Books for Christmas - plenty of reading

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I got several books for Christmas this year. I'm turning more prolific with my reading recent rely and I've been given several books as Christmas presents to keep me going.

I find that reading of any kind keeps my mind going and I always seem to be able to pull ideas out of most books that I feel I can use in business or my everyday life.

For instance, I've just finished an excellent biography of Robert F Kennedy. His ideals and the way he conducted his public life really struck a chord with me and I can relate his insecurities about the way he was perceived.

I received the following books for Christmas this year-

* Thirteen Days by Robert F Kennedy

* Fatherland by Robert Harris

* The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

* An Autobiography by Mohandas K Gandhi

* Roth Unbound by Claudia Roth Pierpoint

Happy reading!

Sleep patterns all over the place

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I can't sleep, then I can't stay awake and I really don't know why. I've been falling asleep somewhere between 7pm and 11pm then waking up anywhere between 3am and 8am. I'm trying to eliminate the causes as I go, but I'm really stumped at the moment.

I've come away from eating and drinking too late in the day - 7pm has become the cut off time-

http://245daystogo.blogspot.com/2014/12/subtle-changes-to-my-diet-are-reaping.html

I'm not waking up by thinking about or worrying about anything, in fact I'd say that I have less and less to worry about as I get closer to my dream. Things are starting to fall into place and I'm moving to an area that I want to work in, in a way I want to work.y current job is going well, and I'm cutting hours in the new year, which will help me to pull things together. I'm also pretty close to getting the right order of things, so I can clearly see where I'm going to be, and at what stage.

There are some patterns that I'm trying to break - the really early starts do coincide mainly with me falling asleep before 9pm, but not exclusively.

My day job isn't so physical that it tires me out, so we can rule this out as an effect.

Maybe I'm just excited. I think we've bought well for the kids this Christmas, and I think they'll love their presents. I'm also raring to get to the new year and to start making great strides towards opening my estate agency. Maybe it's this?

Changes are afoot with my employer (again)

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As we fire headlong towards Christmas and every moment of time seems like it's at a premium, I've negotiated changes at work that I think will help me move forward with my ideas and create that commodity we call time. I'm taking me working week from 5 full time days to 3 full time days in the new year. Plus the job role I'll be conducting will be more flexible in terms of the exact hours I need to be there. As a result I'll be able to make the massive strides forward I need, rather than the tiny, though productive, steps I'm currently making. The idea is that I'll split the extra time between making some money to bridge the shortfall in hours, and setting up the business. Having full days to be able to devote to the business will mean far more than the odd hour here and there and I believe will start to see the fledgling ideas that I've started to share in this blog turn into a solid, viable and exciting business.

I've decided to go down this route to get moving forward quickly. As you can see from the day count at the top of the page, the click is ticking quite quickly at the moment. Granted it's an arbitrary number I've picked but at the same time it's the target if all my efforts.

In terms of earning the money to bridge the shortfall, January is actually good months, as there is no council tax to pay in February or March. I'll fill in the gaps with income from mystery shops. At the moment I do the odd mystery shop in my lunch break or after work. With having four days a week without work opens up the possibility of full day mystery shopping trips. I used to go out for a full day and conduct 10 to 12 mystery shops and earn a couple of hundred pounds in a day. I can go out and do this again, ensuring that I keep the relevant records for the tax man.

All in all, I believe that the time will allow me to earn in the way I want to earn and get my business off the ground.

I'm felling like the Bruce Willis character from Sixth Sense

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I'm feeling like the Bruce Willis character in Sixth Sense at the moment. Not that I'm completely ignored, but that the World is happening around me without any input from me. I feel like it at work, at home, at my photography course, setting up my business and when out Christmas shopping.

At work everything and everyone is completely focused on Christmas and getting every last pound out of the customers at this vital time of the year.

At home it seems like I've lost a little bit of control over what tasks need doing, what parts of the house need attention and naming small things like what we are going to do at the weekend. Part if this is the cold dark nights and sort is being so busy at work that all I want to do is get warm and watch the TV!

In terms of my photography course, the initial excitement of taking photos, learning new techniques and showing the group my photos has died down. We have a lot of work to do to finish off our folders, get our portfolio together and finalise our project. This takes a lot if time and energy out of the week and out if the class.

With all this and Christmas shopping and preparation going on, a lot of other aside ya of setting up the business have stalled. The garage/office has stopped half way through, the work on small business grants has stopped and I haven't made any new plans until I can get these sorted.

I also sell books and games on Amazon and eBay, so this picks up at this time of year as well, so this is a drain on time. I think it's best to park all of the progress until the new year and start again in earnest.

Not sure…

I need to enjoy family time without thinking of all the tasks I have to complete

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It's difficult at this time of year to find time to get everything done that you want. There are extra time pressures, such as Christmas shopping, Christmas meals and events and the weather and light closing in. This has the effect of making me think that I have little time to focus on all the business activities that I want to get done.

I have stalled a little on business grants, garage conversion and social media presence over the last fortnight and I think it's starting to take it's toll. I'm also doing fewer mystery shops and finding planning things like family days out a strain. My emails that need action are building up, as the surveys I need to conduct generally require a desktop or laptop computer rather than a smartphone screen.

I think that this is a natural thing at this time of year, but I'm finding it very frustrating. I want to be able to enjoy my time with the wife and kids without having a list as long as my arm at the back of my mind.

It's time to go back to the diary and to reassess what can be done in the time I have, and what can wait until the new year.