Writing for life

At this time of year parts of the south west of Ireland are awash with American tourists. Some come in search of family history, others to experience legendary Irish hospitality, still others to wonder at our magnificent scenery – and many to enjoy all of the above. They’re also pretty keen on leprechauns.

Leprechauns, being mythical creatures, are notoriously difficult to spot. Most of our transatlantic visitors have to be satisfied with a consolation key-ring or fridge magnet sporting a likeness of their quarry.

But the leprechaun’s days as king of Ireland’s mythical beings are numbered. Today, at least as far as the indigenous working population is concerned, there’s a much more desirable but equally elusive mythical entity out there. It’s called the “work life balance”. Everyone seems to be looking for it, and you can’t buy it on a keyring or stick it on your fridge either – at least not yet.

Viewed through the fog of a tortuous daily commute and long working hours you’d be forgiven for thinking it an impossible dream, far beyond the reach of all but the very fortunate or the extremely wealthy. But like everything else in life it’s about choices – and about finding what works for you.

We all have choices when it comes to the work we do, the career we pursue, how much time we spend doing it and how much weight we lend it. Finding the “right” balance is a very personal thing. What strikes a chord of equilibrium with you won’t necessarily work out for me. Work life balance isn’t a quantifiable entity – it’s different for everyone.

The trap a lot of people seem to fall into is subconsciously assigning inflated priority to their work. Just because you spend most of your life at work doesn’t necessarily make it the most important thing in your life. You need to look carefully at what’s important to you, and if you’re not happy with the balance (or, more likely, the imbalance) between your work and home life, make some changes.

Simple changes can make a world of difference to your quality of life. Convincing your boss to let you use your new broadband connection to work from home on Fridays and Mondays will save you the dreaded commute before and after the weekend. Flexible hours can help you to juggle work and home more effectively. You could also look at areas where you might work more efficiently: working smarter instead of harder to achieve the same or better results in less time.

If you want to get really radical you could try leaving work on time two or three evenings a week. That’s right – only work the hours you’re being paid to work.

There are times in any job when you need to put in extra effort to meet a deadline or to finish a project. The rest of the time, why not go home on time? It’s results not hours that count – if you’re doing your job effectively your boss shouldn’t care what time you leave the office.

Finding your work life balance is about discovering what works for you, and realising that you have the power to change things. Meanwhile, it looks like I spoke too soon on the fridge magnet front – a quick Google threw up a “Work Life Balance” magnet at www.cafepress.com for $4.99.

That just leaves the keyring….

Technorati Tags: work life balance, career, Ireland, work

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Living in the country has many benefits – but options when it comes to transport isn’t among them. No matter how much we’re urged to leave the car at home, or how much we might wish to, most of the time living in the country means getting behind the wheel to get anywhere.

With our car consigned to a French scrap-yard getting a replacement was top of the priority list. In the meantime we were prevailing on the hospitality of our local mechanic, who had kindly lent us a courtesy car.

It was a 1998 Toyota Corolla, in a particularly unlovely shade of metallic lilac. Despite the unsavoury hue I have to admit that the Toyota was a great little run-about, but with the five of us aboard it was a little cramped. We were going to need something bigger. Our old Mitsubishi Space Wagon had served us well over the years – carrying all of us, our belongings and up to two guests in relative comfort. We were going to need the versatility of a seven seater again – and that meant our choices when it came to a new vehicle were severely curtailed.

When I say new of course, I mean second hand. We’ve never bought a new car, and given how quickly they depreciate I’m amazed that anyone else does. In general you get much more car for your money when you buy second hand.

We hadn’t planned to change the car for another year or so, but now that our hand had been forced I was actually looking forward to the change. We began our deliberations with the Echo Free Ads – a wonderful local resource that can be very effective. This time, however, it only served to illustrate the challenge we faced trying to find a people carrier within our budget that was in good condition.

Next we tried local dealers, but everything they had was too new, and ridiculously overpriced. Time to go online.

A quick internet search on “used cars” turned up a small selection of vehicles, but nothing that leapt out. It also threw up something unexpected. It was a press release from the Consumer Association of Ireland, and it basically advised Irish buyers that they could save thousands of Euro by buying a used car in the UK, even taking the extortionate 25%-30% VRT that the Irish government levy on vehicle imports into account.
 
Intrigued, I searched the UK vehicle web sites and, sure enough, the price differences were staggering. A quick call to my uncle in North Wales put him on the case, and before long we had a list of prospective vehicles to look at. A few days later we dropped the girls off at Nana and Granddads and got on a flight to Liverpool. Two days after that we were on the ferry from Holyhead to Dublin, the owners of a Ford Galaxy.
 
