working lives partnership

Anita Houghton's Reflections and Tips

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Welcome to Anita Houghton's Reflections and Tips Archives.

Anita Houghton is founder of The Working Lives Partnership,

www.workinglives.co.uk, a coaching consultancy aimed at helping people to be more effective, fulfilled and happy at work. She is the author of Finding Square Holes, a popular self help career manual, and several other aids to career development, self-awareness and growth.

The first 'Reflections and Tips' was sent out in September 2009, and they have been sent out every two weeks since then. They cover a range of coaching topics, from highly practical tips on subjects like how to organise your work, to more soul-searching explorations, such as how you handle your feelings. All past tips can be viewed by clicking on the appropriate link below.

Please feel free to email Anita at anita.tips@gmail.com if you have any queries or comments, and if you like the tips why not sign up to receive them regularly?

Past Reflections and Tips
No. 141. Is it love or attachment? (7/29/2016)
No. 139. On accidents of birth (3/25/2016)
No. 138. The case for being present (2/19/2016)
No. 137. Which part of your life needs a good tidy? (1/29/2016)
No. 136. A recipe for a peaceful Christmas (12/19/2015)
No. 135. The joy of breaking rules (10/3/2015)
No. 134. What are your rules for others? (6/26/2015)
No. 133. The question why? (5/29/2015)
No. 132. God and camels (5/1/2015)
No. 131. How fundamentalist are you? (4/10/2015)
No. 130. We all need encouragement (3/13/2015)
No. 129 Another year, another chance! (1/16/2015)
No. 128 The season of goodwill? (12/19/2014)
No. 127. On being a woman (11/22/2014)
No. 126. The people who drive us crazy (10/31/2014)
No. 125 On being a man (10/3/2014)
No. 124. Rejoicement therapy (9/12/2014)
No. 123. Who do you need to convince? (8/22/2014)
No. 122 Where do you go in a crisis? (8/1/2014)
No. 121. What is your conversation style? (7/11/2014)
No. 120. The paradox of 'not enough' (6/20/2014)
No. 119. To want or not to want? (5/30/2014)
No. 118. How visible are you? (5/16/2014)
No. 117. Why is it so difficult to accept a compliment? (5/2/2014)
No. 116. Guilt - the eighth deadly sin? (4/19/2014)
No. 115. How to laugh more (3/28/2014)
No. 114. Which 'you' is running your life? (3/14/2014)
No. 113. A lesson in duty (2/28/2014)
No. 112. Finding your genius (2/14/2014)
No. 111. Truth and Lies (1/31/2014)
No. 110. A year of living dangerously? (1/18/2014)
No. 108. How to start a new year (1/3/2014)
No. 108. On celebrating Christmas (12/20/2013)
No. 107. What is money? (11/29/2013)
No. 106. Beyond right and wrong (11/15/2013)
No. 105. Lessons in survival and healing (11/1/2013)
No. 104. More effective delegating (10/18/2013)
No. 103. On forgiveness (10/4/2013)
No. 102. What's right with being wrong? (9/20/2013)
No. 101. Influencing in tricky situations (9/6/2013)
No. 100. How to improve a relationship (8/23/2013)
No. 99. What can we learn from waves? (8/9/2013)
No. 98. From powerlessness to responsibility (7/19/2013)
No. 97. Compassion (6/28/2013)
No. 96. In praise of powerlessness (6/7/2013)
No. 95. Leadership and the body (5/24/2013)
No. 94. Pride - is it so bad? (5/10/2013)
No. 93. The Quiet People (4/26/2013)
No. 92. Mountains and molehills (4/12/2013)
No. 91. On leading (and surviving) change (3/29/2013)
No. 90 Humour - the best medicine? (3/15/2013)
No. 89 Making comparisons work for you (3/1/2013)
No. 88 Why do you do what you do? (2/15/2013)
No. 87. How to make friends with happiness (2/1/2013)
No. 86. Getting ship-shape for 2013! (1/18/2013)
No. 85. New Year, New Paradigm! (1/4/2013)
No 84. Your Christmas present to yourself. (12/21/2012)
No. 83. How green is your mind? (12/7/2012)
No. 82. Take a risk this week! (11/23/2012)
No. 81. Be careful where you spend your time (11/9/2012)
No. 80. Are you driven to achieve? (10/26/2012)
No. 79. The joy of not knowing (10/11/2012)
No. 78. How to have a good autumn (9/28/2012)
No.77. The power of life's little pleasures (9/14/2012)
No 76. What do you use your brain for? (8/31/2012)
No. 75. The World in a Tuna Sandwich (8/17/2012)
No. 74. On modesty and being British (8/3/2012)
No. 73. How autonomous are you? (7/20/2012)
No. 72. What lies between you and your dreams? (7/6/2012)
No. 71. Time to reassess your competence? (6/22/2012)
No. 70. How to handle a bad day (6/8/2012)
No 69. What sets you apart from other people? (5/25/2012)
No 68. Do you have a secret bad habit? (5/11/2012)
No 67. Regret - and how to avoid it (4/27/2012)
No. 66 Finding purpose in what you do (4/13/2012)
No. 65 How to really live (3/30/2012)
No. 64 Reclaim your energy (3/16/2012)
No. 63 When being nice doesn't work (3/2/2012)
No 62. How gracious are you? (2/10/2012)
No. 61. Change or die! (1/27/2012)
No. 60. Conflict: time for some new tactics? (1/13/2012)
No. 59. A new year, a new you! (12/30/2011)
No. 58. Could Christmas be better this year? (12/16/2011)
No. 57. The difference between safety and certainty (12/2/2011)
No. 56. The Mystery of Charisma (11/18/2011)
What is it and how to get more of it.
No. 55. Medicine and the Dalai Lama (11/4/2011)
A conflict of philosophies?
No. 54. How to do more things well (10/21/2011)
Time to shine a light on some of those murky areas we do half-heartedly.
No. 53. The unexpected benefits of laughter (10/7/2011)
It really does improve your health.
No. 52. How to make better choices (9/23/2011)
