smiletrial

Make time for playtime

A few years ago, as a young girl (okay, so it was more than a few years ago) I spent the long, warm days of summer frolicking around the farm. I'd talk to the chickens in the morning, and I'd ride my horse through the forested trails all afternoon. At the end of the day, I would sit around in the mud with the pigs (a farm girl's spa treatment). I'd pick berries as they came into season; strawberries, then raspberries, cherries, blueberries, and lastly, my favorite: blackberries. Riding atop a horse is an excellent way to pick cherries by the way. Life was good back then.

It's good now too. Only, as the sun rises high in the bright blue skies of summer, I find myself longing for those days of innocent play.

So what is it to play as an adult? I suppose we each have our own ideas of that.

The formal definition is: "an exercise or activity for amusement or recreation."

Well, I don't live around pigs anymore. At least not in the formal sense of the word (Zac, clean your room!). So, I've discovered some new ways to play. For me, playtime includes gardening, sailing, cooking, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.

As I write this, it just occurred to me that when I'm going out to the garden I say "I'm going to go work in the garden." Yet I don't consider activities in the garden as work. From now on, I'll have to start saying "I'm going to go play in the garden."

In honor of Bastille Day, I've posted a photo of me sailing (definitely playing) on a beautiful French yacht in Roses, Spain. If you don't know what Bastille Day is, check-out this website: Bastille Day

And, here is another picture showing "The Desperate Laser Wives" in Terrigal, Australia. The DLWs, as we're called, travel around the world with our husbands as they compete in World Championships on Laser sailboats. My DLW girlfriends here are: Maria, Marilyn, LauraLee, Nancy, and Christy. Clearly, we are playing. This summer, I hope you make time for playtime. Try it!

See this link to learn more about Laser sailing: Laser Class Association-North America

Go to your happy place.

This is my happy place! Go find your own. Everybody needs a happy place; A special place they can call their own. A place where memories are made, creative ideas are formed and lively conversations are shared. This is where I sit every summertime morning with my coffee and every summertime evening with my glass of wine. The simple pleasures.

Try it!

Happy Fathers Day to dads, step-dads, adopter-dads, and granddads! I hope today, you find your happy place.

Bring the welcome wagon......to work!

If there was ever a time to speed up productivity for new hires, it's now.

Thomas Briggs founded the Welcome Wagon in 1928. His mission: send friendly folks out to personally welcome new neighbors. Welcome Wagoneers would deliver baskets of gifts, coupons, and helpful information about the community. The goal was to help the newcomer quickly become an active, valuable asset to the neighborhood.

This idea is being implemented in the business world today. The program is known as "onboarding."

What is it? The goal of onboarding is to welcome and integrate new hires into the workgroup so that they immediately become active and productive team members. Onboarding is a process that is custom designed for a specific organization. It is designed around the work, the values, and the culture of the business. This process can be applied to new hires and to promoted employees.

Effective onboarding generally lasts from three to nine months and usually includes several components. The desired outcomes of an onboarding program include:

1. Delivery of a workspace and necessary work tools
2. Assessment of the new hire and a six month development plan to guide success
2. Introduction to fellow employees, peers, advisors, and mentors
3. Help with assimilation of culture, company goals, norms, and procedures
4. The design of feedback loops to ensure appropriate work results
5. A plan for fun! The process (and the job) ideally will be interesting, challenging, and fun!

Try it!

For more information on this topic, write me by visiting Fifth Avenue Counseling & Consulting

BTW: The Welcome Wagon is still going strong. For information see: About Welcome Wagon