We haven’t had it long, but first impressions of the Galaxy are great. It’s incredibly roomy, remarkably versatile and is in immaculate condition inside and out. The girls were suitably impressed when we collected them. Then we told them they weren’t allowed to eat in it, at which point they unanimously wished they could have their old car back.

Technorati Tags: ford galaxy, used cars, evening echo

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I’m an occasional reader of a blog by US based business writer Lynn Gaertner-Johnston. This lady talks a lot of sense when it comes to writing effectively for your target audience — be it in a piece of business writing, a blog or anywhere else. Her post from the 23 July — The Only Rule Is What Works for Readers — really struck a chord with me.

Over the years when I was working in IT, several of the companies I worked for attempted to implement “out of the box” project / programme management methodologies. These systems (like “PRINCE”, Ernst & Young’s “Navigator” and others) laid out a strict and exhaustive set of rules, guides and measures for managing every aspect of a project’s life cycle. The trouble was that you’d end up spending more time and effort satisfying the requirements of the methodology than you would actually achieving the goals of the project. It was a farcical situation — real “tail wagging the dog” stuff.

In each case when I suggested that we didn’t need some elements of the methodology — that we could pick and choose the parts that were most relevant, tailoring the methodology to our needs so that it added tangible value — management looked at me as if I’d grown an extra head.

Imagine: picking and choosing the rules that suit a particular scenario… whoever heard of the like?

I’ve always maintained the same thing about writing. The established rules are there as pointers to guide us along a specific path, but sometimes (often?) the situation demands a detour. At the end of the day the important thing is that a piece of writing connects with the reader, and that it evokes the desired response… period! And if that means treading on the toes of a few grammatical pedants, then so be it.

So go on, break a few “rules” if you feel it makes your writing more effective. You might even enjoy it!

Technorati Tags: copywriting, business writing, marketing, communications, Lynn Gaertner-Johnston, breaking rules

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I just got off the phone with our local wireless broadband operator, Rapid Broadband, who informed me that there was STILL no covarage in my area. I know of three people less than a mile down the road who avail of and are generally very happy with the service — but I seem to be nestled in a lovely little wireless black-spot; a broadband dead-zone.

Our telephone exchange in Leap, as far as I know, hasn’t been upgraded to deliver ADSL, and anyway at around 6KM I think we’re just outside the cut-off point in terms of distance from the exchange. I was starting to get a bit excited about the prospect of mobile broadband — with offerings from Vodafone, O2 and 3 all jockeying for market share it seemed now might be a good time to avail. But no good.

Here in rural Co. Cork the 3G coverage is woeful. The nice lady in West Cork Mobiles in Clonakilty told me that she could sell me the O2 USB modem — but that where I live the coverage would be sporadic at best, and when I could get access it would be at a much slower rate than that advertised. In her words:

I can’t even get it at home, and I’m selling it! We’re treated as second class citizens down here.

It certainly seems that way when it comes to broadband access. Apparently the only places locally that you can get real broadband speeds from 3G are the town centres of Clonakilty and Skibbereen — both of which also have fixed line ADSL and wireless options available to them. Kind of makes a mockery of the term “mobile broadband”, don’t you think?

…or not, as the case may be!

Looks like I’m stuck with the clunky and expensive 64k ISDN connection for the time being. I can live with it, barely, although it has me pulling my hair out when it comes to transferring large files. I just wish I didn’t have to endure all the adverts pushing the latest and greatest broadband options (complete with the usual “subject to availability, terms and conditions apply” guff). Hearing about the sort of connection speeds other people are enjoying when you know you can’t get them yourself is incredibly frustrating!

Every time I hear a new add on the radio, or read one in the newspaper I get excited, even though I know I shouldn’t. I fire up my web-browser, crank up the old ISDN, type in the web address and wait… and wait… and wait.

Why is it that broadband providers — who by definition are trying to appeal to those still struggling with a slower connection, don’t optimise their sites for access over dialup?

Eventually, when the thing does load up, and I access the coverage map and/or line check, the response invariably amounts to “you live where…“. I swear that sometimes I can hear sniggering in the background — or maybe that’s just the cogs whirring as the ISDN struggles to cope with the graphics.

Broadband availability in this country is a JOKE — and not a very funny one at that, especially when you’re trying to run a home-based business that relies heavily on electronic communication.

