After spending all day walking around in the sun, it being a bit cooler and staying in shade was more that welcome this evening.

One of the big questions about this project is explained in more depth on Day 4

Another great day out supporting Sporting Bears Motor Club . https://sportingbears.co.uk/ . Too tired to write, terrible photo as it was too bright to see the screen.

But great fun helping people get their #dreamride in the fantastic cars, driven by fantastic people with 100% of the money donated going to charity.

One of the big questions about this project is explained in more depth on Day 4

I first gave blood something like 30 years ago at university. It was easy, it was in the student’s union on the main campus & from memory most the people from the two houses we were living in off campus came along. At the time it was pretty much walk in, wait around, answer the questions/Hb test, donate, have your tea and biscuit the leave. (Tony Hancock has a lot to answer for!)

These days (on the surface) it’s now an appointment rather than walking in. If you turn up just before your time there is very little waiting (Today my appointment was 12:05 and was back home by 12:50) and the rest is the same.

But I love to look a little deeper (it’s the systems and processes part of me, but it’s also a nice distraction), to spot the subtle difference and improvement they make in process and the service.

Some of these changes are to streamline the system, using PDA’s and being walked through the stages by the same Venipuncturist (only learnt that job title today, it’s a specific job) rather than passing bits of paper around and calling your name lots. Individuals using the app to book their next appointment. Text message and email reminders (reducing missed slots).

Others are for your health, the bed (now a reclining chair), drinking water before the donation (to help with recovery), the exercises to increase blood flow (these have changed multiple times over the years, with another new tweak today)

Others are to promote engagement; I honestly get a little lump in my throat when I get a text message telling me where my donation was used!

Saving and Changing Lives

But through all of this the core purpose is to save and change lives. To have a system that supplies blood when needed.

Right now the stocks of blood are low (especially O Neg, which is used in emergencies) https://hospital.blood.co.uk/business-continuity/blood-stocks/  without good supplies emergencies situations become more fragile and planned operations can get cancelled.

Giving blood is import to me, for many reasons, so It’s something I do as often as I can (every 12 weeks ish).

Questions:

Do you give blood?

If not please consider signing up to donate here https://my.blood.co.uk/preregister

Refresh - give new strength or energy to; reinvigorate.

Today I laid on the grass in the rain. To feel the coolness. To soak up the change in the weather and I felt refreshed.

It also highlighted to be that over the last few days I’ve been seeing people share various posts about going away, taking a break or being on holiday. And tonight’s conversation was no different.

The state of ‘going away and not opening the laptop’ appears to be a concept that is once again emerging into our consciousness.

Slowly and subtly people are recognising that an actual break, a time of not working (rather than just a time to incorporate work, especially a business) into their lives is an actual requirement not just nice to have.

If you look into brain chemistry when we sleep there are fundamental differences in the brainwave, fluid flow and electrochemical activity throughout the brain while we sleep (on a daily basis). And I am sure that there are similar changes when we ‘switch off’ and change the thoughts and stresses from away ‘work’ for short and long periods.

This is what people are referring to when they talk about the benefits of meditation ‘switching off’ of 10 minutes or an hour, letting the brain rest and refresh so that you come back, into the daily routine with more focus and vigour.

But (Question)

When did you take more than a day (or a weekend) off?
I mean to do absolutely nothing to do with work or business.

#businesscoach #businesscoaching #refresh #refreshing #timeforabreak #takeabreak

One of the big questions about this project is explained in more depth on Day 4

I just went out into the garden and felt a few spots of rain, so laid down on the parched grass waiting for the deluge.
It stopped.
Will try again later.

One of the big questions about this project is explained in more depth on Day 4

I’ve always been uncomfortable with the way people use the phrase ‘Right Place Right Time’ as many use it to suggest there they had no influence over the opportunity or outcome. That it was pure luck that they were there, and the thing happened.

Personally, I like to give people the credit for everything they did leading to that point. The knowledge and skills they have learned, the mistakes and successes they have had, the planning they did, the choices they made.

Everything that made sure that ‘they’ not some other version of themselves were there in that moment, as the other versions may not have had the same outcome.

Tonight, I went out slightly later than yesterday with a particular spot in mind to take both my #50DaysOfShades and the #7daysofsunsets photos, knowing it would be closer to sunset. Yesterday I was both too early and too late for the photo I saw in my head.

Today would be different. And yes, it was.

There was a couple sat on the riverbank exactly where I wanted to take the photo from. I was a little early so kept walking.

I took some snaps along the way, to make sure I at least had something.

As I was walking back a guy in a canoe was paddling along the river (so a grabbed a snap of him with the sunset, as it had a nice calmness to it)

I’m not sure if the couple had gone, or I found a slightly different spot but the guy in the canoe had stopped to watch the sunset, and was pretty much in line between me and the sun so a few steps further up the river and I got my pictures.

So, it wasn’t just the right place at the right time, it was me thinking the right things and taking the right actions to not only be there, but to do something with being there.

Question:

Where do you not give yourself credit for the effort you have put in to being who you are right now?

#businesscoach #businesscoaching #RightPlaceRightTime

Today I went out just before sunset to get my photo with the intention of finding a ‘good’ sunset picture for the #7daysofsunsets. I was taking pictures as I walked along the river, but was about 45 minutes too early for a true sunset. So kept walking with the intention of hopefully being in the right place on the way back.

However, I saw something that made me smile and gave me the theme for the day.

A group of people, in the open space by the river, some in swim costumes, some just in shorts/t-shirts standing in small inflatable paddling pools. Between the paddling pools were tarpaulins. Every 30 seconds or so they would move on the next pool, sliding along the tarpaulin. Then I spotted the bat and the ball.

Welcome to slip-n-slide rounders.

If ever someone was going to improve rounders specifically for a hot day this, was it.

I actually gave them a round of applause as I walked past.

A fun reminder that we are constantly evolving and innovating.

Mikhail Gorbachev is credited with the phrase ‘If you are not moving forward, you are moving backwards’

Questions:

What are you innovating (in yourself or what you do)?

#businesscoach #businesscoaching #innovation #movingforward

Once again joining in on the @hellobalancetime #7daysofsunsets

My plan was actually to post these on my personal profile on Facebook (after the first one) but it would appear that I am in the habit of posting to my business pages and my muscle memory did the rest of selecting the business profiles yesterday. So may as well keep them going here.