family life

bit quiet of late….

Posted on by Becky Green (was McMichael)

As you may or may not know, I’ve been off on maternity leave for the last twelve months giving birth to and looking after a gorgeous girlie called Zahra. The year has flown and last week, I found myself back in the whirlwind world of PR and neck deep in stuff I had promised myself I’d read, apps I’d promised to check out, new social media sites to look at, a new mac to set up and use (having not done so previously) and work to fit in around this…joking Nick 🙂

I meant to write this last week but hey, I’ve been busy.

Leaving the girls again after a year at home is tough, I can’t deny that, but I am enjoying being part of the working world and a bit of adult company does wonders for the soul.

So expect more from me over coming weeks as I find my feet and catch up a bit. If anyone fancies helping me out with the top 3 things I missed in 2010, I’d be much obliged (smiling at you nicely Wadds, Stephen, Chris, Ged, David, Paul and Jed)

does worklife balance exist?

Posted on by Becky Green (was McMichael)

According to Jack Welch, former CEO GE last week in the WSJ, it is officially dead. However, i think the problems arise when people try to compartmentalise their work and their home lives.  Wireless data has meant we can be contacted/stay in touch on the move.  Great, whereas once we would have been working til 10pm, we are now sat on the sofa with our partners, watching TV, tweeting with friends and sporadically checking if the email we were waiting for at 6pm has come in yet.  What’s changed?

Nothing.

If anything the lines have been blurred but that isn’t a bad thing necessarily as long as you remember to switch off.  I had a colleague ask me if I had got the plan they sent me Fri night (I don’t work Fridays) and this was Monday….I hadn’t. I didn’t check email all weekend.  I had family down, had a great time and would encourage you to do the same when you can. You’re much more use at work when you are relaxed and refreshed.

I think instead of talking about worklife balance, we need to talk about worklife discipline.  Only you can decide if your kid’s sports day is more important than a client meeting…or if your holiday is more important than knowing what is going on in the office 24/7. Prioritisation is an essential skill….and it is a skill that you’ll continually need to hone.  If you have kids, it changes.  If a parent falls ill, it changes. You get the picture….

People talk about worklife balance as something a company can give you….I believe it is something you must build yourself. The company can provide flexibility but only you know what’s really important each day.

re-collocation…a made up word too far?

Posted on by Becky Green (was McMichael)

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Well after lots of consideration, we have decided to leave Cornwall to try life ooop North near my family.  Whilst we absolutely adore Cornish life and the the place we live is beautiful, we want to try life nearer my family and see if it suits us.  I reckon we’ll know if 6 months and it’s the perfect time to try it before my daughter starts school.

We are renting our place out and renting somewhere there too so it is fairly low risk (we hate it, we move back) and the fact that neither of our jobs have needed to change has made the whole process so much easier.

Another win for collocation…..it doesn’t matter where you end up commuting from.

Now to sort out Pickfords (the only company that doesn’t feel the need to adjust its pricing despite the current state of the property market/general economy); BT (can’t find our address therefore we cannot have a phone); Sky/Tiscali and other providers that rely on BT.

Let the fun and games begin.