tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36273673560503165762024-03-13T22:04:27.087+00:00A Little About a LotI have been many things in my life - from fruit-picker, through postman, delivery driver, barman, professional actor, Office Manager, Trainer, IT Learning Manager and latterly, Head of Technology Assisted Learning in a global corporate. Now an independent consultant, speaker, tweeter & blogger, I have learned, and now know, 'a little about a lot, and a lot about very little'. I hope this blog will be of interest and stimulate some further conversations amongst us all.niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-7195277895163114902021-05-21T12:34:00.000+01:002021-05-21T12:34:13.969+01:00Week Minded<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaQxAps09cZS3WQztoXv-wH7XGcu-6CiIB0tKjAFM7T2JqtH6ElM-6Uwxkguff27sFwM0kw49_1wWhURATA2ccOQDHCpvLyKRG6PzbLro9I32miYLntctl3T__B_jCU5WVN75XtFmvuy94/s2048/IMG_8017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaQxAps09cZS3WQztoXv-wH7XGcu-6CiIB0tKjAFM7T2JqtH6ElM-6Uwxkguff27sFwM0kw49_1wWhURATA2ccOQDHCpvLyKRG6PzbLro9I32miYLntctl3T__B_jCU5WVN75XtFmvuy94/w320-h240/IMG_8017.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Highdown Hill, West Sussex - Photo NJG</td></tr></tbody></table><b>It's Friday, one of my non-work days. With some time to myself, I've been reflecting on how it's gone.</b></p><p><b>What's been happening? How did I show up? Did I learn anything? Did I apply any of that learning? </b></p><p><b>Well, yes and no.</b></p><p>Being present in social media channels means that one gets exposed to a lot of noise. Sometimes I contribute to that noise; sometimes, I hope, helpfully.</p><p>The week started off really well, with my weekly walk and talk with my Counsellor followed by my continuing to walk further, exploring local pathways not previously walked, but trusting my sense of direction and following the waymarks. In total, some 10k in uncharteristically glorious weather, the benefits of which for my mental and physical wellbeing lasted well into Tuesday. Joyous.</p><p>This week also saw two "[insert cause/subject here] Week" campaigns which are both areas of personal interest to me - "Learning at Work Week" (#LAWW21) and "Dementia Action Week" (#DAWW21). </p><p>One of my professional bodies (for whom I work part-time) is an active sponsor of LAWW and we have discussed and acted on this both internally as a team and in our support for the HR, L&D and OD profession externally.</p><p>This blog is my activity recognising that, enabling me to reflect on and share what I've learned this week.</p><p>It's also Dementia Action Week, a cause close to my heart, for family reasons. I'm a research volunteer for the Join Dementia Research (@BeatDementia) programme, and have been contributing to their online studies since 2014. A few weeks ago, they asked their volunteer community of study participants if they would be prepared to be interviewed to share their story of how and why they got involved. I was selected, interviewed and my story was published this week, as part of their DAW campaign, here: <a href="https://news.joindementiaresearch.nihr.ac.uk/making-difference-online-research-studies/" target="_blank">"Making a difference through online research studies"</a>.</p><p>My hope is that people reading it may be prompted to get involved themselves and thereby add to the data which will hopefully speed understanding about and prevention or cure of this cruel disease.</p><p>Then on Wednesday morning, I learned from a friend on facebook that another friend from my college days back in 73-76 had died suddenly of an aneurism. A year younger than me, a wife, grandmother, photographer, generous sharer and all-round lovely person, her death hit me quite hard. </p><p>I've spent a lot of time in the last few months discussing and sorting out my and Mandy's end-of-life admin - Lasting Powers of Attorney, Wills, Funeral Plans - and, having survived heart surgery myself six years ago, death has been much on my mind. Sheila's death and her family's loss really brought this to the fore.</p><p>Wednesday was probably the low point of my week. Thursday, however, was satisfyingly clear-minded, focussed and productive.</p><p>And here we are, it's Friday already, and today I chose not to join in the weekly 08:00 am #LDinsight tweetchat with my #PLN (Personal Learning Network), and had a long lie and leisurely breakfast instead.</p><p>So, what, if anything, did I learn this week?</p><p>It's good to to talk | Sometimes you don't need to have a clear destination in mind and you can just enjoy the journey for itself and for whatever physical and mental nourishment it provides | It's OK to have a down day; don't beat yourself up about it | You don't always have to show up; the world will keep turning.</p><p>Have a great weekend, folks.</p><p><br /></p>niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-17382810692493085162021-04-13T19:42:00.001+01:002021-04-13T19:52:06.327+01:00What's in a Number?<h3 style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibC5psxTHtx-dcqqI_87tcb02bZAn2Vjv9ZDH1JLUKRMa_u3B4By_eo55lcRIiNC1NOkFjX45rZNPnny2IWzWNvwQOi9ROo7zf-jDXCisdvBgdLdPG0DHo9AsOASz79XUXIY7X04s-lHCS/s2048/pexels-alexander-suhorucov-6457510.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibC5psxTHtx-dcqqI_87tcb02bZAn2Vjv9ZDH1JLUKRMa_u3B4By_eo55lcRIiNC1NOkFjX45rZNPnny2IWzWNvwQOi9ROo7zf-jDXCisdvBgdLdPG0DHo9AsOASz79XUXIY7X04s-lHCS/w200-h133/pexels-alexander-suhorucov-6457510.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "segoe ui", roboto, oxygen, cantarell, "helvetica neue", ubuntu, sans-serif" style="background-color: #e8e8e8; color: #1a1a1a; text-align: start;">Photo by </span><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "segoe ui", roboto, oxygen, cantarell, "helvetica neue", ubuntu, sans-serif" style="background-color: #e8e8e8; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: start;"><a href="https://www.pexels.com/@alexander-suhorucov?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Alexander Suhorucov</a></span><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "segoe ui", roboto, oxygen, cantarell, "helvetica neue", ubuntu, sans-serif" style="background-color: #e8e8e8; color: #1a1a1a; text-align: start;"> from </span><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "segoe ui", roboto, oxygen, cantarell, "helvetica neue", ubuntu, sans-serif" style="background-color: #e8e8e8; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: start;"><a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/focused-black-woman-examining-documents-in-office-6457510/?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Pexels</a></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Ten years ago today, I wrote and published my first ever #blog - "<a href="https://niallgavinuk.blogspot.com/2011/04/blog-bullet-bitten.html">The Blog Bullet - Bitten!</a>", the first of an inconsistent series of musings, commentary, reflections and occasional rants, the culmination of which is today's blog marking that 10 year 'anniversary'.</h3><p>I've said before that, for me, posting into the digital and social media space is not - and should not - be a numbers game. Twitter, for example, has never been about the number of followers I have, or the number of retweets I get. Blogging has similarly not been about how many posts can I get out per week/month/year, or the number of pageviews (although you bet I do check the stats!).</p><p>And yet, with an absolute acknowledgement of the irony herein, here I am writing a blog specifically to make up the numbers and celebrate a spookily serendipitous numerical milestone - 120 blogs in 10 years. That's an average of 12 blogs a year - one a month.</p><p>Almost like there was a plan.</p><p>But there wasn't.</p><p>My purpose in blogging was to reflect and expand on my professional interests and experiences in learning and development, and my interaction with others in related fields, beyond the then 140 character limit of Twitter. I hoped that it would be a two-way street, that others would engage with my posts and that dialogue would ensue. Sometimes, that has been the case.</p><p>I've tried to be guided by the mantra "Does this need to be said? Does it need to be said by me? Does it need to be said by me right now?" (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7897967-ask-yourself-the-three-things-you-must-always-ask-yourself#:~:text=“Ask%20yourself%20the%20three%20things%20you%20must%20always%20ask%20yourself,be%20said%20by%20me%20now%3F”">Attrib. Craig Ferguson</a>).</p><p>Sometimes I've even managed to follow that rule.</p><p>Blogging remains a very personal thing for me, and I've taken a very non-systematic approach to it. For example, last year (2020), I posted just two blogs - both about how I was coping with and feeling about COVID-19 and its impact - and in 2019, I posted 15! </p><p>This flies in the teeth of all the accepted wisdom about consistency and audience-building. But, sorry, if I ain't feeling it, it ain't getting written.</p><p>That said, I'm grateful to everyone who's ever taken the time to read and comment my posts. If you've found any value, inspiration or just entertainment, then that's good enough for me.</p><p>I can't promise anything different in the months - maybe even years - ahead. </p><p>Twitter will continue to be my go-to micro-blogging channel but there will always be that longer blog thing, that blog thing needs to be said, that blog thing that needs to be said by me, that blog thing that needs to be said by me right now!</p><p>Like today.</p><p><br /></p><p> </p>niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-91333051239502192021-04-07T07:15:00.000+01:002021-04-07T07:15:36.541+01:00The Garden of Ignorance<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3An1lk1_MEeCgST9MhnAjvHKUmBTcNtKhb14PvMigRfxvOUQJXAMOvPquMZUfXKF3tUIxWZ_2UD5BACK8cmd65wWhD1SXn0Wpk0ODTlA_jv48FbaXINJ3YpEChjjOS9299uz2SpMlsF2/s640/GardenOfIgnorance.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3An1lk1_MEeCgST9MhnAjvHKUmBTcNtKhb14PvMigRfxvOUQJXAMOvPquMZUfXKF3tUIxWZ_2UD5BACK8cmd65wWhD1SXn0Wpk0ODTlA_jv48FbaXINJ3YpEChjjOS9299uz2SpMlsF2/s320/GardenOfIgnorance.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">This is our garden. When we moved here <span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">6</span><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">½</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span>years ago, it was just a grassy rectangle with a small square patio.</h3><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Once we had settled in, we got some quotes from gardeners to
