HOLIDAY TIME

Why does it happen every year? I usually learn from my mistakes or, even better, the mistakes of others, but again this year I find myself days away from going on holiday rushing to do things which I should have done weeks or even months ago.

I remember my daughter telling me when she was still typing an assignment for her university course two hours before the deadline that she worked better under pressure. I argued that that was nonsense and that, if she planned her work better, she would have more time and be better able to think about what she was doing. Yet there must be some truth in what she said because these jobs which I have left to the last minute are being done well but without the usual messing around which often indulge in.

While I'm on holiday I shall take some time to have a closer look at myself, to do some planning and to see if I really do work better under pressure.

SERVICE

Those of you who keep up with these newsletters will have read of my bad experience with my telecomms provider. So committed are they to dealing with faults and complaints that almost three weeks after I wrote to them I still have had no response! It's shocking!

A second example of excellent service, however, comes from my ISP, Pipex. Since I moved to NTL I have not been able to use Outlook Express to send and receive e-mails. I contacted the Pipex help desk yesterday and five minutes later my settings were set and everything was working great. Thanks Pipex.

I am now doing some interseting but strangely difficult work for Glasgow Mentoring Network. Essentially my role is to link young unemployed people who are looking for work with mentors who will help them into work. The service is voluntary so only individuals seriously interested in finding a job are involved. I managed to make my first link-up quite easily but I have had problems finding mentors since then. The other agent who works on the programme has a database of about 200 mentors so has less of a problem. I need to get to the same level quickly but it's proving a tough job.

I think there's a lot in it for the mentors. They will help the economy of the area as well as getting a buzz from seeing a young person take a first or another step on the career ladder. It also looks good on the CV. I shall keep working at it.