Some time to myself
I found myself getting up at 8.30 this morning thinking that it was going to be 11ish. I guess I haven’t adapted to the lighter mornings yet. It was good to have a head-start on the day. I spent the morning preparing the first draft of the presentation I have to do for my management course. I’m meeting up with my group tomorrow morning to have a run through. It feels good to have got to this stage as it’s been feeling like it’s been hanging over me for the last couple of weeks.
So, having done that I’m treating myself to some time to myself this afternoon. After a full-on week it actually feels odd to not have to be urgently doing anything. I think I’m going to do some work on goal setting, so I guess strictly speaking I will be working but it feels like it doesn’t count if it’s something that I actually want to do. Will intersperse with some mindless reading as well to make sure that I don’t overdo it. Tonight we’re off to my mother-in-law’s for dinner, so that will be a nice treat. Think we’re supposed to be round there for 5pm, so that will force me to stop doing anything remotely worky nice and early.
Definitely not in my comfort zone
Well that was quite a week. I’m pleased to say that the presentation went smoothly and we’ve already had a number of enquiries as a result of it so it’s really looking like it was worthwhile. It did rather dominate the week though. I spent the first part of the week frantically preparing for it and then the second part recovering from it. Well that’s what it felt like anyway. Friday was actually busy in its own right - one meeting, a hands-on session helping a do-it-yourselfer out with their website, and trying to catch up on the stuff that had been let slip because of the talk.
Now I’m not sure what I need most …. some time off to recharge my batteries or just some solid days of working so I can feel a bit more on top of things. Maybe a few days of solid work followed by some time off will do the trick. Not that I’m going to get either! Meetings, courses and a massive workload is what we’ve got waiting for us. Tuesday I’ve got the second session of my management course so today I really must get the great pile of homework polished off for that. Could really do without it! When I booked up the course a few months ago I had no idea we’d be so busy now. I really must concentrate on the benefits of it and stay positive.
That feeling of dread
Why does the thought of doing a presentation fill me with such dread? I know I’m not the only person in the world who’s not keen on public speaking but I wish I felt happier about it. I’ve done heaps of reading and given myself many pep talks but I still seize up at the very thought of it. I’d love to be one of those people who just stand up in front of a group and talk naturally, taking it all in their stride (though I guess they don’t necessarily feel as cool as they come across).
This topic has come up because we’re doing a talk on Thursday. We’re down for a full hour but the talk itself won’t need to be as long as that as we need to leave time for questions. Turns out I’m going to do the talky bit and my partner is going to control the powerpoint (if we manage to get hold of some equipment in time that is).
I forced myself to draft out the talk on Sunday and so am going to spend some time revising it today and preparing index cards so I’m not just reading it all out. Am feeling nervous even writing about it here. How pathetic am I?
I’m down to do a workshop in presentation skills in a few weeks, so hopefully that will help with my confidence. And this is something I definitely need help with!
