gavinf1980

I managed a 5k run this morning, and even got out nice and early when there weren't a lot of people around. I'm still feeling less fit than I used to.

I decided to turn loading the washing machine into a game this morning, by throwing clothes into the drum; when I realised I was a bit too close I tried moving as far back as the layout of my flat would allow me; I managed to aim right with most items, before I started making spectacular misses.

Today's Release Your Potential session was the last, and it was all about preparing for the presentation that we have to do online next month; we got some commonsense advice, like taking a break beforehand, and having plenty of water to drink (unlike Mark Wright that one time on The Apprentice!)



I liked the acronym "STAR": Something They'll Always Remember.

I've got some good encouragement from this session about how the presentation doesn't need to be so daunting (speaking in public is the #1 fear of the average person apparently); we also talked about how to structure a talk; explain what you will say, say it, and then summarise it at the end.

I think I'd have finished the day in a better mood, had I not been caught out by a cold caller on my phone, who I ended up angrily hanging up on, as I was trying to do my work.

As for my Strava Challenges, I've:
*Completed the LL Bean 15 Challenge;
*Logged 7 hours and 17 minutes for the POW #Crushit4Climate 2022 Challenge; and
*Logged 2 workouts for week 1 of the April Indoor Workout Challenge.

I was feeling the cold last night, so I read my Kindle to wind down, wrapped in a blanket - tick off another task for the ljbookbingo challenge.

( Progress on Book BingoCollapse )

I'm trying to think of reasons to feel optimistic about the future, even when I feel that I have a to-do list that's about to explode, and am often trying to multitask. I have the prospect of a third vaccine soon, and Christmas just around the corner.

I had a late lunchtime walk today, to make sure I walked a mile today.

I have plenty of things that I want to feel that I'm pulling my weight on; we had a Release Your Potential meeting over Teams today, and we have been talking about ways to organise an event. It feels a bit like being in TV's "The Apprentice" and that I'm at risk of being fired for doing a sloppy job.

There is one person on the course who is quite proactive, and she kept jumping in right away and saying "oh, I'll do that"; the rest of us, certainly I, seem less confident about putting ourselves forward. Then, one of the people who was there to monitor how we were doing gave us a mini-lecture about why we should all be sharing the tasks; halfway through the lecture, I decided I would offer, but sat there having to wait for her to finish ranting at us before I could speak. So, now I have the tasks of e-mailing others to vote on a charity who we could raise money for, and write to someone (a letter I have in progress) and asking if she would like to host a quiz - possibly over Zoom.

I had a quick desk break, and caught a nice sunset.

( Sunset PictureCollapse )

I just had a Zoom call, all about loading Stag Walkers Hikes on the Ramblers app and how to organise things. Again, I found myself taking a back seat on the organising things because of someone else volunteering quicker than I could - I'm just hoping that we'll divide the labour between ourselves. I'm told that I will get all the support I need, so I hope that things don't all go to Hell in my less-than-capable hands.

Work is a bit tedious right now; I had a welcome break from it by joining a skyping call where Philip Taylor from the UK Apprentice gave a talk about his experiences; nope, I don't remember him from the show either.

He was interesting, and gave a few facts that I didn't know - apparently the apprentices don't get great food to eat, and it makes them hangry, and that's why the viewers see so many spats between team-mates.

I managed a short walk today; there was some snow remaining on the ground; this was walk 2 of 4 for this week in my Strava challenge; I managed just over 3km, putting me at nearly 123km (76.5 miles) and around the Westley Waterless pumping station.



This is the common with patches of snow left on it; there was still a large marshy area in the usual place, which I had to avoid - roll on Spring when that feature should be gone.