#2023 – Page 2 – The Corrigan Encore

On the half hour

October 24, 2023October 24, 2023 John Corrigan

Sitting is the new smoking. What did that just say? Obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, body fat and cardiac disease, have all been linked to prolonged periods of sitting. I know it is wild but a study has come out with some pretty gnarly results we can experience if we sit for a long time.

This is pretty bad news when you consider that, 6 out of 10 employees sit for about nine hours a weekday as part of their job. That’s tough isn’t it? You have to work to earn money to live but the work that you are doing is literally killing you. Do not fear though the same study that informed us of the danger associated with sitting gave us a Prescription for sitting. Get up every half hour and move for five minutes. That’s it, do it now set a reminder on your phone for every half hour. Your future self will thank you and think of all the Apple watch and fit bit awards you will earn!

I have always felt like motion is important and when I think of motion I always think of two things one is Newtons law

An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
Isaac Newton

and I think about the song that Muddy Waters sings. A rolling stone gathers no moss

So lets all get together today and get in motion even if it is just for five minutes every half hour!

Altogether

October 23, 2023 John Corrigan

Wedding receptions, anniversaries, reunions a club after some drinks are all places you are likely to find people dancing. Dancing is pretty interesting because other than the line dancing style songs there is really no wrong or right way to dance. There are just a bunch of partners or single folks out on the dance floor moving their bodies to the music. If you are dancing with a partner you get really close and do a lot of touching and avoid touching the other couples. If you are dancing alone you move without touching anyone to the music and maybe another person dancing alone will dance with you and maybe not.

As far as interactions are concerned dancing is kind of like life. There is music that drives all of us to move and we have to move together but not to close together and we all have to kind of agree on where and when we move.

You may not end the day with dancing and you may not dance at all today but listen for todays “music” and try to move with the rhythm of the world you live in.

Make it a Movement

October 13, 2023 John Corrigan

In an earlier post of mine I mentioned that we need to take back our weekends. I am trying to do this and friends and family are too, however work is demanding and it does not always seem possible but, it is. We can have a healthy work life balance if we make the effort to do so.

So let’s all work together and make this happen.

Turn off the phone When you leave work today (I am typing this up on a Friday) turn off or put your work phone away. Stay as late as you need to get your work done for the week but, when your work for the week is done do not start on next weeks work, that will be there on Monday.
Understand the scope of your role When your work for the week is done… What is your work for the hour day week month year? We have entered into the age of generalists at work and as such the scope of many workers has grown so much so that employees are really not sure when their work is done or what exactly they are responsible for. Learning your place and scope at work will help you disconnect when you are done for the day week and month. If yoiu work for a good employer scope of work will be clear, most do not and scope of work is often muddy at best. A tactic that can and should be taken is a “Signing off” procedure everyday. You can sign off when you leave for the day or week through an email letting your manager know your accomplishments or through a verbal check out letting them know the accomplishments and giving them the chance to let you know if there is something you missed.
Set it and forget it You’ve signed off and turned off the phone and now it is time to set work off. Change your focus to what really matters you, family and friends. Its the weekend make plans and do something with loved ones, it can be as simple as a matinee or as elaborate as a short vacation. Stay in a hotel for one night and be a tourist in a neighboring city, take a train, plane or bus ride and explore an attraction you’ve seen on Tik Tok, go to the park and play some pickleball. Do something that is not work, you earned the weekend.

Once we have taken back the weekend we will work on taking back our evenings and eventually our lives. The pandemic and technology have blurred the lines between work and leisure time, let’s start a movement to make the lines clear and present.

…with all this taking back the weekend talk i had to post a music video of him for us to rock to…… You are welcome

Sometimes we need it

October 10, 2023 John Corrigan

People are social animals. The importance of social connections is inarguable among experts in the medical community. We need help form friends and family even if it is just a phone call or sitting in silence. Hermits risk loneliness and health problems.