I feel like the whole media rich, interactive Web 2.0 experience is passing me by. I’m stuck in the narrowband doldrums while the digital revolution roars on without me. I can’t even use Skype properly, for crying out loud, and you can forget things like YouTube, Google Earth or Second Life. Even downloading software updates is a chore: to get the latest OpenOffice.org update I have to crank up the download before going to bed at night. If I’m really lucky and the line doesn’t drop mid-flight it might — just might — be finished when I go back in the morning.

So Santa, if you’re listening… I know it’s only July, but all I want for Christmas is a broadband connection. Surely that’s not too much to ask….

Technorati Tags: broadband, Ireland, mobile broadband, ADSL, wireless broadband, ISDN

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I’ve just discovered that my contact forms on the blog are not working. I’m trying to find out what’s gone awry, and have logged the problem with my web host — meanwhile, if you need to contact me please leave a comment or use the contact form on my main website.

NB. Anyone know if there’s a setting somewhere in WordPress that might be causing this?

Cheers,

Calvin!

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I’ve been a member of the West Cork chapter of SohoSolo since 2005. Writing can be a lonely business at times, and I always enjoy getting out to the SohoSolo meetings and interacting with other people who are running their own businesses from home. It’s also led to work — both directly and indirectly — and has provided me with an invaluable list of contacts in a mind boggling array of fields.

The West Cork meetings had tailed off earlier this year when the then coordinator, Mary Claire O’Regan, left CorkBIC for pastures new. Now they’ve been resurrected under the stewardship of new project coordinator Kathleen Coltherd. This morning was the first of the “new” meetings I’ve attended — and I have to say it was great to be back.

A SohoSolo is defined as:

a person who has migrated to a rural region bringing with them their own income generating activity and works at least partially from home

If that’s you, and you’re within the south west catchment area, check out the SohoSolo website and add your profile. It’s free, so you’ve got nothing to lose and plenty to gain by joining the project.

Oh, and don’t forget to tell Kathleen that I sent you!

Guest speaker at this morning’s meeting was Conor O’Neill, who provided a great introduction to blogging for business. Conor’s talk introduced us all to the concept of blogging, and how the creative use of blogs could help small businesses to flourish. I particularly liked the way he used real-world examples of successful Irish blogs to illustrate his points.

As well as his personal blog, Conor is also involved in Louder Voice, the blogging review site, and it’s corporate parent site Argolon — both of which are worth a look.

I think everyone at the event agreed that this was an extremely worthwhile presentation — it provided blogging newbies with plenty of food for thought, and those of us with existing blogs picked up plenty of tips from this experienced denizen of the Irish blogosphere.

So thanks Conor for a well thought out, well delivered presentation. If this is a taste of things to come, then roll on next month’s meeting!

Technorati Tags: blogging, SohoSolo, business, West Cork, Conor O’Neill

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ENN.ie — Ireland’s IT Newswire is conducting a survey on home working in Ireland — are you home working, or considering doing so? Is your company looking into offering home working to some of its employees? Complete ENN’s survey online and you could be in with a chance of winning an iPod Nano or one of 10 runners up prizes of eircom USB memory keys.

Technorati Tags: ENN, survey, home working, Ireland

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It’s official — moderate consumption of full fat milk and milk derived dairy products can be beneficial to your health — at least according to a recent study by scientists in Wales it can.

…regular consumption of medium chain fatty acids found in full-fat milk and dairy products (cheese and yogurt) can have a positive effect on metabolic syndrome, a condition associated with Type 2 (non-insulin dependent) diabetes and obesity while reducing the risk of stroke and heart attack by two-thirds.

… said an article in today’s Independent.

All of which is good news — and means that full fat (AKA full flavoured) yoghurt, cheese, cream cakes, milkshakes and that double-strength full-fat latte can now be be enjoyed without the associated guilt.

It also reinforces a belief I’ve held for quite some time. Instead of chopping and changing your diet to stay in tune with what the latest studies say is good or bad for us, eat a little of what you want when you want and get a balanced diet eating fresh, locally produced food that you enjoy. Leave the science in the labs, and perhaps most importantly of all, leave the synthesised plastic excuse for nutrition on the supermarket shelf where it belongs.

Technorati Tags: full fat, dairy, diet, eating

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It’s summer and it’s raining again.

OK – perhaps that’s not such a great example of climate change. Soggy Irish summers are hardly a new phenomenon. But whether you think climate change is the single biggest challenge humanity has ever faced, or just an “inconvenient truth” that’s wreaking havoc with this year’s holiday plans – most people now acknowledge that climate change is, in fact, happening. What they can’t seem to agree on is how quickly it’s happening, and just how much of it is our fault.

