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Getting to grips with the to-do list

I was so busy training last week that I ended up with only Wednesday evening to catch up with admin and prepare for two days of delivery and client and supplier meetings. I jotted down everything that needed to be done and the list had 16 items on it. It has to be said that there were 3 items on that list that didn't HAVE to be done immediately but everything else was critical for the next two days.

Now I know that some people are completely overwhelmed by having a to-do list like that. However I view it very differently. It's a bit like being in a sweetie shop with jars and jars of different sweets. There is so much choice. Today I can have liquorice allsorts and tomorrow butter toffees. Having a long list to me is great as it gives me a huge choice over what I do and the order that I do it in. I had about 5 hours to get most of it done and it didn't really matter in what order it was done. So as my feeling changed minute by minute I was able to select things from the list that I felt like doing. It was also good because I could make a start on one thing - printing out materials for example, and then go on to something else whilst that was in progress, therefore working on two things at once.

The trick is to look at things differently, in a positive light, rather than being weighed down by negative perceptions. How could you look at your to do list differently? How will that help you be more successful?

Italians and Equal pay

Ask almost any woman in the country about equal pay and she'll probably snort with laughter, wave her pay slip at you and point at the man sitting next to her, who is probably earning 15% more.  Yes, the sad fact is that despite years of legislation, positive action and grinding toil we still haven't got there yet.

So I was fascinated to read this week some blog commentary on the subject, prompted by the Italians who momentarily published everyone's pay level on the web.  Its so important to keep the equal pay issue debate alive and kicking.  This is not going to go away.

Read the Guru's thoughts here and the Ricks comments here.

Just an ordinary gal

Well on Monday I met Theresa May, Shadow Minister for Women. I can't remember if I've ever met a real politician before. It was refreshing to meet someone who holds such an important position but seemed so grounded and real,  Just like an ordinary gal. And what was even better was that we talked and she listened.

We talked about the £12.5 million that Darling has in the budget to encourage female entrepreneurs.  We wanted to know how this was going to be distributed. As with many of these things it may have been dropped into the budget at the last minute and Theresa didn't know how it was going to work. Along with the other women sitting at my table, we voiced the opinion that it should not be distributed by Business Link.  If this was the plan then they might as well just throw the money in the bin now, as it will never get to the right place in the right quantities.  The problem with Business Link is that all of their advisers are retired male civil servants who have never run their own business. They have no idea of the challenges that women face. The curse of the men in grey suits again.

The other thing that we talked about was the Gender Equality Duty. This applies to all public authorities which must now demonstrate that they are promoting gender equality for women. They must scrutinise their recruitment, employment and promotion structures to see that they are not discriminatory. My question was - why does this not also apply to the private sector?  The Women in London's Economy 2007 report has shown that the gender pay gap is larger in the private sector than in the public sector. Its about time that all organisations had to take positive action to address gender issues rather than women having to use the Gender Equality Legislation to force them to do it.

So next time you are offered a chance to met someone really important, someone really influential who can make things happen, grasp the opportunity with both hands.  Whatever you may see in the media, they are a real person, just like you.

The vital role of older people

Today, 1st October, is UN International Day of Older People and there are meetings between older people's organisations and governments across 4 continents as part of the Age Demands Action campaign to demand improvements in ageing policies and practices.

Older people play a vital role in communities the world over. They are often the glue holding families together. They provide emergency child care and family support and also in sometimes step in to bring up their grandchildren if parents suffer untimely death.  They are becoming an increasingly important part of the economic wealth of western nations as our birth rate falls and we all live longer.  Yet their vital role is underestimated to the detriment of us all,  both economically and socially.

You can read about the campaign here at HelpAge International.

What are you going to do to help to highlight these issues?