I have just returned from a conference for school officers and registrars, where I presented workshops on values, organizational politics, career/life balance and future directions.  I presented at the same conference last year and I have to say that this is one special group of people - 120 women + 1 man!  They are, very often, the cement that holds schools together; they are multi-skilled and multi-talented; they work long and hard and party the same - just ask me about the conference dinner!!

They are a fabulous group to work with - they participate, they learn, they inquire and they challenge.  They take this professional learning seriously and they make the most of their opportunities to improve.  They also raise some very important issues -

* when we talk about career/life balance, and we put ourselves as our Number One priority, is that being selfish?

* when we talk about values, should we compromise our personal values to better align with those of our line manager or organization?

* how do we positively promote and brand ourselves within our workplace and our organization?

These are not issues peculiar to just this group - they are questions that many people ask, regardless of their status and position.

How would YOU answer them?

I have the will  but not the time to do so many pleasurable activities. Time seems to be getting more and more squeezed everyday. Everyone I talk to says the same thing " I don't know where the time went'.

My theory is that between electronic communication, ease of home computer access and the extreme use of mobile phones outside our normal work hours ,we have effectively added in another 3 -4 hours on top of our normal work day. This is making us feel time pressured and overwhelmed.

Just think about it. I know I get up in the morning at around 6am and check my emails and catch up with anything I missed the day before. At the end of the day I check my emails, finish a document or two and am still taking calls at 8pm. So this is my challenge to myself and to you. Turn off the computer and the mobile phone every day by 7pm. Just see if it makes a difference. I will check back in next week with what happened to me.