Dealing with none IT individuals

In the IT field, there are always times when you have to deal with someone that has no understanding of computers or internet.

Even now, there are individuals that do not own a computer and never will because it is something they just don't want to have to deal with.  I understand this as my mother doesn't want to use a computer because, as she says, at her age why bother learning it.

For people that work, a computer is something that they have to deal with almost on a daily, if not daily basis if they work in an office environment.  A computer is something that is now part of ever office, and knowing the basics is very important.

Yesterday I got to hear a very interesting comment from someone that uses a computer but has no understanding about a computer and where things are stored.  This individual wanted a new monitor because she was having problems with her existing monitor.  A new monitor was found for her, and then she says, "I can't change my monitor because all my bookmarks and files are on the old monitor."  I was only hearing this comment and have to admit that I was surprised to hear that comment and I ended up laughing because of it.

Yes, nowadays if you have an all-in-one-computer, you can't just replace a monitor, but most computers still have an independent monitor, and it is not where the files and bookmarks are stored.  So yes, we get to hear different comments from end users, and we have to understand that there are generations that grew up with computers and there are some generations that didn't have computers until they were working for a while.

Mobile devices

I have noticed lately that more and more people are walking while looking at their mobile devices.  It gets very frustrating to deal with this type of person.

If you need to deal with a message, step aside and deal with and don't try and walk and type as it doesn't work.  I am saying this because this morning, a man reading his mobile device walked into me and blamed me for not watching where I was going.  I was trying to avoid him, but it is hard when someone cannot walk straight.

At least years ago, when people were only listening to music when they were walking around, it wasn't quite as dangerous to other individuals.  These people normally had their heads up when they were walking and listening to music. 

Now it seems that the constant flow of emails or instant messaging seems to be more important than the actual movement of the individual.  Yes, I do carry a mobile device, but if I get a message I will try and step aside to read it instead of trying to walk and read.  I know that the police were trying to get people to stop reading/texting on mobile devices while crossing the road because people were getting injured.  I have seen people start to cross the road against the light because they were too busy on their mobile device to pay attention to where they were.  I have yelled a few times to get someone to notice that the light is against them.

Yes, everyone is busy nowadays because we seem to have more demands on us, but when moving around, please remember you aren't the only one moving about.  A message can wait a couple of minutes, and it will be a saver for you as well as for others.

2013 Goal review - midpoint

It's hard to believe, but the year is half over, so I figured it was time

2013 Goals:
1. Blog four times each month: 4 months of 4 posts and 2 months of 1 post each
2. Complete 3 course toward Fundraising Certificate: have completed 2 and currently taking 2 more
3. Write a minimum of 15,000 words a month.:  have writing lots and as of June 30 have exceeded the 15,000 per month total
4. Take time for myself on a regular basis: still working on this

I am working hard on my writing, and I want to ensure that I am getting into the habit of writing most days.  In May, I was very happy because I only missed writing one day that month.  Some months have been better than others, but at least I can say that overall, I have exceeded 15,000 words a month.

Now to see if I can get my blogging up to 4 posts a month.

Following Other People's Blogs

I am one of those that enjoys reading a variety of different blogs. In my blog list I have some craft sites, IT sites, general thinking sites and even some writing sites. It is a lot of fun to see how often people post on the various blogs. Some individuals post on an almost daily basis and others seem to post whenever.

For me, what is interesting is those that start a blog and on their first post they state how often they are going to post. I think the best thing is before you can state how often you are going to post is actually get into a routine of posting first. Once your routine is established, then you might think about posting something about when people can expect posts. For me, I know that I have set a goal of posting around 4 times a month, but sometimes all my posts are near the end of the month and other times the posts are spaced out. It all depends on what time I have for writing the posts and when ideas for the posts come to me.

For me, reading other individuals blogs helps inspire me to write my own blog more often, and it is also a great way to see different writing styles. Some blogs always have pictures attached, and other blogs never have a picture attached. I know that this blog doesn't normally have pictures, but when I find that the blog is enhanced by a picture, I will include one.

A blog is a great communication device, and for me, it is also a means of keeping track of my thoughts and making them easily accessible to even me. I know I have looked up something I have written on a blog, and it has helped me explain something to someone else. My blogs are my way of expressing my thoughts to others.

Off to read a couple more blogs today.

What is Really Important

What is important to one person can be unimportant to someone else. Respecting others is what is necessary, and you need to know what is important to them. It could be as simple as knowing not to call after 9pm. Even the little things can have a high value to someone.

For me, what is important is having the opportunity to write when I have the thoughts flying around in my head. To someone else that doesn't think writing is important, won't understand the importance to me.

Understanding those around you and what is important to them can make a big difference. To some people, having tons of friends is important, while others just having a few close friends is important. Knowing and respecting what is important to those around you can make a big difference.

What is really important to me is knowing what is also important to those close to me.

Taking Time For Yourself

It is very important to remember that most people need to take time for themselves. Sometimes this time can be easily achieved, while other times it may need to be schedule. When I say scheduled, I mean booked so that something else cannot take that time away from you.

I have booked sometime in my calendar occasionally to ensure I have time for me. It can be a challenge sometimes to take some time to recharge the personal battery. In some cases, the taking time can be a half an hour here and there, while other times it can be a few hours or even a few days.

For me, taking time for myself has meant taking a bit of sleep time away so that I could have some quite time to myself. I can find that I want to write late at night, and I need to do it then sometimes. If I don't get the thoughts written down, I don't sleep, so I might as well get up and get the thoughts onto paper.

Taking time for yourself, is very important to ensure you are there to help others and even do your own job. Remember, when time starts to go crazy, book a little “me time” for yourself.

One Step At A Time

Almost everyone has a goal that they want to achieve. It could be something small or something that could take years to achieve. Having a goal is great, and knowing how to achieve it is also important. Realizing that there are a number of steps to take to achieve a goal can really help.

In some cases, documenting the various steps can help in achieving the overall goal. Also, if you end up not achieving the overall goal, you can at least see how far you go and even figure out why you didn't achieve the overall goal. For some individuals, they don't write down the steps and just plow ahead and get frustrated when they don't achieve a goal because of a major obstacle. At least by writing down the various steps you might discover the major obstacle before putting a lot of time, energy and maybe even money into something.

For small goals, it isn't always necessary to write down all the steps because there aren't lots of steps. At least clearly thinking the goal through can help.

I have goals that I want to achieve, and some are small while others are larger goals. There are times when I can't achieve a larger goal, but at least having the steps documented, I can see how far I actually got. In some cases, it has taken years to get back to working on a goal and in some cases the steps have changed.

For me, achieving a goal is done one step at a time.