Getting Started with GTD

Intro

Hello there.

I’m Julian and I'm really pleased that you've chosen to download and listen to this episode.  I really appreciate you taking the time to listen to little 'ol me! 

If you're new here, then welcome to the Productivity Matters podcast. A podcast all about apps, products and services that help you be better at getting things done.

On this episode, I’m going to take a look at a number of things, so without further ado, let’s get started. 

So, as you may know from the last episode, I got married. It was almost two weeks ago (wow! doesn’t time fly) and it was a really magical day. Everything went according to plan, the venue looked fantastic and the bride was / is beautiful. 

We used apps to help manage all the tasks and meetings, and you can hear about it in the last episode, “We’re Getting Married”.

Now, it’s back to reality...

Getting Things Done

I’m currently reading Getting Things Done... the productivity methodology by David Allen. 

Yes. Whilst I’m a great advocate of being as efficient as possible, using apps, products and services, this is one area that I haven’t looked at. Until now. 

I’m about halfway through the book and already it’s having a effect on my thinking and I’ve made some tweaks to my workflow to better use it. I’ve also listened to some of the GTD podcast episodes to try and soak it up, as well as read some interesting blogs on the subject. 

In summary, GTD is based on storing, tracking, and retrieving the information related to the things that need to get done. Mental blocks we encounter are caused by insufficient 'front-end' planning. This means thinking in advance, generating a series of actions which can be done later without further planning. Our mind's "reminder system" is inefficient and seldom reminds us of what we need to do at the time and place when we can do it. Consequently, the "next actions" stored by context in the "trusted system" act as an external support which ensures that we are presented with the right reminders at the right time. 

I’m also amending the way I use ToDoIst to fit it into the GTD method. I’ll update you about that in a future episode. 

You can buy the book here

Getting Things Done

Apple Shortcuts

Shortcuts. It’s the app that was born out of Apple buying Workflow and integrating it into iOS. 

It’s recently been updated, adding more functionality. 

For those that don’t know, Shortcuts is a way to create small apps and launchers to get things done more easily. The best thing is you don’t need to know any coding language.

For example, you may want to take a selection of pictures, create a gif and then send it in a message.  With Shortcuts, you can do this very easily.

You use a wizard to create the flows.

I’ve created quite a few, one to record blood pressure, a couple to automatically post blogs and the best one is a script to quickly commentate on my sons football (soccer) match. 

I start with entering the name of the opposing team. A quick welcome includes the current weather conditions. 

Each action can be called from a menu and the name of the boy taking it. When a goal is scored, I enter the new score. 

Each of these are then sent to the WhatsApp group; as they happen. I do it for fun, and the parents seem to like it. So much, that they don’t even come to watch !! Maybe I should stop. 

It’s fine in good weather; but if it’s wet out I tend to be less frequent with updates!

The new update adds several new actions, the biggest of which is the ability for Shortcuts to work with the Notes app. There are now actions for Create Note, Append to Note, Find Notes, and Show Note. This is going to make both the Shortcuts app and the Notes app a lot more useful.

If you haven’t had a play, then spend some time looking at all the things that Shortcuts can offer… it’s not built into the OS, you will need to download the app, but it’s free and it’s definitely worth investing a little time to see what it can do for you.  There are plenty of pre-built Shortcuts, that you can use, and then maybe edit to build upon them for your needs.

Apple Shortcuts

Drafts 5

Drafts is a great way to capture text and has been on my iPhone for about a year. Earlier this week the developer released a version specifically for the Mac. It has all the great formatting functionality; the only thing missing at launch is the Actions - but they are on the way. When that happens, it opens up a whole new way to interact with Drafts and other apps. 

I use Drafts 5 to update a Google Sheet.  When I take a payment from a parent at my Cub group; I have a pre-formatted page, where I enter the date, amount and reason - I then run an action, which in turn calls a Zap from Zapier; and the sheet is updated.

The same for creating my monthly invoices.  Again, using a similar page to the one I just mentioned; I enter the date and number of days to be invoiced; and when I run the action, a Zap will enter this onto a new line in Sheets. A Zap, from Zapier, then picks this up and creates the invoice inside my invoicing software.  Brilliant.

One final example - returning to the Cub pack; if I want to send a group message, I can write it in advance in Drafts, and when it's time, I'll send it directly via WhatsApp, to the group.  It means I can create the message without fear of sending it in error; and if I have a task in ToDoIst to remind me to send it - then, job done!