design an easy-to-maintain layout and planting. This is what we ended up with,
and it has proved to be sufficiently low-maintenance for me to engage with
trying to keep it tidy, planted and pleasant to look out onto and relax in. </p><p class="MsoNormal">But I'm no gardener.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I do what I do from an ongoing position of horticultural ignorance.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Like many people, I suspect, I want to have a nice garden (be able to play the piano / be a Digital Learning Expert) without necessarily doing
all the heavy lifting (practising / theoretical & experiential study) required. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But I’m happy to get stuck in.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I Google / read up / ask others / observe / try out stuff / persevere / try again – with the
incentive that others have an expectation of me so doing but are also willing
to work with me and support me to achieve the desired outcomes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Does that make me ‘lazy’ / a ‘chancer’ / a yet-to-be-outed
imposter? </p><p class="MsoNormal">Or a learner?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Judge me by my results.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And keep challenging me to be better.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I might just surprise you.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And myself.<o:p></o:p></p>niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-33053728890165469762021-03-20T11:59:00.000+00:002021-03-20T11:59:00.695+00:00Sea Seen<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcI9zLIJFC3LjcIEkosy8Sw9icI27G-ZTlm89jHbBzTAUohm3kJn3qYoxphiiQbzBp0sxe3OwOJs9qsKanuylW1KUan5ErLzLhV5s34sPou5Bo1t3Df0Yx1TwuBVYTLhXTQkgRG4_-5eYn/s623/SeaSeen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="623" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcI9zLIJFC3LjcIEkosy8Sw9icI27G-ZTlm89jHbBzTAUohm3kJn3qYoxphiiQbzBp0sxe3OwOJs9qsKanuylW1KUan5ErLzLhV5s34sPou5Bo1t3Df0Yx1TwuBVYTLhXTQkgRG4_-5eYn/s320/SeaSeen.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><b>I love the sea. I love living by the sea. I love walking by the sea.</b> </p><p></p><p>I love it's size, its weight, its indifference.</p><p>But I can't sit with it for long.</p><p>It asks me questions, the answers to which I rarely have.</p><p>And that makes me melancholy.</p><p>But we see each other.</p>niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-35810771359764553512021-03-16T07:02:00.000+00:002021-03-16T07:02:55.329+00:00Treading Purposefully<h4 style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoTBMc-pFlq6DNgHMZp0WHAj3GDriYYyT-LyvpfK0Y4N_ysssOpPwsD7mTcFMltzWoZ_RwiYiPnaQ_KSgkmJMUEKZgph8Q7f3x66qPYxhpHnmii92XZYNquo3n7pPz1XAVGZk5hIBfW1jR/s640/Boots.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoTBMc-pFlq6DNgHMZp0WHAj3GDriYYyT-LyvpfK0Y4N_ysssOpPwsD7mTcFMltzWoZ_RwiYiPnaQ_KSgkmJMUEKZgph8Q7f3x66qPYxhpHnmii92XZYNquo3n7pPz1XAVGZk5hIBfW1jR/w240-h320/Boots.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>I took myself off for a long walk 'up-country' on Friday last week, with the intention of putting some kilometres under my boots without worrying about who else was around or was likely to cause me any concerns (see last week's blog). </b></h4><p>I was able to walk from home up into the South Downs National Park and National Trust land, and westward from there into the flatlands beyond the village of Angmering.</p><p>For four and a half hours, I walked into the wind and away from the day-to-day niggling concerns and worries which seem to predominate my thinking nowadays.</p><p>And the way I was able to do that was to follow pathways hitherto unexplored by me, but helpfully - and literally - mapped out for me in the Ordnance Survey map in my hand.</p><p>Much of the walk towards and into Angmering, I knew already. From there on, I relied on the map to take me further.</p><p>And I still went wrong almost immediately. The pathway wasn't as clear on the ground (up a side street) as it appeared to be on the map. </p><p>But I was reminded that "<b>a map is not the territory"</b> <i><span style="font-family: inherit;">(<span style="background-color: white; color: #262626;">mathematician Alfred Korzybski, 1931)</span></span></i>. So I back-tracked, without giving myself a hard time about it, and essentially 'got back on track', mindful of something @CraigTaylor74 said on a map-reading and navigation exploration day a couple of years ago, "<b>The landscape is never wrong</b>".</p><p>Further on, back in the open countryside, I got to a point where I could turn left or right to start the farthest North/South leg of my walk before turning back East again. I had a choice to make - right (North) or left (South). Consulting the map, I went North, following the more interesting track indicated, around and between ponds and forest, until I found myself back in Angmering, where, once again, I got slightly lost in a housing estate.</p><p>But my sense of direction is good and I completed the circular part of my walk and had a wee break again in Angmering, before setting off for the final leg back home over known and previously-walked paths, with renewed intent and, despite tired legs, at a decent pace.</p><p>When I got home, I was invigorated and pleased to realise that both during my walk, and afterwards, my mind had quietened; that the volume of the 'noise' which usually accompanies me on shorter, local walks, had been turned down and I felt more at peace with myself.</p><p>The difference between walking just to get out of the house (Covid wandering) and walking with intent, albeit without a geographical destination in mind other than coming back home, and supported by a map and compass by which to navigate, was considerably more significant that I had realised.</p><p>My internal, noisy map had been taking over my wanderings. By navigating with intent and appropriate tools, I was able to focus on the landscape, looking up (there it is again!) and enjoying the physical and mental benefits of being in nature in those moments.</p><p>To steal from someone else again, "<b>When map and terrain differ, follow the terrain</b>".*</p><p>* <a href="https://fs.blog/2015/11/map-and-territory/" target="_blank">fs blog</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-7848775863116270032021-03-07T08:04:00.000+00:002021-03-07T08:04:56.393+00:00Treading Carefully<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCoKEWrvmyTZctCuTnvSRMsp01Lgr1LkhO_v1i2U3Id3QMCJt69mkfnnZWPJDEQWOQunS3WDp_ZwIzPkHvMvDnYSKL58V9YsFl8qRJuOABiooBW53PfCdXCG9heRucDK881f1zcJ5L3mbi/s640/Promenade+%25282%2529.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCoKEWrvmyTZctCuTnvSRMsp01Lgr1LkhO_v1i2U3Id3QMCJt69mkfnnZWPJDEQWOQunS3WDp_ZwIzPkHvMvDnYSKL58V9YsFl8qRJuOABiooBW53PfCdXCG9heRucDK881f1zcJ5L3mbi/w267-h201/Promenade+%25282%2529.JPG" width="267" /></a></b></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>I went for my 'Covid' walk on Worthing promenade at 09:00 one day last week. It was a lot quieter than it is later in the day, when I normally head down to the seafront. Far fewer people about. </b></h3><p></p><p><b>I liked it.</b></p><span><div>Why did I like it? </div><div><br /></div><div>Because I could see the way ahead. I could anticipate who was going to be coming towards me, to my left or to my right, or, indeed ploughing straight ahead and assuming that I would get out of their way. I could adjust my trajectory accordingly. </div><div><br /></div><div>And I had space to look up, and out, to lift my eyes to the horizon and to the sky.</div><div><br /></div><div>Similarly, I wasn't having to keep looking over my shoulder, to see who was coming up on my blind side. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lone runners announce themselves by the sound of their different gaits and running shoes. Walkers and talkers can be heard as they approach. Again, I find I can move to one side or the other to allow them clear passage (although I tend to 'step out', walk quickly, when I'm on my own, trying to press on and maintain some pace, so not many 'talkers' keep up with me). </div><div><br /></div><div>The only ones you have to be aware of and check behind you before you alter your direction quickly, are the silent cyclists, who sweep past you suddenly and unannounced - and rarely two metres distant.</div><div><br /></div><div>In many respects, I think going for 'a walk on the prom' is both an artifact of how we're living and is analogous to how we're working in a Covid world. Trying to find and carve your own path, looking after your own and others best interests and health. Watching out for those who could get in your way, could - through their own ignorance or indifference - bring harm to you and your's, or prevent your plan coming to fruition. Being aware of the ambushes that could catch you unawares, knock you off track - or over! Delay or derail your plans and progress. </div><div><br /></div><div>Whilst all the time you're trying to keep a sense of perspective, an awareness of and behaviour that recognises and navigates productively through that landscape.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's exhausting. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm sure you can recognise and construct some deeper analogies to your own personal and professional lives here, so I'm not going to over-think and thereby over-egg that. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's important, however, to remember that these things are far more intertwined, far more interdependent now than they have ever been in the past.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, if you can, get out. Look up. Don't hide. Ask for help if you need it. Try not to judge. Adjust your path, cross the road, as circumstances require. Aim to reach your intended destination,</div><div><br /></div><div>And keep looking over your shoulder.</div><div><br /></div><div>Be safe and be well.</div></span>niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-18970999600249669152020-06-19T12:49:00.001+01:002020-06-19T12:49:06.535+01:00Command and Control<span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://www.pexels.com/@diimejii?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Oladimeji Ajegbile</a></span> from <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-wearing-face-mask-4472628/?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Pexels</a></span></span></div>
