Hello Monday, my old friend...

Forgive the paraphrase Messrs Simon and Garfunkel.

As some of you may know I have recently moved house. I won't get into any sort of adjectives on the matter, but I will note some lessons learned.

1) Share the load.

I genuinely believe that life is a team sport. Having said that, my natural inclination is to not be an inconvenience. So that which I can do alone, I do alone. However at a certain point you are taking from one area of your life to give to another. So ask yourself, what is the cost of doing it alone. Silly example, of course I can wash the pile of dishes in the sink, but that means it takes me longer to unpack the boxes for my office and set up my workspace. So, when a wonderful friend pops in and washes my dishes - I can either say "No, don't worry about it" or I can say "Thanks, I'll be in the office setting up. I appreciate your help" If I go with the former option then I am delayed and I can only start working properly a day later. Lost opportunity cost anyone?

See also: blog post by Ms Luvvie Ajayi Jones, activist and writer

2) Play to strengths

Some people are naturally better at big picture thinking, while others are better at details. Some people are better at arranging the logistics of a move, and others are better at packing and labelling boxes. Some of us are good at strategy, and others good at putting ideas into action. When we ask people to operate outside of their skills, we lose the benefit of those skills. Sure they can get it done, but it may take longer, or it may not be done as well. In addition we run the risk of pushing people into a space where they feel incompetent or like failures.

See also: the work of CliftonStrengths

3) Eat, Hydrate and Sleep

These are the building blocks . Normally I would add "move your body" but if you're moving house... I can promise you aren't sitting still.

I'm not proud to admit that I spent 3 days fuelled by Coffee (shout out Seattle Coffee Company) and sugar (shout out several chocolate bars) and then, no surprise I got sick.

When we stay the course of simple guiding principles, we do better. In your situation, before you start remember this wisdom from author and activist Glennon Doyle : “When everything is terrible and I hate my life and I feel certain that I need a new career, a new religion, a new house, a new life, I look at my list and remember that what I really need is probably a glass of water.”

We often conflate simple things and easy things. Keep an eye on this.

So, let your dishes be washed, do what you do well, and make sure you're drinking water.