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The NEWORK Centre
Level 2 Willbank House
57 Willis Street Wellington
Phone 499 1048
e-mail nework@xtra.co.nz

No 90 July 2006

The Carpenter!

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheque, but he needed to retire. They could get by.

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favour. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.

When the carpenter finished his work, the employer came to inspect the house. He handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house", he said, "my gift to you." The carpenter was shocked!! What a shame!! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.

So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building. Then with a shock, we realise we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we'd do it much differently. But we cannot go back.

You are the carpenter. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board or erect a wall. "Life is a do-it-yourself project" someone has said. Your attitudes and the choices you make today, build the "house" you live in tomorrow. Build it wisely!!

Author Unknown

Success??

As Portfolio workers we sometimes go and get ourselves too busy and just sometimes, we get too busy chasing the wrong things. This little story reminds us that rather than focusing too much on what we don't have, we should pause and look at what we do have. Enjoy the story:

A US businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican fishing village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the boat were several large yellow-fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, 'Only a little while, Señor.'

The American asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish. The Mexican said that he had enough to supply his family's immediate needs.

The American then asked, 'But what do you do with the rest of your time?'

The fisherman said, 'I play with my children, take siesta with my wife Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, Señor.'

The American smiled, 'I am a Harvard MBA - that's a degree in business studies - I could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat, with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet. Then instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution.

'You would, of course, need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles, and eventually New York City where you would run your expanding enterprise.'

The Mexican fisherman asked, 'But, Señor, how long will all this take?'

The American replied, 'Fifteen to twenty years.'

'But what then, Señor?'

The American laughed, 'That's the best part. When the time is right you sell your stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions.'

'Millions, Señor? But then what?'

'Then you would retire, move to a small coastal fishing village, where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, Maria, and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play guitar with your amigos.'

With just a hint of a twinkle in his eye, the fisherman said, 'Señor - are these business degrees hard to get?'

The End

Five Steps for Organizing Your Time

Most people feel that they do not have enough time in their day to do all they have to do. The problem is often not the amount of time available, but how that time is being used.

Following these five simple steps will help your achieve time management success. All time management processes will work using these five simple steps.

1. Create Your Framework

You must start by having a clear understanding of your priorities, both professional and personal. These priorities create a framework for getting things done. Ask yourself these questions: What do you want to accomplish at work in the next six months? In the next year? What steps are required to achieve these goals? What type of relations do you want to build with your family, friends, and co-workers? What steps are required to achieve this? What are your most important responsibilities at work? Summarise this information and come up with three specific goals for your daily work schedule, your career and your personal life.

2. Get Organized

This is where you may wish to choose a time management organizational system that works for you. Look for the following characteristics:

· Portability – You need to be able to conveniently carry your system with you so you can manage your personal and professional time.

· Usability – You need to be able to record on-going information about tasks that need to be accomplished. Maintain your daily and monthly calendars. It is also helpful to include and address and telephone directory.

· Consolidation – You should be able to minimize the scraps of paper and other things into one place.



3. Understand Your Style

Everyone has a different approach to working. You need to understand your style so you can work to your best ability. It will also help you to identify barriers that prevent you from being as effective as you could be.

Some issues to consider are:

· Do you prefer to deal with the big picture and leave the details to others?

· Do you make decisions intuitively or are you more methodical in considering all the data before taking a step?

· Do you prefer to work alone or as part of a team? Does everything have to be done perfectly?

· Do you prefer to start things? Do you feel uncomfortable if you don’t follow things through to the end? Now determine the type of things that you most comfortable with, as well as those that make you uncomfortable. Determine whether or not this discomfort is a barrier that is preventing you from getting things done.

4. Stay Flexible

All of the previous steps need to be analysed and evaluated on an ongoing basis. You need to stay flexible and periodically re-assess the priorities that make up your framework.

5. Just Do It

Learn and master the skills of priority management by regularly asking yourself: Is this the most important thing for me to be doing right now?