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<b>I've just been to the pharmacy to collect my heart drugs. I wore a face mask in the shop for the first time since Covid19 struck. On my walk home, I was pondering why.</b></div>
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It's not to protect me, it's to protect others from me (in case I've got it and don't know it). </div>
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Having exercised pretty strict social and physical distancing from everyone except Mandy, including our grown-up children, I'm fairly sure that I'm not infectious. But I felt the need to reassure the hard-working - and similarly masked - pharmacy staff, that I was being careful on their behalf; that it mattered to me.</div>
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Because it does. In the face of what I see as an unseemly and ill-judged race to lift restrictions, I am genuinely concerned that we will soon experience a second wave of the pandemic in the UK.</div>
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And I am fearful (that word again) that many others think that it's worth taking the risk of that possibility, to regain some semblance of 'normal' life and freedom of movement and association. To take back control. </div>
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Sound familiar? I'm not judging (well, I'm trying not to).</div>
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In the early days of Lockdown, the Government instruction was unambiguous: Stay Home - Protect the NHS - Save Lives. Who wouldn't want to get behind that? It mattered to everyone. So the instruction was pretty universally followed. And the numbers started to go down.</div>
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Now it's all gone a bit wooly, a bit less directive, a bit more discretionary. It's introduced an optional element into how we can behave. And we're seeing people respond according to what matters more to them now than it did initially - social interaction, being physically closer, shopping. Their own needs have superseded their willingness to recognise the continuing greater risks of taking the brakes off.</div>
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So I'm sticking with it. I'm continuing to maintain 2 metres distancing, to cross the road when someone comes towards me, to use click and collect for the weekly shop rather than go into the store, to wear a facemask if and when I absolutely have to be in a 'confined' environment, to sanitise and/or wash my hands, to work from home.</div>
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In my small way, I'm trying to keep you safe from me, just in case.</div>
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<i>Footnote: There's a </i><i>training </i><i>analogy that could be made here about one of the reasons why people do or don't buy into different kinds of learning - whether it matters to them, whether there's a benefit for them or for others. Compliance training springs to mind. But that feels a bit contrived, so I won't go there. You could probably write that bit yourself anyway.</i></div>
<br />niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-8760109579362576822020-05-31T13:41:00.001+01:002020-05-31T13:41:55.453+01:00Totes Emosh<span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgWSHEWoPhmsc2oCylhjew5JdDK2ZmYg9EF0OS14iXqGPqDAyazCRPQcXs5plzdRHKbzCmOt2BOVg-1uknCpmbqlYcIAvhW01T3M1fAvLttzMr1aKM_w_YLdGGzLUZU5LBsEvibuL0PzxD/s1600/padlock-1437449_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgWSHEWoPhmsc2oCylhjew5JdDK2ZmYg9EF0OS14iXqGPqDAyazCRPQcXs5plzdRHKbzCmOt2BOVg-1uknCpmbqlYcIAvhW01T3M1fAvLttzMr1aKM_w_YLdGGzLUZU5LBsEvibuL0PzxD/s320/padlock-1437449_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #191b26; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; margin: 0px; white-space: nowrap;">Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/MasterTux-470906/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1437449" style="color: #191b26; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none !important;">MasterTux</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1437449" style="color: #191b26; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none !important;">Pixabay</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; white-space: nowrap;"> </span></span></td></tr>
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<div style="-en-clipboard: true;">
<b>I've been very much living in the moment for the last 10 weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. Like most people, I've taken it on the chin that lockdown was for the best, for me, for my family, our friends and society, and that this was the best available way to do my bit for 'flattening the curve'.</b></div>
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<b>In that respect, no different from millions of others in the UK and across the world.</b></div>
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To be able to manage that, I've tried to stay positive and count my blessings. I have work I can do from home, we live in a lovely part of the world, which is not too busy, we have a small garden, our grown-up children are living their own lives elsewhere, are safe and either have work or are furloughed. My wife and I have both been working from home for a few years now and both have the space to be able to do that and have established a way of living and working around and with each other lovingly and effectively.</div>
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Throughout all this, I have tried to be conscious of just how lucky I am/we are, and that millions of others are dealing with very different and incredibly difficult living and work situations.</div>
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I've put my emotions on the back-burner. I've tried not to get too wrapped up in the pain of physical separation from family, from our friends, from my professional colleagues and wider network.</div>
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But recently, I have found myself emotionally triggered, by events and by people. I have been surprised at the depth and passion of the emotions which have arisen in me - principally anger and fear.</div>
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I have been fearful of contact with other people since lockdown started. The experience of unavoidable supermarket shopping and failure of some people to maintain physical distancing; even walking at the local seafront, trying to second guess where others were going to walk, having to constantly zig-zag or step aside, even to have to be looking over one's shoulder constantly, was stressful. So we stopped doing those things. It was necessary to maintain distance from others, but I was - and remain - uncharacteristically fearful of the proximity of others now. This is not normal. And I resent it as much as I need to do it.</div>
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Those with whom I interact in social media may be aware of my anger and disgust, about which I posted loudly, with the revealed behaviour of a government advisor, close to our Prime Minister, who unrepentantly broke the lockdown rules, and the craven apoligistia of the rest of the Cabinet. We have never been so disregarded, so taken for fools, and I have never felt less respected, less seen, or my opinions less considered than now. I wrote to our MP, who replied in a thoughtful and carefully considered reply. But he wasn't for demanding sackings or resignations, or making any gestures himself in that direction. So far, so normal, eh? </div>
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Up until a couple of weeks ago, the Government messaging was crystal clear. Since then, it's got progressively more muddled and confusing. It feels as though we are being rushed into an early and uninformed easing of restrictions (Why now, I wonder). If we're being led by the science, why are so many scientists warning that it's too soon? </div>
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Supposedly, we can travel, visit, interact with more people. Some schooling will re-start. But look at the parks, beaches, car parks and motorways already this weekend. Social distancing has already ceased to be a thing we do. R will rise again.</div>
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I can't be too angry about people wanting social contact, wanting to be out and about, wanting to be visit lovely places. I'd like to do that myself.</div>
