Do we deserve a holiday?

I have just finished five weeks work with VT who are the training section of the Navy.  I have been based on HMS Raleigh and living the life of being on board a ship.  My room is called a 'cabin', the loos the 'heads' and when leaving the base you are going 'on shore'.  It has been hard work as I have been facilitating an ILM Level 3 course for Network Rail apprentices, some of which, initially, can not see the value of the scheme.  Of course this changes as the week progresses but it often begins with an uphill climb.  There are two days of training, followed by two days out on Dartmoor and then the last day fire fighting (literally) and being in a sinking ship simulation tank.  And on top of this I have reports to write and have 121s with each person in my cohort.  ANd this is all done after mild sleep deprivation.

So do I deserve a holiday?

We run our own businesses, frantically trying to do every job in a business - telephonist, banker, accounts, advertising, marketing, general admin as well as keeping sane.  We often find ourselves working late at night or worrying whether we have done everything.  I have missed a goal of mine this month and I am beating myself over the head with a very large stick.  But at times this will happen and there are not enough hours in the week to do everything.  In order to achieve you do need to have a healthy mind, you need to relax and take time out.

This is the first time that I have said this.  I need a holiday.  I deserve a holiday. I am going on holiday.  I am going this week.

So ask yourself this, do you deserve a holiday?  Give yourself a break, take time out.

Storming is Good

Another week has gone, well nearly, and this time I am surviving on 4 hours sleep, one more hour than last week but it does not seem to have made a blind bit of difference, I am still exhausted.  I can hear my bed calling me, even the plastic sheet that encompasses the mattress.  Life on ship is certainly different but I can be thankful for a bed.

This week I had my own team and they went through Tuckmans's cycle a fair few times in the space of 24 hours.  Being out of their comfort zone, seriously lacking in sleep and having worked exceptionally hard on the Monday and Tuesday, I was not surprised.  I have to say what did surprise me was the way that they dealt with it. 

Having the knowledge that teams go through a forming, storming, norming and performing stage helped them understand the dynamics of the group and why people were reacting in different ways.  And it is good to storm, to challenge team members' ideas, to question why people think a certain way and to have a disagreement, it is one of the ways a team can reach its full potential.  Asking why people are reacting in a certain way or why they think their idea is better ensures that everyone has their say and that the outcome or decision is agreed by all and no one is following blindly and not contributing.

So do not be afraid to voice your opinion and your thoughts, just make sure you structure it in the right way, just like the group I had this week on Dartmoor.  They excelled themselves.

And now I must really go to bed.