Some advice… don’t watch ‘Race Across the World’ and then go for a pint down the pub with a friend. It can result in many laughs, a challenge and was precisely the reason I spent last weekend on a bus in the middle of the night, rolling across Europe.

Honestly, the last time I did it, I was 20. You know the younger, more adventurous and definitely slimmer version of myself. But, if they can get halfway across Europe for less than the price of an airfare on TV, what could possibly go wrong in real life?

So rucksack in hand, on a normal Thursday, it was time to head down to London to catch the bus to make the 3 am ferry… to France!

Travelling is not always easy; sometimes it is hard… and those 3 am crossings are never the easiest… but what these trips are is refreshing, and travelling by land even more so.

Now, as many will know, I am no stranger to the airport, but despite my fondness for airline pretzels and a glass of (so fizzy it goes up your nose) cola, the aeroplane does always feel a bit like the magic tube.

I mean, we all sit cramped for a couple of hours, relieved at having fended off temptation to buy yet more sweets at the airport, only to arrive blinking in a different country where suddenly everything feels different.

It is, it seems, the closest thing we have to teleportation.

But, travelling by land, sea and by bus is different.

You get on at your local stop, having bought snacks (but importantly not egg sandwiches) from the Sainsbury’s Express and then slowly (very slowly) trundle to Dover, before travelling through France, Belgium, the Netherlands and on to your final destination.

Things change, but things change gradually. The countryside, the language, the food, you can see it all morph, how we are all connected and in many ways not far away from each other.

Of course, it is not all plain sailing. After about 6 hours, your bum has become numb and the seat has become strangely very uncomfortable… but this point is never the main concern.

Despite a strategy of desiccation, my biggest fear is the phrase… “the bus toilet is now full”. Seriously, what was everyone drinking before they got on the bus.

So sitting there, prune like, uncomfortable, in the dark, in a bus, there was the darkest hour… clearly requiring Jedi-like levels of mind control to not be the grumpy old man in seat 12a. (I failed)

However, buses also, it seems, thrive on organised chaos. This chaos is in a manner you just don’t get on the plane or the train. Delays, short connections, long connections, and only finding your bus by deciphering scribbled notes taped to a wall are all part of the adventure… and it does seem to work… plus every so often this results in a gem.

On one bus leg, a group, who did politely ask first, burst into song, and were surprisingly good. Where did that come from! It seems some people can turn their hand to having fun anywhere and was the lesson the man in 12a needed.

And I suppose that was the take away on returning to the office (albeit a bit broken from the 20 hour trip home!).

It is that we are all connected, more closely than we think, and every so often, we probably all need to have a little discomfort in our lives to find new gems and adventure.

It is, after all, sometimes the journey, not the destination, that is important.

Have a good week everyone.

It has been back to the mill this week. Torrential rains, back to school, and back to work – summer is well and truly over.

Now, with a long list of things to do and deadlines to juggle, it really got me thinking about how to manage it all.

Admittedly, it can sometimes feel a little overwhelming… and by counting up all the tasks that need to be done, estimating the time needed, and adjusting for deadlines… it just doesn’t seem to help. I mean, no matter how I add it up, I can never seem to get 2+2 to equal 3.

This can be the same at home too: a long list of tasks you need to get done, some you want to get done, and only the two days over the weekend to do it.

Yet somehow, by writing a list, focusing on the next task, and working away, time seems to extend like magic. The list gets done, and there is even some time for a cup of tea and a sit down.

I am not quite sure why this is.

My prime suspect is probably the brain’s tendency to overestimate the actual time you need to get something done. It seems like we always err on the side of caution.

This behaviour is, of course, the sibling to the brain’s other predisposition — grossly underestimating the time for someone else to do something… now, I didn’t say the brain was logical!

Of course, looking at actual data can help working out what is reality… but most of the time I am not measuring how long it takes to unstack the dishwasher or put out the bins (I know you shicking isn’t it), so I just have to rely on gut instinct.

The same is, of course, true at work. The time you think you need is often much more than the time you are given… pressing deadlines, anyone? With a building to-do list, anxiety can quickly build.

But, it is good to remember at this point that the mind can play tricks, and many times, by writing a list and plugging away, you can pull it off. It is not the time gods or magic, although can feel like it… it is however, repeatable.

Now, this is no reason to throw caution to the wind and be silly – there are limits (the repaving the patio in the evening can wait!).

However, as we start to pick up speed through the second half of the year, this can be a source of comfort… we can actually get it all done.

And it’s a good thing too – with all the rain, the grass will now start growing again, so that is another thing on the list now too.

Have a good week, all.

It has been that final long weekend of the summer, and the weather has been glorious.

Having the extra day really does make all the difference – I even managed to put pen to paper, helped along by a great conversation with Paul Jozefak this week on all things AI (thanks, Paul!).

It has been a while since my last note, and I’ve been reflecting on just why this is.

Writing is something that I enjoyed after all, yet over the summer it seemed to fall away, as though I had run out of ideas or things to say.

Now, I don’t necessarily think that this was the case, but there has been plenty going on, and certainly the world around AI – and in general – it has been stimulating.

Only this week, for example, Microsoft launched COPILOT for Excel… a bit of a game changer, I think. Also, exploring the role of AI for extended research has been proving super useful and informative, too.

I think the reason for the pause, though, as always, comes down to time and priorities… Sometimes it seems life simply catches up with you.

Between work commitments and what sometimes feels like the non-stop duties of an unpaid taxi driver, time gets squeezed.

What hours there are at the weekend, those usually set aside for writing seemed to be replaced by the need to complete video editing, hours which in turn wer replaced by other work needing to be completed for customers.

Now, of course, this is not all bad – the work is a good thing. Now it is at this point people often use the phrase “it’s a good problem to have”… I know, I know. But the keyword in this sentence is problem – a problem is still a problem, and so something needs to give!

Without resolution, at times this can feel like being on a treadmill – just getting through the things that need to be done. And whilst you can run on a treadmill for a while, eventually you get exhausted… or fall off!

So, what do you do when life fills up with urgent and important tasks (and let’s be honest – quite a few urgent but not important ones too)?

Do I stop mowing the lawn? Stop making bread? Stop spending time catching up with the latest season of Foundation on Apple TV?

OK, the last one can maybe wait, but the danger in pushing aside these “important but not urgent” things is that your life becomes more dull. These things are often, the spice of life – the activities that help you grow, learn something new, and stay energised. So my resolution has been to look for efficiencies or re-assess the priorities once it has settled down… maybe in some cases, important trumps urgent!

The same, of course, is true at work too. We all face a constant stream of urgent demands, many of them driven by others.

But are we making time for those important and maybe not urgent tasks? The ones that you enjoy, that are a bit of fun, allowing us to develop and feel fulfilled over the long run?

Something worth pondering as I head outside to clear the early windfalls from the apple tree (urgent but not important – LOL).

Have a good week, all.