Week 44: Death by Emails, other Professionals and a Factory Reset
Hello everyone it's the first of November and getting a little nippy out there but I have my regular Ginger Royal to keep me warm. Java Lounge/Birmingham do the best drinks by the way. Not that they have paid me for this but I thought I'd be a good samaritan and recommend my favourite coffee shop. Previously we touched on all things accountancy and legals but this week it's all about those other little things that help us along the way. I also found it a little tricky titling this week's blog as it's an amalgamation of useful bits ‘n’ bobs! Sorry guys not every week is going to consist of a single topic organised into a neat chapter. But this is the beauty of this industry, it's so diverse and that's why I fell in love with it in the first place. One minute you're talking to an accountant and the next it could be the Archbishop of Canterbury; (no seriously) someone I met at a networking event, how exciting is that? A Bishop that does property….
In the last six weeks alone I have liaised with lawyers/paralegals, accountants/ bookkeepers, surveyors/planners, architects/engineers, bank managers/brokers together with other government officials. The special thing about all this is the sheer people you meet and get to talk to on a daily basis. Granted not all of them you will see face-to-face but zoom is close enough. If it's variety you seek, then go no further and the best thing; no customers screaming down your ear. I have a background in customer-service and honestly, people that work on the front end don't get praised enough. It is very stressful (I talk from experience) and morale is generally very low in the industry. One noteworthy aspect in dealing with professionals is the professionalism they convey. In customer relations there is a lot of blame culture and unrealistic targets to meet. But don't get me wrong, you'll have some disagreements but it's nothing you can't work out. It's refreshing to deal with these colleagues/contractors via email in comparison to what I described above.
On the subject of emails I have found you will be swamped if you don't find a way to stay on top of all your digital mail. One minute you have nothing in your inbox then the next boom, you're inundated with mail. Sod's law! it will fall on the day you are out of office just to add some more pressure/spice to the mix. I say put some systems in place or designate time slots where you will check your mail at set times. Like first thing in the morning, midday, late afternoon and once in the evening after tea AND STICK TO IT. I have put this in bold as it just really eats into your time if you're constantly reading your messages. The same rule applies for FB Messenger, WhatsApp and LinkedIn. So, I don't want to bore you with the in’s and out’s of mail handling as I am sure you are all intelligent people and I don't want to sound patronising, but rather, see me as a friend who has your best interest at heart.
The other thing I found useful was to give my computer a good clear-up. My desktop was plastered with things that just didn't need to be there and pdf’s dating back to paleolithic times. It took me an entire day (I kid you not) just to sort and file things. In the end it seems I only required a handful of documents and the rest to be fed to the bin. It turns out I used to be a digital hoarder buried in the depth of cyber despair. However, I have now turned this around to a minimalist me using the concept; I have ten things I can take with me while escaping my burning office, so what will they be? With a press of a button and a factory reset away, I now find myself in new territories which I like. My computer is so much faster, better behaved and well... much more desirable.
TIP: Carry out a factory reset on your PC/desktop and don’t forget to hit that red button from time to time.