What Priorities Are You Ignoring?

What priorities are you ignoring?




Are you experiencing that never-ending cycle of desperate busyness coming towards the end of the year?


Are you getting more frustrated and less cheerful, even though we are heading into the season of merriness and celebration? Is it getting chaotic?


Perhaps it is worth taking stock of where you’re at today, and not waiting for the 1st of January. The problem is when we fill our lives with clutter, there isn’t room for the truly important stuff. So here are a few things worth considering to right the chaos:

• What things are you doing that truly don’t need to be done? Usually there are many things in our life we fall slave to, yet if we were totake an unexpected period off work, no one would really care if theyweren’t done anyway. Identify the time-wasters and let them go.

• Is your busyness just you being lazy? Now this might make you defensive, but in so many cases, being busy is being lazy…lazy because we don’t prioritise, don’t plan, and don’t say no. Make the tough decisions by reducing lazy prioritising in your day. Exhaustion is not a status symbol, take control of your actions.

• What important stuff is falling victim to your clutter? Are you spending less time on the key relationships in your life? Are you missing meals or exercise? Are you missing great opportunities because you can’t lift your head up to see them? For those of you living on the Gold Coast you would have no doubt noticed the parade of whales passing up and down our coastline. And if you haven’t, you need to pack up your lunch and sit by the beach and watch them. The problem is if you ignore this important stuff, nothing changes. Make sure you do the things today that will create a brighter tomorrow.

New Year’s is too far away to wait!  Make the decision to prioritise the things that are important to you and let go of the clutter.


Here’s to a busy year that you actually enjoy along the way!


Darren and Alison

Are you maximising maternity?

Is your organisation making the most out of maternity?

Have you noticed that part-time and flexible work arrangements are increasing? 

Does managing this increase feel like a burden?

Are you looking for ways to take the head-ache out of managing these transitions?

With an ageing population, skills shortage, and a greater number of woman in the workforce there is a major opportunity for forward-thinking organisations to attract quality professional talent through offering flexibility at work. 

The challenge is finding ways to do this that actually works towards improving, not reducing the bottom line. So how can you provide flexibility AND improve business? 

One of the key areas that flexible work arrangements become apparent is through the process of maternity transitions. Having a valued employee go off on leave can feel like a head-ache because of the gap that is created. It is undoubtedly a disruptive process.

Who is going to fill this gap and how much work is going to be involved in managing this process? And how are we going to ensure we retain skills and knowledge within the organisation?

In order to maximise this process organisations need to captialise on the window of opportunity that is available before a woman goes off on leave and develop strategies to reduce the gap across the four key areas of concern. 

Here are some key areas to focus on:  

1. Capacity - utilise the period prior to leave to streamline processes, explore job redesign, outsource options, identify systems and processes of the role. 
2. Commitment - this is straightforward. Individuals who feel valued, supported and understood by their manager show greater commitment to their role. The same is even more evident through maternity transitions. Strengthen the critical relationship between an employee and their manager. 
3. Connections - Every business is built on relationships and connections. Recognise the importance of early and regular discussion about the changes, personal handover and introductions and reassurance that the level of service, care and support will be consistent. Nurturing these relationships is key.
4. Capability - Capturing what someone knows, how they approach their work, what they do and how they do it is the starting point of capturing corporate IP. 

Disruption creates innovation and there is a great opportunity through the maternity transition process of actually finding ‘better’ solutions and actually improving business. 

Rather than see the burden, seek to find the opportunity. If you do we know you’ll be rewarded.

Think differently, 

Darren and Alison  

If you are interested in exploring how your organisation can take the burden out of managing maternity transitions, and actually maximise the opportunities that are available visit: www.maximisingmaternity.com or contact Alison directly at alison@pragmaticthinking.com.  

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THE GIFT - Beyond Compliance Whitepaper

With Australia’s first mandatory paid parental leave now in place, maternity leave is firmly on the national agenda. The maternity leave is firmly on the national agenda. The number of women in the workforce is rapidly growing each year, the skilled workforce is reducing and forward-thinking workplaces can no longer simply comply with maternity leave policies; they need to embrace the opportunities that are available to them throughout the maternity leave transitions. 

This week’s gift is a a Whitepaper written by Alison Hill explores how organisations can go beyond compliance and improve business through maternity transitions.

To download this Whitepaper click here.

Scarcity and Abundance.

Scarcity and abundance

There is a governing statement in economics that states ‘every abundance creates scarcity’. In short, when the market is oversupplied, this in turn creates a demand somewhere else.

Think about it, the busier we get (abundance) the more valuable down time becomes (scarcity). The more information we receive (abundance) we seek clear, concise messages (scarcity).

The opposite also applies in this rule. For every scarcity, there surely is an abundance. Just this weekend, we found ourselves spending a few days in Arnhem Land, an incredibly ancient, spiritual track of land in the Top End of Australia. One of our stays was at an incredibly beautiful and remote eco resort Banu Banu Lodge on Bremer Island off the NE coast of Nhulunbuy. 

Scarcity abounds at Banu Banu. Resources are hard to find, and even harder to get. Water, power and basic supply are things most of us take for granted, but at Banu Banu are just part of daily scarcity. 

The abundance that has presented itself however is what truly makes it an incredible experience. Innovation, inventiveness, gratitude and customer service...so many areas have been overly compensated to make up for ‘not having’.

So next time you complain about not having the budget, resources, skills or planning to get something done, think about where this scarcity also gives you a great strength or a competitive advantage.

Abundance is always there in times of scarcity, you just have to choose to look for it.

Abundantly yours, 

Darren & Alison