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I've spent my anger elsewhere (see above). But I'm still scared. </div>
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And I know that sometimes, that makes Niall a very dull boy.</div>
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<br />niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-88482341984897510752019-12-11T10:35:00.001+00:002019-12-11T11:16:11.760+00:00Gets My Vote<div style="-en-clipboard: true;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The opposition parties have been very smart to make Thursday's election about far more than just Brexit, but about things that matter to our whole lives and our concern for others.</span></div>
<div style="-en-clipboard: true;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="direction: ltr; font-size: 12pt; unicode-bidi: embed;">They’ve thereby exposed the single-minded myopia of the entitled comfortably-off for the emotional & intellectual vacuum it really is, underpinned and supported by an unsavoury, blatant, arrogant and unapologetic Trump-lite social media back office.</span></div>
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<span style="direction: ltr; font-size: 12pt; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /></span><span style="direction: ltr; font-size: 12pt; unicode-bidi: embed;">All the more important then, that </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">with less than one day to go, you don't get disheartened and think that your vote won't make a difference. It really, really will. If everyone who is</span> <span style="font-size: 16px;">entitled</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> to vote voted, we will have more confidence in the validity of the result, whatever it might be.</span></div>
<div style="-en-clipboard: true;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Part of the reason we're in this mess is because so many who were entitled to vote in the Brexit Referendum, didn't. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But we are where we are, and tomorrow, we all have the chance to deliver an</span> <span style="font-size: 16px;">incontestable</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> result that might, just might, start some healing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The important thing is to get in there and make your mark on Thursday. As a minimum, you will be able to hold your head up and say with pride that you spoke up.</span></div>
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<span style="direction: ltr; font-size: 12pt; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /></span>niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-71073678135874401622019-11-20T11:27:00.001+00:002019-11-20T11:38:42.249+00:00On Message<br />
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<div style="-en-clipboard: true;">
<b>Today, I'm following the tweets from the eLearning Network's annual conference, eLNConnect (<a href="https://elearningnetwork.org/eln-connect-2019/" target="_blank">here</a>). I'm a member but, for various reasons, wasn't able to attend. So, as usual in these circumstances, I turn to and rely on good old Twitter and my personal learning network (PLN) to keep me informed as I get on with 'other stuff'.</b></div>
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I use TweetDeck to follow and contribute to Twitter conversations. I find its structure of using multiple columns to separate out different conversational streams to be invaluable, particularly when engaging in tweetchats such as the weekly #LDinsight chat, or to follow events like conferences. </div>
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So today, I searched for the eLNConnect hashtag, and the first few hits came up with #eLNConnect19, which I duly separated into its own column and started following the discussion, as tweeted out by some of the PLN attending.</div>
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But then, in my 'Home' feed column, I started seeing some other people tweeting from the conference and using the hashtag #eLNConnect2019. Now I had a dilemma - was it #eLNConnect19 or #eLNConnect2019? Which was the 'official' conference hashtag? What was I going to miss if I focused on the 'wrong' tag? Did I need to create a second Tweetdeck column for the other tag?</div>
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So I tweeted out, using both hashtags, asking which hashtag to follow. </div>
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And I got a bit cross.</div>
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And felt myself disengaging.</div>
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After about 20 minutes or so, the official eLNConnect account confirmed that the hashtag was, in fact, #eLNConnect2019, with an apology for the confusion. Situation saved, my TweetDeck column hashtag adjusted and my attention re-engaged. Happy days.</div>
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<b>So, here's a suggestion to all and every event organisers everywhere - before your event, publicise your 'official' hashtag; ensure that it's in all your pre-event marketing materials and critically, announce it loud and clear in the room and across your social media channels at the start of and frequently throughout your event. Avoid hashtag ambiguity.</b></div>
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<b>People like me, who have a genuine interest in your event and the speakers' stories, keen to learn, who want to engage, share and contribute, want to feel part of things but cannot be there, will thank you for it and will willingly amplify the discussions and the learning.</b></div>
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So as #eLNConnect2019 takes a coffee break, my thanks to @elearningnetwk and all the contributors, tweeters and sharers for what has been a fascinating morning already. I'm looking forward to more as the day goes on.</div>
<br />niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-70066714546247355122019-11-05T17:05:00.001+00:002019-11-05T17:05:35.122+00:00Motivation<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmyKTIO0aUfOGr0OthUbphLUwZhtRPEZpATPd69pNNVMhPnB4wsu7gkDJT6BPAk67xBEt-llC1WrE-yWoGyTzzlD5hmGJTvZyjxksPn538puI_WZ8F-zbtvYHQyYt76pm38H0ryvdFLLj/s1600/hand-dryer-36896_640.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="640" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmyKTIO0aUfOGr0OthUbphLUwZhtRPEZpATPd69pNNVMhPnB4wsu7gkDJT6BPAk67xBEt-llC1WrE-yWoGyTzzlD5hmGJTvZyjxksPn538puI_WZ8F-zbtvYHQyYt76pm38H0ryvdFLLj/s320/hand-dryer-36896_640.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #191b26; font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif; margin: 0px; white-space: nowrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/Clker-Free-Vector-Images-3736/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=36896" style="color: #191b26; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important;">Clker-Free-Vector-Images</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=36896" style="color: #191b26; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important;">Pixabay</a></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif; font-size: small; white-space: nowrap;"> </span></td></tr>
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<div style="-en-clipboard: true;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Ever been in a rush and skipped washing your hands after using a public toilet? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-en-clipboard: true;">
<span style="font-size: large;">If you ever did, I bet you don't do it any more, now that modern hot air hand dryers make so much more noise that they can be heard from well outside the room before, and sometimes during, your exit from the room.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Behaviour Change or Reputation Management? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Discuss.</span></div>
<br />niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-25031201486112946882019-10-21T11:50:00.001+01:002019-10-21T11:50:14.677+01:00Taking a Leaf<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIO0i4eftMZf9VLK3aUIvHF2sdiWkxevHn1TI9aMEC12XPZCJTm1rnty2NOWFUlhm2yVmuyzyBfzGLtJNc27Q0-8fGAWg_kyAwHw3pvCG6AfFlp_SU0qacEAptYu4vNWF7mTyWQLl391v0/s1600/nong-vang-L0cbdz6_eYU-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIO0i4eftMZf9VLK3aUIvHF2sdiWkxevHn1TI9aMEC12XPZCJTm1rnty2NOWFUlhm2yVmuyzyBfzGLtJNc27Q0-8fGAWg_kyAwHw3pvCG6AfFlp_SU0qacEAptYu4vNWF7mTyWQLl391v0/s320/nong-vang-L0cbdz6_eYU-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;">Photo by </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@californong?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Nong Vang</a><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/leaf?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Unsplash</a></span></td></tr>
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<b>I've just read Andrew Jacobs' (@AndrewJacobsLnD) latest blog <a href="https://lostanddesperate.com/2019/10/21/a-week-of-posts/" target="_blank">A Week of Posts</a> wherein he shares where and how he gets his inspiration for his daily blog posts.</b><br />
<br />
He's a man of curiosity and enquiry, and he's capable of extrapolating ideas from different sources, conversations, podcasts, blog posts, work products, etc that resonate for him and that he can translate into short, impactive, professionally-related daily posts.<br />
<br />
It's a skill I envy and am learning a lot from in terms of my own blog posting track record and forward planning.<br />
<br />
So here's what I loved about his post today.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>The content: Andrew's sources are many and varied. His skills lie in seeing something in them that he can use and relate to a professional audience. He doesn't over-think them. And it helps that he's also very articulate. <br /><br />My takeaway: KISS - Keep it simple, stupid!<br /><br /></li>
