Nicholas Bate

All Change 2021/22

1. Sort your goals.
2. Decide your word.
3. Be even more helpful.
4. Get skilful.
5. Read-no study-more.
6. No excuses.
7. Start today not tomorrow. 

Always Helpful, 89

Whatever that new goal, don’t wait.

Start it today.

Your 2022 word

Choose a word. Any word. One word. Make it yours. Whiteboard it. Write it every day on your planner, put the word on a handful of 3 by 5 cards and place them in strategic places as an ever-present reminder. Make it BIG. Write it BOLD. Get a personal T-shirt printed with it. Learn it in some other languages. Start considering now. Decide soon: meditate on it, reflect on it; live it, breathe it and nurture it. For 2022. 

1. Travel.
2. Dancer.
3. Infinite.
4. Reflective.
5. Wise.
6. Music.
7. Fearless
8. Freedom
9. Discipline.
10. Hiker.
11. Fun.
12. Reader.
13. Authentic.
14. Expert.
15. Happy.
16. Focus.
17. Determined.
18. Swimmer.
19. Care-free.
20. Car free.
21. Carpenter.
22. Learner.
23. Runner.
24. Poet.
25. Courage.
26. Philanthropist.
27. Science.
28. Student
29. Planner.
30. Enlightened.
31. Abundance.
32. Scholar.
33. Resourceful.
34. Strategist.
35. Poet
36. Productive.
37. Gymnast.
38. Parent
39. Athlete.
40. Explorer.
41. Curiosity.
42. Youthful.
43. Knitter.
44. Hunter-Gatherer 21C.
45. Notebook.
46. Stamina.
47. Romantic.
48. Creative.
49. Breathing.
50. Gymnast.
51. Facts.
52. Energy
53. Wealth.
54. Brave.
55. Excitement.
56. Forgiving.
57. Baker.
58. Climber (of Trees).
59. Wellness.
60. Student.
61. Earth.
62. The Horizon.
63. Minimalism.
64. Resilient.
65. Now.
66. Entrepreneur.
67. Sensory.
68. Gardener.
69. Humour.
70. Plan.
71. Writer.
72. Primate.
73. Encourager
74. Knowing.
75. Sleeper.
76. Linguist.
77. Agile.
78. Painter.
79. Carer.
80. Goal.
81. Individualist.
82. Wealth.
83. Simple.
84. Sky (at night).
85. Intuitive.
86. Brachiation.
87. Saver.
88. Cook
89. Here.
90. Naps.
91. Today.
92. Story-teller.
93. Mover.
94. Gardener.
95. Health.
96. Practical.
97. Slowly.
98. Cyclist.
99. Grounded.
100. Photographer.
101. Boundless.

Molly and The Isle of Kasta

is now ready. The sequel to Meet Molly; the adventures continue.

Available on Amazon kindle, you just need the Kindle App and you are ready to go.

I enjoyed writing it: I hope you enjoy reading it. It’s the perfect yarn to read between the two big events of Christmas and New Year. 

I do hope Michael Wade will still be speaking to me should he read it; there’s a key character from his home state.

(You still haven’t read the original? That’s here.)

Monday Melange

1. 25 Mini Standards.
2. The Writing Primer.
3. Meet Molly is now out. A love story. A parable. A good read. ”This book is a must read. To be savoured.”
4. How to Start your Very Own Business.
5. Instant Productivity.
6. Seven choices.
7. 22 Essentials.
8. How to Create your Covid-19 Home Office.
9. plus The Start Up Myths
10. Stay STRONG
11. Crazy Bold Experiments
12. Just say NO to PPT
13. Post Covid Business Essentials.
14. The Marketing Primer.
15. You, Only Better, the book. 
16. Redundancy
17. Covid-19, 101
18. Hunter-Gatherer 21C
19. Tackling Stress.
20. Manage that career
21. Be Bold 101
22. You still haven’t read Being The Best?! 
23. Things They Don’t Teach at Business School
24. the secrets of success
25. Life Tips 101
26. Zen & Art of Cubicle Freedom
27. Be Bold 101
28. Carnage At Kodak
29. The Very Best Drugs You Need
30. Billions of Light Years Away In Another Galaxy
31. 22 Routes To Your Non Fiction Book
32. Lists For The Life You Love
33. Her Notes To Herself
34. How To Lessen E-Mail Pain
35. Professionalism 101
36. 21 Ways to Improve your Zoom Conference Call.
37. Productivity Primer
38. 101, redux.
39. Christmas Presents 2021, solved. 
40. The Basic Basics.

On Writing, 16

If you are serious, do it every day.

No excuses.

Always Helpful, 88

Magic. Wonder. Significance.

It’s always there. 

Just switch stuff off, so we can tune in. 

Twenty Four Magic

1. Nobody is going to spoil my day.
2. I got a place on Planet Earth, consistently voted the greatest planet in the known universe.
3. I am not my security badge that I 'still have to wear' during Zoom calls according to the bla, bla, bla HR protocol.
4. I love walking and hence I walk everywhere. I save me, the planet and my sanity.
5. I choose. 
6. It doesn't matter about the qualifications I do not have. Am I maximising the ones I do have?
7. There are only so many digital interrupts I can take in one day before my brain is in IQ free-fall. Which ones will they be?
8. I no longer need sugar to be happy.
9. My default mood will be resourceful, 'can-do' and optimistic. If it is not, I know I need nature and/or sleep and/or careful nutrition and/or dance and/or music.
10. I am reducing the number of screens and the amount of screen time in my life.
11. I am there for sun-rise and/or sun-set several times a week.
12. In a world of DCU (deep Covid uncertainty), I manage myself. I have clear goals and plans. Of course they will change but they give direction.
13. There is no failure, only feedback.
14. I start, therefore I will be.
15. I finish, therefore I am.
16. I answer all mails promptly because I have fewer mails by (1) having real conversations (2) not CCing 'the world'. Tips.
17. My heart and gut are often more accurate than the spreadsheet I am trying to engineer.
18. I realise that art is not just in galleries.
19. I relish a new book to read. Meet Molly. 
20. I have stumbled across the fact that writing is not simply about assembling words. It is about a moment captured, articulated and stretched.
21. I know that of all the super-powers, courtesy consistently surprises and cannot be beaten.
22. I play frisbee and yet do not need to worry about geometry, physics nor a tactical plan. Some unconscious processing handles it all; how cool is that? And where else might I develop that state of being?
23. Does Jack Bauer keep stopping for coffee? Do I?
24. Every day contains some magic. Especially Christmas Eve.

Always Helpful, 87

Doing some long-term planning.

What’s coming up over the next six months?

What short/shorter-term actions does that generate?

On Writing, 15

Like any skill, few ‘truths’ are absolute.

But being a better observer of life will probably give you more and better material for your writing.

Look up, look around and scribble in your notebook.