3-11

[2] Minter, T. ‘Personal Effectiveness’, CIPD, 2007

[3] Kerslake, D., Boyce, R., O’Donnell, A., Fogarty, C., Professional Coaching Certification Programme, ICF Accredited, The Kerslake Company, 2008-9″

Coaching for the PGCLTHE

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Category : Academic, Career, Coaching

Later today I will be giving the following presentation, which is an assignment towards my Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching. The event is being filmed as we experiment with possibilities for giving more than text feedback on events..

Once the event is over, I have until 1st April to provide a 1500 write-up, echoing the content in the presentation, but also taking into account questions/responses from the audience, which I anticipate to include most of the LTDU, within which I have my role as Blended Learning Fellow. I will then start work on my conference paper for the Hertfordshire Blended Learning Conference, which will count towards another assignment for the Blended Learning module (which I will be teaching next year). Over the summer I will then complete my portfolio in time for September submission… I can then look out for other personal development courses of interest, including training myself up as a PhD supervisor… I’ve really been enjoying supervising Final Year Projects, so it’s the next natural step, right?

The Kerslake Company

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Category : Coaching, Inspirational

The Kerslake Company

Dr Deborah Kerslake is the owner of the Coaching College where I did my Life Coaching qualification, then known as Serenergise. I went to see Debs for a day, gave her some advice on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc. and advised that her site needed a more professional look/more functionality, and put her in touch with Brown Bear Art… and here’s the result. Almost as proud as if it was my company/I had done it, now I just need to persuade Debs that using Twitter/Facebook are fun – although Camilla has so much experience now, she doesn’t need my help any more!

Beyond Chocolate

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Category : Coaching, Event

This weekend I went on a “Beyond Chocolate” weekend in London, and despite being late to both sessions, I got a huge amount out of it. Saturday was a “Healthy Eating” session, and Sunday was a “Body Confidence” session, which was particularly challenging! I’d ummed and arred about attending the course, as although the course seemed good value (and I’d read the book), it was a lot of money. I decided to go for it, and had a very interesting and challenging 2 days… most of which I’m still digesting (mentally, although my stomach is enjoying savouring Green & Black’s chocolate ice cream with a bit of cream on top – usually I’d just eat the whole tub, but I had about 1/3, and so yes, there’s still plenty to look forward to!). I’d already pretty much decided I was going back to River Park, so I signed up to that today too – be mostly looking to go to classes, the treadmill is just so DULL – so much to see outside, why would I want to stand on a machine – but classes, however, good social time!

About the Book (Amazon)

beyond_chocolate

Are you unhappy with your body but fed up with constant dieting? Would you like to lose weight without depriving yourself of the food you love? Beyond Chocolate is a radically different approach to weight loss. Serial dieters for years, Sophie and Audrey Boss finally overcame their weight problems when they discovered the key to success: break free from the diet mentality and learn how to listen to your body so that you can make food choices that really work for you. This book sets out a new, liberating approach to establishing a healthy and satisfying relationship with food, and a positive body image. Based on extensive research and workshops for women with weight issues, Beyond Chocolate will help you to:

  • Eat whatever you want without feeling guilty
  • Lose weight and not worry that you’ll put it back on
  • Only think about food when you are hungry
  • Stop when you are satisfied
  • Feel comfortable in your body
  • Wear clothes you like and feel good in

Beyond Chocolate is your passport to freedom!

About the Authors (See them explaining their book on video)

Sophie and Audrey Boss are sisters in their 30s * Following years of struggling with their weight until they uncovered a permanent solution, they founded a support group called Beyond Chocolate. They are passionate about their message and have experience of working with women of all ages and backgrounds * Sophie is training to be a counsellor * Sophie and Audrey are based in north London, UK

Sophie

Audrey

Beyond Chocolate YouTube Channel. Sophie on Twitter.
Very much looking forward to seeing how this is all going to be integrated in the new site which is launching in the next couple of weeks, and seeing how Audrey develops Kitchen Fairy!

Brian Draper @ CCW: Sunday 5th July (Report)

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Category : Christian, Coaching

On Sunday 5th July, Brian Draper had a busy day at Christ Church Winchester, speaking at 3 of the services!