<li>That photograph! His title was "A Week of Posts". His illustration: A lovely photograph in Autumnal tones of a rural pathway meandering into the distance, and marked out by two rows of wooden posts. It was both visually arresting (it drew my attention to the his blog immediately) and it was a gently understated witty play on the word 'posts'. Genius! <br /><br />My takeaway: Visuals attract people to your content. Great visuals enhance it.<br /></li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, taking a leaf out of Andrew's book, this post is my own quick and dirty reflection on what I think good blog posting should look like, while I try to walk that talk better myself.</div>
niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-22793274469895741352019-10-18T16:26:00.002+01:002019-10-18T16:26:54.701+01:00Completion is Mandatory<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDHstGNqueKWp76w3DXxfvWTJNrRiI0H1Cv_JA2fVW1eQIz1wmFK8r-Zt0m-A-HSQjanWnAcc52bM-1MfaJcBik7BlUqsvkF-Pdwj_-L6NJZSmUutU96yMr78AsD8zQQtQApy7ketMrV4/s1600/hammer-tusk-SSFCaOyI1X4-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDHstGNqueKWp76w3DXxfvWTJNrRiI0H1Cv_JA2fVW1eQIz1wmFK8r-Zt0m-A-HSQjanWnAcc52bM-1MfaJcBik7BlUqsvkF-Pdwj_-L6NJZSmUutU96yMr78AsD8zQQtQApy7ketMrV4/s320/hammer-tusk-SSFCaOyI1X4-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;">Photo by </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@hammerandtusk?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Hammer & Tusk</a><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/pointing-at-me?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Unsplash</a></span></td></tr>
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<br />
<div style="-en-clipboard: true;">
I've just completed a short e-learning course, about which I was informed by email on Monday of this week.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"<b>Completion is mandatory for all... and needs to be completed by Friday 18th October</b>."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Classic e-learning: a short video of someone holding a document and talking about it as they turn the pages; links to some graphic files and policies; several statements confirming I get it, and a 'Declaration' that I know how to follow the process and apply it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I've gone through it twice. I'm not sure I really understand where to find the links in the real systems, nor how to follow the process when required to so do.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But it's Friday. So, I've clicked the Declaration button anyway. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I've complied.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
No-one will check.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And if and when I need to do it for real, I'll ask someone.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Just like everyone else who has ever had to complete an e-learning compliance course.</div>
<br />niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-33561373278029994792019-07-28T16:47:00.000+01:002019-07-28T16:47:16.716+01:00Dying of the Light<b>I'm pretty unsentimental about pets.</b><br />
<br />
I didn't grow up with them around and didn't actually own any until just before Mandy and I got married in 1985. Two cats, sisters, acquired from my soon-to-be-Brother-in-Law. Deferred children, right?<br />
<br />
They moved with us from London to Hove in 1990. We had our children and they grew up with cats around. Inevitably one cat disappeared one Bonfire Night and the other got old and had to be put down a few years later.<br />
<br />
We got two more cats. Natasha and Sam got to choose and name them - Rocky and Pepper.<br />
<br />
In 2014, the very weekend that Mandy and I decided we wanted to move and put our house onto the market, Rocky disappeared. We just thought he'd gone walkabout. Turned out he got run down and killed locally and his remains picked up and disposed of by the Council (no collar, no chip).<br />
<br />
Pepper moved with us to Worthing in 2014. And she got old. In the Autumn of last year, at the age of 16, she developed symptoms which were identified as hyperthyrodism. Long story short, we were persuaded to go for the "99% success rate" cure of radiation therapy.<br />
<br />
She was the 1%.<br />
<br />
Within two weeks of the treatment, Pepper died in my arms, struggling for breath, as Sam and I were getting ready to take her to the emergency vets.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpk6z90izi4LGGVWIaHZfMSm82VhshQ6UArz0qhOntCHgXXNiI832vhddth2KANZkpWjIHNRPsllTfzz-4T7Ctr6__SMliyIP8mg1eA-xINXFJcOVD8fHwJD2FNPaScQi9-1FvxLkgJPcQ/s1600/PeppersRose.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpk6z90izi4LGGVWIaHZfMSm82VhshQ6UArz0qhOntCHgXXNiI832vhddth2KANZkpWjIHNRPsllTfzz-4T7Ctr6__SMliyIP8mg1eA-xINXFJcOVD8fHwJD2FNPaScQi9-1FvxLkgJPcQ/s320/PeppersRose.JPG" width="240" /></a>I've lost friends and close family. I've been to many funerals; more so now as I get older. I thought I'd kinda got the death/loss thing squared. I hadn't. I hadn't been there at the moment of their passing.<br />
<br />
This time, I watched the light in Pepper's eyes disappear as she gave up whatever the fight was she was having and she became still. She'd gone. Whatever suffering she'd been experiencing had stopped. So had she. Although 'just' a family pet, I was profoundly moved to witness such a fundamental transition from life to death.<br />
<br />
We had Pepper cremated and, this afternoon, we mixed her ashes with garden soil and compost and planted a rose bush with and for her in the garden.<br />
<br />
I'm pretty unsentimental about pets.<br />
<br />
I miss her.niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-41999523213567157222019-07-20T18:25:00.000+01:002019-07-20T18:43:50.591+01:00MoonStruck<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><b>I was 13 when two humans landed on The Moon 50 years ago today. </b></span><br />
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4_OyBMsDjH-g3gion5p7JGd_m0lnNtT3gsWRrAlQFhG3pb1gXupORbjY-sdS9UQJyH84zqu8ydStX7nbyF0WOhA6A6WmYWRQLk0rEnIlQKFewN5n9wEXFi-g-dBp1Y2UnnT2v0cbPhkNR/s1600/stephen-walker-U0JElRz8Y1Q-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1237" data-original-width="1600" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4_OyBMsDjH-g3gion5p7JGd_m0lnNtT3gsWRrAlQFhG3pb1gXupORbjY-sdS9UQJyH84zqu8ydStX7nbyF0WOhA6A6WmYWRQLk0rEnIlQKFewN5n9wEXFi-g-dBp1Y2UnnT2v0cbPhkNR/s200/stephen-walker-U0JElRz8Y1Q-unsplash.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: , "blinkmacsystemfont" , "san francisco" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "ubuntu" , "roboto" , "noto" , "segoe ui" , "arial" , sans-serif; white-space: nowrap;">Photo by </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@stphnwlkr?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Stephen Walker</a><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: , "blinkmacsystemfont" , "san francisco" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "ubuntu" , "roboto" , "noto" , "segoe ui" , "arial" , sans-serif; white-space: nowrap;"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/search/photos/apollo-11?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Unsplash</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">We were on holiday in Stonehaven on the Scottish East Coast. What I remember of that momentous event is that - to my undying puzzlement and regret - my brother Malcolm and I went - or were put to - bed, and slept through the whole thing! </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Even now, I can’t understand that. I was old enough to express an interest and to ask to stay up. Did I really </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">not</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">understand the significance of the event? Did my parents not get it? </span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Did I/we ask to stay up? Or did we just not have a TV in the holiday home? I honestly can't remember.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">As an older teenager and adult I’ve always had an interest in space and astronomy, so in the same week that I watched a partial eclipse of The Moon through binoculars at my kitchen window, t</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">his week’s commemorative programmes and films have been a joy. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I’m experiencing the wonder and awe of it this time round with a heightened awareness, combined with a lingering sense of regret for my younger self missing it the first time.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">Hope I get to stay up for the next one...!</span></span>niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-81412202877378243742019-07-03T06:51:00.001+01:002019-07-03T07:13:51.286+01:00Remotely Possible<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfyCxDljICOMP5LmJ1rPgoEuQ7250kTVXT-wYYhA1dWpBrq1wU9tWUFmz2JsrmuLjXPKd-qkrZYTGPLkulRZ6sY4236Wg7oVdOVatg_V8l5DuC8qiJHyX4eGmR2kaC3w6YeWZ3AoUtFq8Q/s1600/Home+working.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfyCxDljICOMP5LmJ1rPgoEuQ7250kTVXT-wYYhA1dWpBrq1wU9tWUFmz2JsrmuLjXPKd-qkrZYTGPLkulRZ6sY4236Wg7oVdOVatg_V8l5DuC8qiJHyX4eGmR2kaC3w6YeWZ3AoUtFq8Q/s320/Home+working.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by me</td></tr>
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<div style="-en-clipboard: true;">
