Last week was, well, quite a week! It seemed to shoot by and there was a lot going on, a lot of it not all planned. So….
- Prepare for the unexpected
As I wrote this I wondered what this even means – how can you prepare for the unexpected? Maybe you can just prepare and then be flexible? Hmm. Or always have a plan b? This week threw a lot of challenges at me, from transporting enough Lego across London for 80 people to play with seriously, to cancelled trains, to a child’s school bag being left on the station – discovered when we were on the train at the next station! All of the events were challenging, fortunately none of them serious or life threatening and all involved some rapid logistical thinking. Was I prepared for the unexpected? If I wasn’t on Monday, I was by Friday!
2. Hold (play) lightly
I’ve been thinking a lot about play recently and one of the beautiful things about play is its voluntary and freeform nature. Well play with children that is. Play with adults is often different – perhaps less voluntary and more structured – so is it still play? I would say yes however, the objectives need to be clear and the approaches need to be “held lightly”. I like this concept which I read about in a book about using play in coaching. When introducing play with adults you need to be flexible about where it might go and how things might evolve. You can set the overall objectives but can’t be too wedded to a particular outcome or approach.
3. Take time for reflection
Taking some time to reflect, even for a few moments can be a really powerful way of processing events, making progress and adapting to change. I was fortunate this week to be able to take a couple of hours to reflect on my plans, my achievements this year and what I wanted to achieve in the next few months. This really helped give me some space to explore some ideas I want to develop as well as process some things that had happened this week. Even 30 minutes would have helped to just give yourself some space and take time “away”.