february, albeit a touch late..

yes, quite a strange title to a blog post, acknowledged with thanks.

i can confirm that the title comes from the title of a book i was gifted this (last month). ‘the one minute manager meets the monkey’. now, you’re thinking that i was going to update you all on some out of the ordinary antics on a monthly basis – no this wasn’t the month i learnt how to read, although it was the first time i read a book cover to cover in years.. usually i get bored, and my attention takes me elsewhere.

it’s fair to say over the last couple of months things have built up – both in my personal and professional life, and well it was all becoming a little too much. living alone and taking on a new role mid pandemic isn’t healthy and i learnt that the hard way. i thought the answer to all my problems was to throw myself into work to fill the void in my social life, but that just made things worse. there was no filter and no switch off. those around me could see it, but i was reaching breaking point. it comes to something when a friend at work turns around and says, you know what you need… to get a life. savage as it was, it was true, and well part of me penning or typing again was about getting that life.

anyways, back to the book, which i read in two days, not that i am showing off or anything. ha. my advice if you are thinking of reading this book comes in two fold, 1. do NOT read this before bed, it sets your brain into overdrive and your thoughts cannot be processed. 2. have a notebook next to you, as you start to think about every decision you have ever made in your career – well i did.

as you can see by the photoshoot and my positions reading, that attention span of mine took a battle to overcome. it’s almost reflected in this post – well because i haven’t quite spoken about the bloody book yet! i don’t want to tell you all about it, because if you find yourself in a challenging work situation, i recommned this 100% – it doesn’t matter what level of the business you’re in – its very relatable.

for me, what i took away from this, and what i am trying to put into practise is this. if you give me a problem, and ask me to fix it, its gone from you, and now i have more on my plate and go about my day fixing it. if i teach you how to fix problems, then we both gain something from it. i said to one of my team recently. you become the manager the minute you ask for help, as you’re waiting for me. it was eye opening for us both.

the monkeys, yes the monkeys. we need to stop handing over all of our problems ‘monkeys’ to other peoples backs to feel like we are getting somewhere ourselves. that’s the ethos of this book. you think its great being a yes man and taking on everything to please everyone – but actually you’re the one that suffers. look, i am not preaching, but just telling you how i was feeling and what i was doing.

i doubt myself and my capabilities a lot in life, and well lost clear sight of the vision. i feel like i am repeating myself, and need a really good summary of what i am actually on about. basically, life is hard, but we shouldn’t be hard on ourselves. sometimes it takes a moment to realise the problem, and process it, before pushing for a quick fix.

my takeaway more than anything was to read more, it was a nice change to be off my phone and not look at a screen. but in all seriousness – i am trying to make a positive change in my life, so that i can inspire the others around me too. i am going to practise what i preach, ‘in order for you to be your best self in the work place, you need to be your best self out of it’. with that, i am learning to shut off at the end of the day, take my rest days for me, and not overwork which ultimately results in underperforming.

on to the next read. the energy bus – i won’t bore you with that one.. yet.