<b>I've just listened to David James (@DavidInLearning) & Perry Timms (@PerryTimms) on the excellent 'Learning & Development Podcast', discussing Remote Working and was particularly struck by their conversation on Remote Leadership; what are the opportunities and challenges for the permanently or mostly remote worker to develop and/or demonstrate leadership when other colleagues or team members are either centralised or are, indeed, remote workers themselves? Can a leader lead others from a remote location? Can L&D support the development of remote workers and leaders inclusively and effectively?</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
This got me thinking, because for the last ten years of my corporate working life (which I moved on from nearly four years ago) I was being managed, was managing and was part of different distributed teams. As such I experienced many of the highs and lows that David and Perry discussed. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
In a UK-wide organisation, with regional offices and locations across the country, I started out as a one-man department, living on the South Coast of the UK, but reporting to a Director in Scotland, and was initially based in the South West. I drove down on a Monday and back on a Friday. I travelled quite a lot. Then an office opened up in London and I became a commuter. I made the case for and got the budget for a small team, which I recruited, but who were based at their home locations in Wales and Manchester. Although they were working from local offices, they were remote from me and each other. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Given that our remit was to upskill staff in IT and digital tools country-wide, we used those tools extensively ourselves. My instant chat was always on. My Blackberry was always at my side. My email hummed. We had weekly conference calls and daily IMs, sometimes just to check in and say hello. Every couple of months, either we would travel to a central location for a catch-up or I would travel to them individually to check in and review performance, plan their development etc.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Then we got hold of the corporate Webex account. We never looked back. Our conference calls and one-to-ones became less hassle, cheaper and more effective. We reduced our travel and carbon impacts to the only necessary and in so doing made sure that we got the maximum value out of any face-to-face meetings. We introduced virtual classrooms into our corporate learning mix via a need to socialise a new data protection strategy (pre-GDPR) and train up new DP Managers and on-the-ground officers. Group Legal liked it so much they asked to be trained up themselves and took over and further developed their own DP training offerings. We moved on. Others in the org liked this approach and we were inundated with people wanting to learn how to host their own meetings and learning events with remote colleagues via Webex.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Meanwhile, I was still flying up to Scotland to attend Senior Management Meetings. Occasionally, I'd get an email from my Director demanding to know where we were on such-and-such, usually sent late in the evening and waiting for me, like an unexploded bomb, in the morning. There never was an organisational policy or strategic direction about remote working. So we proceeded until apprehended - which, paradoxically, never happened. And the team grew; again, all remote from me and from each other.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sometimes tho', I failed. I'd get an email from one of my team wondering where I'd gone, if they'd done something to upset me, why hadn't I been in touch since last week? Or my IM would be received as terse or impatient. Sometimes it was. Sometimes I'd forget to just pick up the phone because I was too busy. Because I was dealing with other stuff. Like Managers do. The positive point tho' was that the team felt able to call me out on it. Sometimes messages got diluted or misinterpreted. Sometimes, it turned out I didn't know everyone as well as I thought I did, nor they me. Ironically, it usually took a face-to-face chat to resolve any misunderstandings. But the work got done and the wheels kept turning.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Ultimately, this approach to team remote working and my management therof proved itself over four years ago when I was suddenly taken ill and admitted to hospital for heart bypass surgery. In my absence, my team stepped up, got on with the work in hand, indeed, took on more - and more innovative - work in my absence.</div>
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In conclusion then, thinking about David and Perry's podcast discussion and the questions raised, my view and experience is that remote working, remote leadership and remote learning are all different carriageways of the same two-way street. They can be empowering and effective if thought about and managed empathically from a top-down AND a bottom-up perspective. Office-based and remotely working colleagues, managers and aspiring managers have to take responsibility for their own and their teams' effectiveness when not everyone is in the same room. <b>Trust </b>is a key element in making this work, <b>transparency</b>, <b>inclusion, commitment </b>and yes, <b>courage</b>, as opposed to command and control and digital presenteeism, with the focus on individual, team and organisational performance and business results, should be the watchwords here.</div>
<br />niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-74159404638834806182019-05-21T18:11:00.002+01:002019-05-21T18:11:48.582+01:00Choose<span style="font-size: large;">"Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's b*ll*cks, isn't it?</span><br />
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<i>#HT @AndrewJacobsLnD 'Brevity Matters'</i>niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-6362344071895265042019-04-11T16:57:00.001+01:002019-04-11T20:36:05.714+01:00Socially Challenged<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWiZ9ILlEB_7RFa4pFFWA-PymKiZxmEunVhRMMcIZytSrouRyTM8NSvT0Lk6zKSt4_f2jiyuM-T7z7veksy6bF_RAVugoPMKqaCns3zla3xddIAEClk78NUOgbdUBKsvoUt9MVRBrpofP/s1600/IMG_7713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWiZ9ILlEB_7RFa4pFFWA-PymKiZxmEunVhRMMcIZytSrouRyTM8NSvT0Lk6zKSt4_f2jiyuM-T7z7veksy6bF_RAVugoPMKqaCns3zla3xddIAEClk78NUOgbdUBKsvoUt9MVRBrpofP/s320/IMG_7713.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<b>Yesterday, I had the privilege to speak at the Elearning Fusion 2019 Conference in Warsaw, Poland (#ELF19). This was my first 'international' speaking engagement, the invitation to which came 'out of the blue' when the creator and organiser, Marta Machalska, contacted me via LinkedIn some months ago and extended the invitation to speak. I was delighted to have been asked to speak at what was clearly a premium event.</b><br />
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I had a good look at previous years' Elearning Fusion Conferences on the Internet, and I was pleased to see several well- and some personally-known speakers at their earlier conferences. So I got my biography info and subject abstract in as quickly as I could<br />
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As a potential speaker, I found Marta and her team's communication to be prompt, unambiguous and effective. They confirmed all details, including flights and hotel arrangements promptly and I was reassured that I was in good hands.<br />
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And then suddenly, the time was upon us. In the week or so beforehand, I started promoting the conference and my session on social media - on Twitter and LinkedIn. I connected with my Session Chair and we messaged each other. I delivered my Presentation and story (about using social media to support social and collaborative learning) to the organisers via DropBox before the big day and, as I said several times beforehand, rehearsed, rehearsed and rehearsed.<br />
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And I'm glad I did.<br />
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Because I'd made one or two assumptions, based on looking at the previous years' events. I had planned a short practical exercise using Sticky or Post-It Notes, so that I could show a quick YouTube video and then reveal that it was a ploy on my part to demonstrate using social media for Social and collaborative Learning. This was dependent on the delegates sitting at desks or tables, as was the case at the previous ELF events. I had also assumed that the previous session speaker would run to time. Neither proved to be the case on the day.<br />
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No tables! Delegates were sitting theatre-style, in rows. And my session, the one before lunch, got squeezed by over-runs by the other two (Two? Only supposed to be one!) speakers.<br />
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Thankfully, because I had rehearsed often enough, I was able to flex. I binned the practical, told them about it and showed the video anyway. I pressed on, trimmed some of my stories, still managed to ask a couple of questions, set my challenge to everyone and managed to finish only two minutes over time myself. No-one's hunger for lunch overcame their hunger to learn, and everyone stayed to the end of the session.<br />
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So, to the <b>challenge </b>I set my participants. I asked how many of them blogged. Several hands went up. I asked how many of those made blogging part of their learning practice and encouraged others in their own learning communities to blog and share. Fewer hands. How many video blogged (or 'Vlogged'). Not many at all.<br />
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I suggested that we could build our own skills whilst showing leadership and 'walking the talk', by blogging, vlogging, tweeting or posting updates about our experiences at Elearning Fusion 19; what we had learned, what we were taking away and what we would be introducing into our practice.<br />
