It's good to have a mini adventure, when you don't really have the energy for a big one. It was very hot yesterday, and we'd spent a bit too long working on blogs and websites. We were keen to get out for the day, but couldn't really justify a day off as such.. and I was shattered! So we went to Ballynoe Stone Circle for a work day out.
It's an almost perfectly complete stone circle, with about 50 standing stones, dating back about 5000 years, and is only half an hour from Belfast. It is absolutely beautiful, with the Mourne Mountains as a backdrop, and buzzards calling overhead.
There is the most enchanted little walkway down to it, and no-one really goes there. We were there for about 6 hours yesterday, and only saw three people in the middle of a beautiful afternoon in July. In winter, we rarely see a soul there at all - the perfect place to relocate our office to for the afternoon!
Since it was officially a working day for us, we brought the time lapse gear, and some work related reading material, and then enjoyed the sunshine (as much as a couple of pasty Irish people can!)
I'm feeling the heat more than usual with José on board, and so our travel umbrella (in the camera bag at all times to protect the time lapse gear from sudden Irish downpours) doubled up as a handy parasol!
All in, we were there for about 6 hours, most of which involved me lying on the picnic blanket reading, I even managed to squeeze in a little nap. But yet, I read some of my marketing book, learned the basics of my new camera, and helped Aaron get some nice time lapse footage. And so, even on those days when pregnancy seems to suck all the energy out of you, a bit of a re-think can mean you get a lot done and end the day feeling refreshed!
So if your feeling completely zonked (in pregnancy or for any other reason), see if there's some way you can take some time out without getting too behind. A trick I used to do in my previous job was work from home, and then bring the laptop to bed. No-one knew I was only getting up out of bed at midday, as I was getting plenty done, and quick to get back to emails.
How to productively skive
Go somewhere nice with your work - park, cafe, bed. With mobiles and laptops, you can pretty much work anywhere these days with a bit of preparation
Do different types of work - always get caught up dealing with emails? Forget about them for the morning, and get reading that business book that's been taunting you from the shelf!
Focus on one thing - if you are have one horrible task that you're always putting off, bring it with you (somewhere nice) where you will get total peace and quiet (because you've turned off your email and phone). You will find the task is not as bad as you first thought, and you'll feel great when you get it done. You can justify that second brownie in the coffee shop, because you really are working so hard!
Just put your feet up - even if you can't get away from the office, you don't always have to sit at your desk! Chill out in the canteen with some work you've been meaning to get on with, you'll find stepping away from your usual environment puts a spring in your step!