No. 51. Handling criticism (9/9/2011)
Rarely easy, but do we make it more difficult than we need to?
No. 50. Your life: journeying or waiting? (8/26/2011)
No. 49. Your relationship with money (8/12/2011)
No. 48. Becoming more at ease with yourself (7/29/2011)
No. 47. Did you choose the right career? (7/15/2011)
No. 46. Accepting Reality (7/2/2011)
No. 45. How to achieve more while doing less (6/18/2011)
Which of your activities are most productive?
No. 44. Less stress, more resilience (6/3/2011)
No. 43. How do you sabotage yourself? (5/21/2011)
And how might you stop?
No. 42. What are holidays for? (5/7/2011)
For the best holiday it's good to clarify what you are taking a holiday from.
No. 41. Increase your confidence at work (4/16/2011)
No. 40. How to stop procrastinating (4/8/2011)
No. 39. What's right with being wrong? (3/25/2011)
No. 38 How much control do you need? (3/11/2011)
No. 37 More effective projects (2/25/2011)
No. 36 When were you last really here? (2/12/2011)
An exploration of mindfulness
No. 35 Difficult decisions (1/28/2011)
No. 34 Getting a job: first things first (1/14/2011)
No. 33 Your Three Steps to a Successful 2011 (12/31/2010)
No. 32 What's wrong with anger? (12/17/2010)
No. 31 The Art of Influencing (12/8/2010)
If you don't learn it, you won't know if someone is using it on you.
No. 30. On giving feedback (11/19/2010)
How to give difficult feedback without sending your staff straight to the job pages.
No. 29. Why do you work? (11/5/2010)
A good question to ask from time to time
No. 28. Feel happier in ten minutes (10/22/2010)
Evidence based methods for cheering up.
No. 27. A different way of getting things done (10/8/2010)
Psychological type - taking a look at the 'perceiving' type.
No. 26. To-do lists - friend or foe? (9/24/2010)
Are your lists the friendly helper you think they are?
No. 25. How comfortable is your life? (9/10/2010)
How our constant striving for safety can limit our lives.
No. 24. A good time for networking (8/27/2010)
No. 23. Are you a perfectionist? (8/13/2010)
How perfectionists sabotage themselves, and how not to.
No. 22. How to handle your boss... (7/30/2010)
If you never consdired the possibility that you could handle your boss, read this!
No. 21. The more things change.... (7/16/2010)
When so much is changing it's easy to overlook the constants in your life.
No. 20. How to win friends (7/2/2010)
Some simple tips, based on Dale Carnegie's book.
No. 19. Let me introduce you..... to your brain (6/18/2010)
We think that we are in charge and yet our brain has more control than we think.
No. 18. No feelings please, we're at work! (6/4/2010)
Not expressing your feelings doesn't mean not feeling them.
No. 17. The problem with things unsaid (5/21/2010)
Time to have that conversation you've been putting off.
No. 16. How do you treat yourself? (5/8/2010)
Charity starts at home, but sadly charity is a rare commodity in our dialogue with ourselves. Spot your inner bully and try a different approach
No. 15. What is your genius? (4/23/2010)
Find out what you do fantastically well and work out how you can use that genius more in your work and life
No. 14. Getting ahead at work: Part Four (4/9/2010)
Take some time to think
No. 13. Getting ahead at work: Part Three (3/26/2010)
The importance of building relationships at work
No. 12. Getting ahead at work: Part Two (3/12/2010)
Taking time to educate and develop yourself
No. 11. Getting ahead at work: Part One (2/26/2010)
Taking stock of how you spend your time at work and consciously choosing how you would like to spend your time can pay huge dividends.
No 10. Simple questions for tackling any problem (2/12/2010)
Be your own coach with this set of simple questions to tackle any problem.
No. 10. Whose life is it anyway? (1/29/2010)
Do you take too much responsibility for other people? Doing so can be surprisingly unhelpful for both you and the people you want to look after. Give yourself a break!
No. 9. The power of life's little pleasures (1/15/2010)
Discover how a small shift in your thinking can make you feel completely different.
No. 8. What kind of year would you like? (1/1/2010)
A new way of thinking about new year resolutions
No. 7. How to make yourself more employable (12/11/2009)
In hard economic times it is more important than ever to be clear about what you offer either current or potential employers.
No. 6. What would you like to take an exam in? (11/27/2009)
School only measures a small part of us - what other aspects of yourself would you have liked to be recognised?
No. 5. New perspectives on old relationships (11/14/2009)
Destructive patterns of interaction with people close to us can last a lifetime if you don't change what you do.
No 4. What's your 'heart attack'? (10/31/2009)
Do you neglect parts of your life? This tip helps you to think about what problems you might be storing up for yourself unless you take action now.
No 3. More action, less angst! (10/16/2009)
Thinking about the things you have to do is much worse than actually doing them"
No 2. Getting back in control (10/2/2009)
The secret of a stressful life is to spend your time worrying about things you have absolutely no control over. The secret of peace is to start focussing on what you do control.
No 1. What do you use your brain for? (9/19/2009)
We spend most of our waking hours in our brains, so why not stop and take a look at what goes on in yours?

The Working Lives Partnership
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