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I had previously invited people in my Personal Learning Network (PLN) to share their 'social media for social & collaborative learning' stories. My challenge to the rooms was to do the same. I suggested using the conference hashtag <b>#ELF19</b> and the hashtag for my challenge, <b>#ELFusionSoMe</b>.<br />
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This blog is my first effort at that. I'll be very interested to see who and what else shows up!<br />
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<br />niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-14697442305379806812019-03-15T13:08:00.003+00:002019-03-15T14:20:09.890+00:00Screened<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Naked Drag Queens Pink and White" by Natasha Gavin</td></tr>
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This morning's (Fri 15th March '19) #LDinsight chat on Twitter was a Doozey!</h3>
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The facilitator (much kudos to them) disrupted the usual text chat format with an invitation for us to respond to the question "What do you think about the use of video for learning solutions?" USING VIDEO to reply.</div>
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I confess to being completely thrown by the challenge. I'd only been up for 15 minutes. I was still in my dressing gown. I had major bed hair. I had only had one cup of tea FFS! Suddenly, there was no hiding place. </div>
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I had choices to make: Run away; Do/say nothing, just lurk and learn; Respond in the customary tweet format; or Person up, pause, prepare and do some kind of video response. I had no idea what to do. </div>
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As I was considering my options, people began posting videos. How could they do that so quickly? How could they seem so considered, calm , well-dressed and made up already? I got very flustered. I drank some more tea.</div>
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Having used #Periscope earlier in the week at a Sussex CIPD Branch Meeting (<a href="https://bit.ly/2Fgg64r" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/2Fgg64r</a>), I decided to do a quick Periscope video, using a print by my daughter (see above) as the visual interest and just voice-overing my initial thoughts. I faffed about with my mini-tripod, set up the title - and immediately started broadcasting the rustle and sleeves of my dressing gown! </div>
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(Lesson 1: Ensure your kit is already set up and steady ready for you to commence recording/broadcasting your video).</div>
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Stopped, deleted video and settled myself. (Text from @MandyRG: "I've just seen a video of your dressing gown! Did you mean that to go out live?")</div>
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Started again. Phone cam steady, all quiet. Hit the broadcast button. Voice like sandpaper (see 'Tea' above). Half-formed thoughts, clearly unscripted (but I can do 20 minutes when the fridge door light comes on, so not too much of a problem). Doing OK. Cat decides she's hungry and being ignored; joins in, loudly. Throws me a bit. Press on. Cat persistent. Apologise for cat. Press on. Manage to finish my piece, reasonably coherently (<a href="https://www.pscp.tv/w/1OdJrRzEWQkJX" target="_blank">https://www.pscp.tv/w/1OdJrRzEWQkJX</a>)</div>
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(Lesson 2: There's a difference between Live and recorded! As I tweeted, "...spontaneity's OK in some cases (reflection etc) but planning and rehearsal essential if aiming for some kind of information/knowledge sharing impact". I would have had a much tighter script and been much better rehearsed with sufficient notice and preparation. In a recorded video, you can build in time and space for editing and refining content.)</div>
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Back to the #LDinsight tweetchat. So many videos and so much great comment and insight from the #PLN. Hope I haven't let myself down with my own contribution and that it's had some relevance to the discussion. Some nice feedback, likes and a couple of retweets. That'll do me.</div>
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(Lesson 3: Video is just another tool in our kitbag, both as producer/facilitator and as consumer of learning. We need to have a reasonable familiarity with its potential and some competence in its production and consumption.)</div>
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Some final thoughts: Context is really important here. Is video the right tool for the job in hand? Is it adding any value to the message/impact you are trying to share or achieve? Have you made it accessible and inclusive for everyone (captioning etc)? </div>
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And a final question (Personal Bias Alert), do we really need to see more full-screen, self-satisfied, beaming faces about to launch into their 'shtick', in our timelines?</div>
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<br />niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-88506354575994862142019-02-19T16:33:00.001+00:002019-02-19T16:33:21.023+00:00Fictional Intelligence<span></span><br />
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<b>At the Learning Technologies Conference last week, there was a lot of discussion both in conference sessions and in the general social chat, about AI, Artificial Intelligence, in HR, L&D and OD. It's a maturing 'science', with an increasingly well-understood potential and some well-demonstrated examples. However, this post is not about that.</b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: Patricia Hebert</td></tr>
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This post is about how science fiction (SF) is ahead of this particular game, and has been for far longer than we've been angsting about it. </div>
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And the good news is that, contrary to traditional expectations of various dystopian futures (well, not entirely), the premise is that humanity has a huge part still to play - not necessarily in its/our classical form perhaps, but in working with and, in some cases, as part of the collaborative whole. OK, in many cases, we may not have been altogether willing participants initially (and that's more about some humans' inhumanity to some other humans, than anything else), but it's our basic humanity which acts as the conscience and the ultimate arbiter of how 'the machines'/AI work/will work.</div>
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In his keynote talk on Day 2 of the conference, Daniel Susskind (@danielsusskind) shared John Searle's Opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal from February 2011, after IBM's Watson computer beat two human competitors in the TV game show 'Jeopardy' - "Watson Doesn't Know It Won on 'Jeopardy!'" (<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703407304576154313126987674">https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703407304576154313126987674</a>). His premise is that Watson doesn't think, it computes. By extension therefore, we could say that Watson doesn't <u>care</u> that it won Jeopardy.</div>
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But we care. And because we care, we can moderate, influence and thereby work with 'the machines'. We just have to learn to appreciate the value and insight they can bring to our work, so that we can learn to humanise the outcomes and realise the benefits.</div>
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To finish, just to say our reading doesn't always have to be entirely business or professionally focused for us to be able to draw out some analogous insights. Sometimes, it can just be for our own entertainment. If you'd like to escape into some recent great SF I've read which kinda supports my earlier points, whilst also being rattling good reads (Warning: Some war/violence, some human/animal hybrids, some human/machine over-familiarity), I can recommend the following (all available on Amazon): </div>
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"Autonomous" - Annalee Newitz</div>
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"Dogs of War" - Adrian Tchaikovsky</div>
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"Ghosts of Tomorrow" - Michael R. Fletcher</div>
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Any other Fictional Intelligence recommendations please?</div>
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<br />niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-55980400298469624052019-02-15T11:32:00.000+00:002019-02-15T11:32:01.392+00:00Plateaued?<span></span><br />
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Some quick thoughts from this week's Learning Technologies Conference at ExCel London.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/L9eD3VL8lwg?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Iswanto Arif</a><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/search/photos/house-on-a-hill?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Unsplash</a></td></tr>
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I heard several people say that they felt there wasn't much new, that there seemed to be a lot of 'the same sort of thing' as last year (and the year before that etc).</div>
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If it's true that, as a profession, we tend to leap ahead in steps, always jumping forward to the next, new, shiny thing/theory/approach/tool, and that we're not currently able to do that because we can't see anything like that ahead, then I'd suggest that this is a good thing. </div>