Brian used the passage Matthew 7:13-29 as the basis for the evening, in which he was explaining the 4-step plan that he’s developed with regards to Spiritual Intelligence.
  • In life there are no easy short-cuts or “quick-buys”, and we need to clarify the life/faith connection. Spiritual Intelligence was designed as a “giveaway book”, and one that would likely be purchased at airports.
  • God wants to challange you, and breathe grace/comfort into you.
What is intelligence?
Our understanding of intelligence is no longer just judging people by how clever they are through IQ quizzes, etc., but we now have emotional intelligence, and the idea of spiritual intelligence is also gaining momentum.
What is coaching?
Coaching is all about embracing ourselves as part of a bigger picture. Whether we’re dealing with a business or with people, we want to become part of the solution, rather than being part of the problem.
Would you like your life to have significance?
How effectively are you using your innate spiritual intelligence now? What part would you like to play in your local/global world? What will you do with your “one wild and precious life”?
How do you define success?
We need to re-evaluate the nature of success by what we celebrate, as what we define as success tends to identify our priorities. We need to say enough is enough and love those in our communities becasue of our differences. We’re all unique and have different things to contribute [how boring would it be otherwise?]. God has set eternity in our hearts and won’t let us rest or settle into mediocrity.
The Road of Life
On Finding “the road”, we need to live life in all its fullness. Often in Christianity the life now is not seen as important as heaven, but God created us for a purpose and to enjoy our life on earth, so we need to appreciate NOW. The challenge is to become more fully aware, observant and ready, nurture those seeds of awakening into life.
Staying Alive!
When do you come most fully alive? To whom? To what are you giving your life? What is the higher cause you serve? Christianity is a description not a prescription, it’s a journey of faith. What is the context of spiritual transformation in your own life? Malcolm Gladwell describes in The Tipping Point that if the context is right for transformation only need a 1degree change at a time for true change. Think about snowflakes, each tiny flake is like nothing, but as they settle, everything changes.
So how are you living?
Are we living hurried, stressed lives, against a constant background of noise? We need to get to a place where we can expect the unexpected, where radical change can be expected. (You can gain an idea of how Brian has been living recently)
The Four Stage Iconic Journey of Spiritual Development
A brief summary of the four icons.
Alarm Clock
Every day offers the chance for (spiritual) awakenings, if only we noticed them! Are you awake to what is unfolding around you?
We need contemplative times, otherwise we rush around building a false ID of ourselves using our ego-driven minds, which drags us back to the past, or forward to the future, never enjoying the moment!
What can give us those small seeds of awakening?
  • Conversations
  • Art
  • Scenery
  • Smells
Eye
Leisure” by William Henry Davies.
Once you awaken to something, you begin to see the world/your place in it changing. How is your life different? What do you look for in life? The scales can fall from your eyes fast or slowly! What do your friends and family see that is different about you?
Your eyes are your windows on life. If you are squinting, you won’t let the light in and your life will be dark, if your eyes are wide open, you allow it all in!
U2: “Walk On” (interesting words that Bono chose for 64forsuu).
With some music in the background, we considered this image for a couple of minutes – each of us will something different – and this is how it is in the world, we all picture the world differently. What we see/believe affects how we act.
Paint Palette
How do we respond uniquely/creatively to the world? We need to glimpse our potential as children of God! We need to lead a charge as we’re in a battle for life (and it’s hard to lead the battle if you think you look stupid on a horse). As Gandhi said [and one of my favourite quotes]: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”.
Pass It On
Jamie Oliver offers a contagion of cooking – he’s passing it on. Why don’t we do the same with our faith, and the benefits that we receive from them?! We’re not teaching or telling others how to live, but allow those around you to benefit from the fruits of your own life.
The “fruits of the spirit” – you can’t put a price on that kind of benefit! We need to begin to live a life less ordinary, offering a contagion of HOPE, and of the infinite potential in life [so many people are strangled by fear, and never live up to their potential]. We can be more fully human!
For the soul to flourise, we need to shake off the idea that we are passive partakers in this world, we can shape our own lives and those of the whole world.
We have an opportunity for a new culture created by those prepared to risk/try. Fear causes a hold on the old ways, which are ineffective!
Read more in Spiritual Intelligence, see information from the book launch (I’m looking forward to seeing Brian’s speech once he gets it on his website.
This report should have come before Winchester Web Scene, but never mind!