Being there for others and reaching out to others is a totally healthy normal thing to do. When I think about friends and families helping each other I cannot help but hear the Beatles song, “with A Little Help from My Friends”. What an amazing song, great lyrics and a tune that is amazing!

Take time today to call or visit a friend or family remember we all need each other.

Take care of yourselves, and each other
Jerry Springer

Everyone matters

September 28, 2023 John Corrigan

There was this interesting video about a leader on Facebook who, changed a dynamic in his organization by changing the focus of the organization from goals to impacts. The speaker was Brian Fretwell do check out some of his stuff when you get the chance.

The leader would ask instead of “where are we with these goals?’, “What has impacted you this week and how have you impacted others this week?”. The leader said that they received engagement like they had never seen and it helped the company.

The speaker of the video mentions that the change happened because people were not feeling seen or did not feel like they mattered and when the focus of the leadership changed from goals to impact the people felt seen and heard.

I know that this world can be crazy and sometimes you have taken all you can bear. (Yes it is from that song.)

The truth is that you do matter and when you feel like you do not or you are doing things that make others feel like they do not matter it is time to take a breath and remember that, life is precious a gift and everyone with life matters.

One voice kind of for 25 years

September 27, 2023 John Corrigan

Today is when Google celebrates its 25th birthday. In 1998 two computer science students got together and used the Python programming language to search the internet. 25 years later and the company’s search is used on almost every continent on the globe.

The internet is basically a network of connected computers, computers with work, play and thoughts.

In the video that I have pasted here Bill Gates tries to explain what the internet is to David Letterman. I love this video because Gates is enthusiastic about the internet and Lettermen is the skeptic. The video was recorded three years before Google was created and it was I think the creation of Google that gave insight to the skeptics like David Letterman to the real power of the internet which, is people. People power the internet, with ideas, sites, services, codes anything they can imagine it seems can be created accessed and made better.

One thing I try very hard not to be skeptical about is the ability of life to create, build and amaze. The internet is one of many things that life has made and it is pretty cool.

No alarm clock needed

September 26, 2023 John Corrigan

In 2006 there was a movie starring Dane Cook, Ashley Simpson and Dax Shepard. The three are employees at a super store like CostCo or Sams club. Bothe Dane Cook and Dax Shepard are vying for the attention of Ashley Simpson. It is well known that Ashley Simpson only dates guys who are or have been the employee of the month. Dane Cooks character a slacker finally finds a reason to get excited for work and try’s to be a good employee. Part of his transformation to a good employee involves getting to work on time. In a pivotal scene Dane Cook wakes up on time without the aid of his alarm clock.

Waking up without an alarm clock is called precision sleeping and it happens when our bodies become accustomed to a schedule. Early risers swear by the benefits of waking early. Here is a pretty good read on the importance of waking up early.

“I would have it inscribed on the curtains of your bed and the walls of your chamber: If you do not rise early you can make progress in nothing.”
Willian Pitt Chatham, British statesman

I have benefited from waking up early and have expereinced waking up just in time and I can say that while it can be hard to set up a schedule waking up early has far more benefits than waking up just in time or late. one major benefit of waking up early is control. When I set and adhere to a schedule that involves waking up early I have a sense of control of a big part of my life. I think that waking up on time without an alarm is a major way to demonstrate our control.

At the end of the day, you can’t control the results; you can only control your effort level and your focus.
Ben Zobrist

There is very little we can control in our lives and schedule is one of the big ones that can make a big difference. So moving forward let us all aspire to be one of those people that wake up without their alarm and conquer their days.

Bathwater and babies

September 25, 2023 John Corrigan

A project is planned, perfected, practiced and them performed. That is an idea situation however many projects are not planned, practiced or performed and almost no project is perfect. I worked with a project manger who planned out his project for 8 months and did no performance, that manager was let go for lack of performance. The planning perfecting and practice stage of a project are important however when any of these stages prevent action on a project than the stages should be looked at and reconsidered.

