Low profile

Generally, I'm keeping a low profile around Maputo until I get my paperwork more in order during a visit to the UK next month. It's bureaucratic here and we have to be able to demonstrate that we're following the correct steps to get everything shipshape.

This means a more low key month than I've experienced for quite some time. Work is feeling healthily busy but not yet overwhelming, so I'm enjoying this rare sensation. Reflecting on my work style, I'd like to adhere to the following principles to avoid slipping into unproductive habits.

* Just do it. Launch in and start tasks rather than be daunted by their complexity. They only gnaw away otherwise and there's a solution for everything.
* Accept limits. There is only so much time in the day and it's critically important in the NGO world to avoid the nagging feeling of 'not having done enough' at the end of a typical 8-hour day.
* Limit distractions. Although annoyingly needed often here to talk to colleagues on Whatsapp, banish phones from the workstation and rally against the damaging habits wrought on us by the smartphone era.
* Finish what is started. Strive for that sense of productivity that comes from completing tasks; not having twenty draft emails, sixteen Skype chats and thirty-five open documents on the go concurrently.

So there we have it. Crackpot work tips for 2019. Available for professional speaking engagements. Contact my assistant me on Whatsapp to organise.