Michael Wilding

Category: Motivation

  • Why is everything so damn complicated?

    Why is everything so damn complicated?

    I’m sure things never used to be so bloody complicated.

    We were supposed to finish our kitchen last week, and guess what… it’s still not done.

    Why?

    * We’re still waiting for some of the parts to arrive.
    * Not enough counter top was sent.
    * The corners on the curved units are all different.
    * The corners on the doors and plinths don’t match the units.
    * There’s been no space between curved units to allow the doors to open and close.

    I mean what the heck!

    What baffles me the most is that the entire kitchen wasn’t delivered on the same day. Here we are, one week later, still waiting for parts of it.

    The kitchen should have taken four days to install, we’re already at five days and it’s going to be at least another two days before it’s complete (assuming everything gets delivered this morning).

    Today is a day where I think it would be best to pack up early and go home. Except then nothing would get done, so we’ll trundle through it and try to fix the problems that are thrown.

    ….and deep breath… and deep breath… and deep breath…

    Over ‘n out,

    Michael

  • F**k Phones

    F**k Phones

    So… Happy Friday 😀

    I’ve been trying to make a video for Zuzman, showing just a basic walk-through of how to register and get started.

    Nothing flashy, after all,l it’s only in beta testing.

    I got the video recorded this morning, it only took about 10 minutes.

    But… it turns out that I forgot to turn my microphone on.

    FFS!

    That means I’ve got to re-record the audio over the top of it. Which I began to do, but now the day is under way and guess what?

    The phone won’t stop ringing!

    Aaaaagggghhh.

    Unfortunately I can’t turn my phone off toda as I”m expecting some calls which I need to take.

    So it seems, for now, that I’m going to have to put the video on hold.

    Whether the video is going to be good or a monstrosity is yet to be seen, but I’m hoping for the first 😉

    Time will tell.

    For now… have a great weekend.

    Hopefully I’ll have the video done by Monday, but we’re going to see Hamilton this weekend. So it’s all dependent on how much we enjoy ourselves afterwards!

    Over ‘n out,

    Michael

    P.S. You can still access the Zuzaman Slack group at https://goo.gl/LnMgfi

  • InstaLife

    InstaLife

    It occurred to me this morning that everything we do now is instant, or tries to be.

    Looking at my desk, I’ve got instant coffee cups, instant noodles and instant messaging.

    How depressing is that?

    I honestly believe that this new society, where we expect everything to be done instantly, isn’t good for our sanity.

    Because the truth is… nothing can be done instantly, and sure as heck nothing can be done well instantly.

    And let’s be honest, why do we need everything to be instant anyway?

    The biggest issue is communication. There’s simply too many ways to be able to get in touch with someone.

    You used to phone up the landline and if someone wasn’t available you’d leave a message. Now you try their mobile, then… text, Skype, Slack, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, email and a bunch of other communication methods.

    But if you turn all those off, here’s the truth…

    There’s almost nothing that can’t wait.

    How do I know, because I’ve done it, and I’ve implemented it for many people.

    The simple tactic of turning off all your notifications and not answering anything. The changing of your mobile number so only a few key people have it can be life-changing!

    What happens?

    Your life instantly becomes less stressful.

    Is it difficult?

    Nope. What’s difficult is the psychological understanding that you’re not going to miss something urgent, because we’ve taught ourselves to think that if we don’t answer immediately, we’re going to miss an opportunity, or something bad will happen.

    99.99999999999% of the time this isn’t true!

    Technology may have made our lives easier in a lot of ways, but it’s sure as hell also made it more stressful.

    Remember the days when you went home after work and physically couldn’t do any more because everything was in your office?

    Now people go home from a job and continue working.

    It’s great for employers, they’re still only paying you for an eight hour day, but they’re expecting you to work in your own time to get things done.

    If you don’t, there’s always someone behind you who’s willing to.

    Here’s my thought…

    Let them.

    Life’s too short to be getting stressed about things that, generally speaking, really don’t matter whether they’re done today or tomorrow.

    It’s certainly too short to be spending your personal time working without compensation.

    If you want to find out how I go about making my work life as stress free as possible, check out these blog posts.

    Ciao,

    Michael

  • Does this make me a loser?

    Does this make me a loser?

    Holly’s going to Devon for a few days to work.

    Which means I’m going to be on my own in the evenings.

    Which means…

    …I get to play the Playstation!

    Not that she doesn’t let me play, it’s more a matter of not having the time. But when I’m on my own with Max, it means I have a fair amount of time in the evening to myself, so… I may as well play.

    At the moment I’m playing Tomb Raider, and am loving it.

    The question is, at the age of thirty six does this make me a loser?

    Not that I care TBH. It’s more a question about how people view computer games these days. Particularly when they’re being played by an adult.

    But here’s the thang…

    It shouldn’t matter to you what people think.

    The thought of the day…

    It doesn’t matter what people think.

    When it comes to your business, if you think something should work, and your reserarch shows it should, don’t listen to what anybody else says.

    I was told four years ago that nobody would want to pay for one of our products. We’ve still got people using it, and it still sells, today.

    Ciao,

    Michael

  • The scales of life

    The scales of life

    One thing about being an entrepreneur is that balancing things can get tricky.

    It’s something that I’ve had to deal with a number of times over the years.

    Usually you put a new routine in place and everything goes fine, then a few years later things have changed and the routine starts to go to pot.

    That’s what’s happened to me.

    What I’m having difficulty with now is getting everything organised so that I get to see Max when he’s not tired and heading to bed, and walking BeeBee.

    It’s made harder by the fact we’ve not had kitchens or bathrooms for the last couple of months (and won’t for another month or so) and we’re using our mum’s to do cooking and cleaning.

    I’ve still not quite worked out the best way to do it, so I’m asking how you do it?

    Send me your routines and schedules and let me know how you plan your days.

    Ciao,

    Michael

    P.S. I’m looking after Max for the next couple of days so may not get a chance to write these emails again until next week. If I don’t see you before then, have a great weekend.