Whether you subscribe to the idea that human influence is accelerating climate change or not (and popular opinion certainly supports that assertion), over the last few years big business has started to take notice, and green credentials have become valuable corporate currency.

Reading between the lines, of course, this green façade owes little to a desire to do the right thing, a deep seated environmental concern or even a desire to redress the inequities of the past. It’s more about image, and projecting the right image to consumers who are more environmentally aware – and concerned – than ever before. Being green is in vogue, and in an effort to appeal to their target markets big companies are quick to adopt the veneer of environmental propriety.

Of course it’s not just their customers that these organisations are trying to appeal to by turning over a new, greener leaf. Today’s well educated, highly skilled employees are ever more conscious of the impact their activities are having on the world around them. While green credentials don’t necessarily dictate a candidates choice of employer just yet, they are certainly starting to factor into the decision for a growing number of bright young candidates.

The popularisation of environmental issues brought about by climate change has also spawned a slew of new jobs, and lifted others from relative obscurity and thrust them into the limelight. One of the most visible examples of this is in the media. A few years ago your average environmental correspondent would be wheeled out once in a blue moon. Today they’re hitting the front page and prime-time airwaves on a practically daily basis.

It’s the same elsewhere: in industry, academia and across the public and private sector environmentally related positions carry more weight, have a higher profile, attract better salaries and offer improved career prospects. No matter which way you look at it there’s little doubt that the environment is now big business, and it’s growing all the time.

Which begs the question when is Ireland inc. going to cop on and realise that to maintain growth in our economy, preserve jobs and generally continue along the prosperous path we’ve all become accustomed to we need to take environmental issues much more seriously?

In the past our environmental record has been woeful, and current agricultural and industrial practices, coupled with a widespread apathy when it comes to changing our ways, hardly inspires confidence for the future. Still, with a new green party environment minister at the helm, and environmental issues topping the international agenda, perhaps we’ll finally start to get things right.

Technorati Tags: climate change, Ireland, jobs, careers

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I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of regret as we drove over the Pyrenees. Our passage from Spain into France marked the beginning of the end of our lengthy sojourn on the continent. We were finally on our way home.

Despite a soggy first few days in France the road trip with the children had proved a remarkable success. We’d packed plenty into our trip, and after the initial spell of inclement weather we’d had our fair share of sunshine. The kids had enjoyed themselves immensely, and when the children are happy, by extension so are Mum and Dad.

We were looking forward to a relaxing few days in France before getting the ferry back from Cherbourg to Rosslare. Little did we know that we’d never make the boat.

It happened all of a sudden. One minute we were travelling along the road towards a town called Mont de Marsan, the next the driver’s side wheels touched the grass verge and everything went haywire. My wife, who was driving, swerved back onto the road, but overcompensated. The car veered into the oncoming carriageway, right into the path of a truck. I remember grabbing the wheel and swerving us back onto our own side of the road, then we lost control.

The car skidded first one way, then the other before careening off a twelve foot bank into the ditch below. At times like this the adrenalin kicks in: your brain goes into overdrive and the world around you slows to a crawl. Your senses become heightened and you notice everything in minute detail – sights, sounds, smells, touch… everything.

In the passenger seat I was busy noticing the undergrowth rushing slowly towards the windscreen. I braced myself for impact, and then we hit with a sickening crunch. I watched with detached interest as the front of the car folded in on itself, like a cereal box being crushed for recycling. My mind was on three things: the children. I was willing the car to stop so that I could look after them. It finally came to rest and the world lurched back to normal speed.

The car at the garage where it was towed after the accident

I quickly checked myself over. Everything appeared to be where it should be, and I wasn’t in any immediate pain. A glance at my wife told me that she was conscious, and was busy unbuckling her seatbelt. I followed her lead, pushed open the door and went to check on the girls.

In the back seat the three-year-old was crying in her car seat – which was a good sign. She was fine. One of the twins, who was sitting next to her, was fine too, apart from a few abrasion marks from her seatbelt. Then I saw my other daughter in the back row, her head slumped against the window, blood trickling from her nose. Between her closed eyes a rapidly growing bulge was turning a violent purple-blue colour. My heart lurched, and for a moment I feared the worst – but when I spoke to her she opened her eyes, was able to talk to me and could move her arms, legs, fingers and toes.

After one night in a French hospital she was discharged with nothing more serious than a slight fracture to her left elbow. Our insurance company flew us home a few days later, leaving the remains of the car in France.

It had been a horrific end to what had been an otherwise fantastic trip – but it could have been so much worse. We’re just glad to be home with everyone in one piece.

Technorati Tags: parenting, travel, children, France, car crash

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