Dans ses écrits, un sage Italien
Dit que le mieux est l’ennemi du bien.
Voltaire

A podcast that I am a pretty big fan of called People I Mostly Admire, interviewed psychologist and author Thomas Curran. Thomas wrote a book titled The Perfection Trap. In his book Thomas explains that the pursuit of perfection and being a perfectionist is not a good thing. Perfectionism causes burnout and depression and in his book Thomas gives us tools to avoid perfectionism and embrace the power of good enough.

A wise Italian says, the best is the enemy of the good.

Voltaire

Chasing perfection as with any pursuit must be done with temperance and common sense if it is not the one chasing perfection risks jeopardizing their mental heath and destroying their relationships with family and friends.

Perfectionism is a trait that is often associated with obsessive compulsive disorder and is often not diagnosed or treated because it is a useful trait. People who are not your friends or loved ones will use your perfectionism to promote their own agenda.

Today we should understand that while perfection is good perfectionism should be avoided.

Perfection is impossible; just strive to do your best.
Angela Watson

You are enough and your best is enough and you can and will do your best everyday.

Soundtrack of Our lives

September 18, 2023 John Corrigan

The band named Soundtrack of Our Lives, is a Swedish rock band their most popular song was Second Life Replay.

The song is pretty good but I love the bands name. When i was younger I played the pc game Sim City. In the game Sim City you are the mayor/planner/terraformer of a city. You build up land features, zone the land and manage the people on that land through city policy. The one thing I truly loved about the whole process was the music that played in the background of the game. As you built streets, rivers and lakes you were treated to Jazz music. I would listen to the jazz and go to work.

Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything
Plato

I love all kinds of music. The book titled And to Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street was Theodore Geisel’s first published book. The format for the book was said to have come from the sounds of an Ocean Liners engine on a transatlantic trip the author took.

“Everything in Life is Vibration”
Albert Einstein

Everything on earth vibrates and creates a frequency. There really is a sound to everything. The right music can make life that much better and the right music is whatever you like at a specific time.

My taste in music is eclectic and I think if people are truly honest that most peoples taste in music is also eclectic. Depending on what headspace we are in or want to be in there is music for that.

This week let’s all listen to a style or genre of music we have never heard before. There was a former work colleague who listened to a heavy dose of Celtic punk music. Until I rode to lunch with this guy I had never before heard of this music now if the mood is right I quite enjoy some Flogging Molly.

Enjoy life and the sound of all of it.

A little weekend nostalgia

September 15, 2023 John Corrigan

The year was 1986, I was 9 years old I was a third grader in Cleveland Ohio and it was Friday. The bus drive home was the longest one of the week. At the the end of the bus stop was the walk home but, it was also freedom! We were free from school for the weekend!

The weekends were special. Friday afternoon would start with phone calls to friends about where everyone would spend the night at. If you were lucky you were hosting friends or staying at a friends house. Friday night would be a movie marathon of scary movies hosted by a wacky video host and Saturday morning would be cartoons on the tv. Saturday afternoon we rode our bikes and visited the local candy store and any open parking lots. There we did “tricks” on our bikes. Sunday was dominated by football or baseball. If you were really lucky you had tickets to the game. There was also the trip to the public library.

As I got older weekends got better. As an adult I spent weekends golfing, fishing, watching sports, drinking, visiting backyard barbeques. In 2006 I was given a Blackberry Pearl and the weekends turned to not so great after that.

The always on generation did a lot to destroy the work life balance and one of the first victims of the work life balance was the epic 80’s and 90’s weekend. It is very important to maintain a work life balance. Without a work life balance you can expect health problems, burnout and depression (I know depression is a health problem).

Let’s all do our part this weekend (that’s right starting this evening when we leave work) and shut off our phones and take back the weekend. Let’s make this weekend an epic 80’s /90’s weekend!!