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If we have plateaued, then this is surely the time to adopt a more pioneer attitude. Let's colonise that plateau, own it, build on it, create a community out of all the other homesteaders. Let's talk to and learn from each other, borrow from and lend back to them our collective knowledge, skill and tools, and then support all of that with an infrastructure that encourages and allows our shared space to be a better, more collaborative, productive and joyful place to live and work.</div>
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[This blog brought to you by the School of Over-wrought Analogies]</div>
<br />niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-30261259202196472652019-02-03T10:11:00.000+00:002019-02-03T10:11:13.241+00:00Deep Thought?<span></span><br />
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I do a lot of thinking.</h3>
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I do a lot of worrying. I worry that I don't think deeply enough. I think that if I did, I would post more blogs. I worry that, when I do post blogs, they're not deeply thought-through enough. I worry that my peers think I don't think deeply enough. I think about that a lot. </div>
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I worry that I don't spend enough time thinking about improving my practice, but just getting on with it. I worry that I might have lost my edge since I was ill and elected to follow a different professional path. I think that sometimes, I don't give a sh*t about that. Then I worry about how unprofessional others might think that is. </div>
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Sometimes, I think that I over-think things.</div>
<br />niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-71043337468536327502019-01-05T16:58:00.000+00:002019-01-05T16:58:50.514+00:00Screened Off<span></span><br />
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I've been on festive break for nearly three weeks. In that time, I have consciously and deliberately stepped back from all my social media channels. I have, in fact, contributed nothing, apart from a very few 'Likes' and retweets. I have dropped in occasionally, just to see who and what's being posted and, frankly, I really haven't missed (it) much.</h3>
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Recognising that I was being triggered into feelings of 'not belonging', of not having anything interesting or useful to offer and getting seriously irritated by a lot of my social and professional networks' broadcasts and discussions, I felt the need, for my own well-being, to take a break and concentrate on family. So I did just that. No Instagram photos, no Twitter posts, no facebook updates. No 'Happy New Year to all my friends and connections' posts on LinkedIn. No reviews of the year, or predictions for the New Year. Nor did I feel the need - as many appeared to this Xmas - to tell the world that I was disengaging for a while. I just got on with it. And I kinda liked it, in a Scrooge-like way.</div>
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And, surprise, surprise, the world kept turning. I very much doubt anyone missed online me. And that's OK.</div>
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Now, I'm gearing up for getting back to work and co-incidentally back into the online flow. I'm hoping the exchange is going to be relevant, focussed and useful. I'll try to make my contributions and conversations more like that anyway.</div>
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See you out there.</div>
<br />niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-1618903860886534052018-10-29T09:32:00.001+00:002018-10-29T09:32:41.166+00:00Branded Social<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADRjdCjW2TVJx-j8w61oiAWL9lXUlUkU3QxJtRUlVgZocS4loN-akMvEa5JkJMKHGO0DKsU9Bd2Kk7u6OrJ-B-OiCJvz0Jw-T7Qu4JX3mdXs8V6YPCJW-F_y_iPY-3BAqKmLmTvypSnaD/s1600/IMG_2533.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADRjdCjW2TVJx-j8w61oiAWL9lXUlUkU3QxJtRUlVgZocS4loN-akMvEa5JkJMKHGO0DKsU9Bd2Kk7u6OrJ-B-OiCJvz0Jw-T7Qu4JX3mdXs8V6YPCJW-F_y_iPY-3BAqKmLmTvypSnaD/s320/IMG_2533.JPG" width="320" /></a><b>Last Saturday, I facilitated a couple of social media workshops at the Sussex CIPD branch Student Employability Skills Conference at the Jurys Inn Hotel in Brighton.</b></div>
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The focus was on helping the talented, emerging HR practitioners currently studying for their CIPD HR qualifications, as well as the more mature practitioners keen to explore and develop their knowledge and understanding of social media in their practice, on developing their professional and personal 'brand' via social channels.</div>
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My own professional life has been transformed and enriched by my interactions with others via Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube etc. and they have become an essential part of my own personal learning network (PLN).</div>
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As you would expect, I used these tools themselves in the lead up to, during and after (the 'tail') of the conference. In the two workshops on the day (a morning and an afternoon rerun), we played with them and discussed practicalities, everyone's different experiences, collectively answered and reassured ourselves about some of the perceived negative aspects of 'showing up' in public, and some practical advice about operating safely and within/despite corporate social media policies and guidelines. I was very impressed by the openness and insights of the attendees (the majority of whom have grown up with the availability of these channels as a fact of life), as well as the honest curiosity & enquiry of the more experienced HR practitioners who have not yet fully ventured into the social media spaces.</div>
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We are well met and better connected as a result.</div>
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If you want to get a flavour of the richness and diversity of the subjects covered at the conference and the open, 'social' conversations that happened in the room and online at the same time - and are still happening - check out the Twitter hashtag <b>#MyFuture18</b>. </div>
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And please connect with me on any of these social channels (<b>niallgavinuk</b>) to discuss if and when I can help you with how you or your people could benefit from improving your social media use and brand presence, especially in the L&D and HR world.</div>
<br />niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3627367356050316576.post-3977256893439659762018-09-20T13:28:00.000+01:002018-09-20T13:28:33.616+01:00Not Fatal<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidqju1tpw8OyvZqhFZo2hKkk3cOgLKVRfSyH7k_HXEDnXrSVXgFWEPZFHmCAH3PcDU8QGXf48-MlvyAcLIQMnhgzdTH2eDRDtipAdfibBVeJMruBpsnP9LBz224l2d_NJhNX_8qfnK5xgf/s1600/pina-messina-464955-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1195" data-original-width="1600" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidqju1tpw8OyvZqhFZo2hKkk3cOgLKVRfSyH7k_HXEDnXrSVXgFWEPZFHmCAH3PcDU8QGXf48-MlvyAcLIQMnhgzdTH2eDRDtipAdfibBVeJMruBpsnP9LBz224l2d_NJhNX_8qfnK5xgf/s320/pina-messina-464955-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/tOnloTwXXak?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">pina messina</a><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/search/photos/drugs?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Unsplash</a></span></td></tr>
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I've been on a cocktail of drugs since my heart surgery some 3½ years ago. I've followed a routine of what and when to take them. Recently, when I was picking up my latest prescription at our local pharmacy, the pharmacist invited me into her little cubby-hole for an annual review and, after querying what I took and when, suggested that I alter this routine, to compensate for some potential stomach problems. No suggestion that I was doing anything wrong, just a check-in and some up-to-date advice.<br />
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Previously, I took 3 of my drugs with my morning cuppa, as soon as I got up, and 1 as I went to bed. The key changes she suggested were; take all 4 of them at the same time, and take them with food.<br />
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No problem, I thought.<br />
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But it turns out that in adapting to this new routine, I keep forgetting to take my drugs - in some cases missing a whole day's dose until the following day! It's as if the trigger has been adjusted and I keep missing the shot.<br />
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But I'm fine. As long as I take them as soon as I can after remembering, there are no adverse effects. My heart keeps pumping and life goes on.<br />
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The challenge has been in adapting to this change in my routine. It didn't happen immediately. I'm still having to remember to take my drugs in one go, with breakfast, and if not then, with food when I do take them. But I'm slowly embracing the change. I've learned a new way and I am adopting new behaviours. Nobody died.<br />
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One often hears the adage that everyone likes the idea of change, but nobody wants to change. But it can be done, with a clear rationale, patience and repetitive practice, until it's embedded.<br />
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Change. It's inevitable. It's OK. And it won't kill ya!niallgavinukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04370683626939155999noreply@blogger.com0