Great news, it’s a good job I’m not a vet! Billy is looking like a new dog. He does have a bad back and was in pain, but, with a dose of pain killers, has almost returned to normal. As you can imagine everyone is relieved and is pleased to see Billy doing all the annoying things, dogs do, again.
I always thought I was optimistic and looked for the positive in most situations, but last week I was sure he only had a short time left. I had looked at the signs and symptoms, used a popular search engine and found the problem, or so I thought! With so much information available to us, at the touch of a button, it is difficult to know which is relevant or accurate for a particular set of circumstances. That is why it is good to go to an expert, someone who does this for a living, what was I thinking? I wouldn’t rely on the www to diagnose something for me – I’d go to a doctor.
Mind you, I think I have saved quite a bit of cash by using YouTube to help with projects I normally wouldn’t undertake. I learn best from watching demonstrations, rather than following lists. Reading long winded instructions often goes wrong as I seem to skip steps and glance at small parts of the information. I get bored with long waves of text and usually look for the important words or the main message and I scan read, often missing vital information.
If I do need to concentrate and read something thoroughly, I’d need a perfect environment to do that. I realise that since lock down, I haven’t had that perfect space. I am often (as I am now) sat at the kitchen table working and, as you can imagine, it can be quite a busy place. There are kids coming in and out, the washing machine going, radio on and the dog skipping along the tiled floor, all of which breaks the silence required, for me, to concentrate. Things are taking me longer to complete, it sometime affects my accuracy or my ability to articulate something in a professional manner.
Fortunately, school started again, NEXT opened up, so Sandra is back full-time, and it is quieter in the house, still far from perfect, but better. This has made me think about a loft conversion, above the garage conversion, to create a nice office. I have to think seriously about investing in this as I will be doing more virtual training in the future and can’t always drive over to my Mum’s house to get peace and quiet.
The www or YouTube will not going to be an option in this case. I will go to a professional and get it done properly but I have to wait until business picks up again. No point having a lovely looking office if I can’t pay the mortgage. I am certain I can at least get the plans drawn up and have something to work towards, a bit of motivation to build the business again, is not a bad idea.
Step 1 – Find someone to do plans and drawings
Step 2 – Look at costs and plan start date
Step 3 – Build the pipeline and get more work in
Bingo, off we go! I already feel better about my new office and can see myself sitting there, in peace, with the sun rising in the distance as I prepare for the day ahead.
Motivation is a funny thing and just by sharing this goal with you, I feel rejuvenated and motivated to get going. I lost a bit of momentum with the garden wall, as the weather got in the way and then everything got in the way! I will start that again this week so it looks good for the first gathering around the BBQ. I will put a date in the diary for that.
Have you found yourself going through waves of activity followed by bouts of inactivity? Have you started off really well, with a project, only to grind to a halt for no apparent reason?
Time to get going again, build momentum and get back in the swing of things. It feels good to think about my new office, even if it is a year away. I love the idea of sitting there knowing I can work from home without the worry of hiding things behind me or around me because I am in the kitchen or front room! I won’t need a virtual background or have to blur it out. I’ll be in my home office, I can’t wait.