Drafts 5

Cardhop

Cardhop - the contact manager from Flexibits, that was released on MacOS about 18 months ago, has today launched their iOS app; available for iPhone and iPad

I’ve been using it for a while, and jumped in straight away when I saw this available in the app store.  It costs £3.99, in the UK, and I believe it’s $4 in the US.  I’ve been waiting for this, as I just don’t like the standard Apple contacts app.

Like the Mac app, the iOS version of Cardhop makes it fast and easy to add a new contact or look up an existing one and it’s simple enough to use that it you may actually want to manage your contacts.

There have basically been no good contacts apps for mobile.

As I mentioned, Cardhop comes from Fantastical creator Flexibits, and is great because it lets you deal with your contacts quickly. 

At the bottom of the app, there’s a single search box that controls everything. Type a name / address / company / etc, and if there’s a matching contact it will be presented to you.

The natural language capability of Fantastical 2 is also prevalent here.  You can type commands; so typing “email Jane” will let you tap her name to immediately open up a new email - and since you can select your default email app, it’ll open it there too.

The search box also lets you add new contacts. So, start typing the name of someone who isn’t in your contacts list, it’ll automatically begin creating a new entry. You don’t have to go field by field to fill in their details, either: if you type “John Smith 01611234567 john.smith@productivitymatters.co.uk 1/1/01,” it’ll recognize those individual details as a name, phone number, email address, and birthdate, and plug them into the appropriate fields.

When you launch the app, you’ll be presented with your favourites; which is obviously blank to begin with, but is easy to add and re-order to suit you.  Click on a contact and you’ll see all the information you have for them.  Bear in mind the the app doesn’t create its own contact list.  Instead, it syncs with major contact list providers like Google and Microsoft Exchange.

Beneath the name, you’ll find the quick action buttons, which you can designate yourself in the settings.  Call, video, message, email and more, are all available.

What’s really good, is that when you are looking at a list, simply swipe the name to the right to access these quick actions, without opening the contact.

I mentioned you can email from the search, but it doesn’t stop there.

The really clever bit is in the shortcuts that you can type into the search box… enter WhatsApp Karen, and the contact card will appear, with the WhatsApp logo.  You don’t even need to enter WhatsApp - just wa and the name.

Enter Call and the contact name, and the telephone button will appear for each number you have for the contact.  Type Message and the contact name to go into iMessage.  Whilst it may take some getting into the habit, it’s a great way to interact with your contacts.

Cardhop for iOS does have one feature that the Mac app doesn’t: a business card mode. If you turn your phone into landscape, it will automatically pull up a business card with some basic contact info about yourself along with a QR code. If someone else scans the code, it’ll automatically import whatever contact info you’ve chosen to share about yourself.

I’ve only downloaded it today, but it’s already replaced the stock contacts app… Thumbs up from me for this one.

Cardhop

Thank You

And that’s it for this episode.  

Shortcuts, Getting Things Done, Cardhop and Drafts 5… I’ve covered quite a few things here and details of them all are in the show notes.

I hope you’ve found this episode interesting.

If you have any questions about anything, then please get in touch via Twitter @prodmatters or any of the other social places.

Don’t forget to follow me where you normally listen to your podcasts.

Thank you very much for listening and until next time, remember, Productivity Matters.

Equipment I use to make my podcasts:

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Please help to support this podcast - click here to make a donation which will help me to keep creating great content.

It's very much appreciated.  Thank you.

If you purchase from these links then I may receive a commission.  This does not affect the price you will pay.  Thank you.

We're Getting Married

Intro

Hello there.

I’m Julian and I'm really pleased that you've chosen to download and listen to this episode.  I really appreciate you taking the time to listen to little 'ol me! 

If you're new here, then welcome to the Productivity Matters podcast.

This is a bit of a special episode as I’m going to talk about planning a wedding.  In fact, planning my wedding.  

So, I’m just going to pop the champagne open and pour myself a glass…. would you like one too?  Alright then.

Enjoy it, as you listen to this weeks episode

Getting Married

Yes.  I’m getting married.  This coming Sunday in fact.  And if you’re listening after the event, then it’s the 17th March.  It’s an amazing feeling; and we’re both very excited.  In fact everyone is very excited.

Karen, my fiancée is a wonderful lady (lady?)

Does the word ‘lady’ make you think of an older person?  At what point does someone go from being a young man/woman, to a man or woman.

Should I say that my fiancée is a wonderful woman?  Wonderful girl?  'Girl’ sounds too patronising?

Whatever - Karen is wonderful.  In every sense.  She’s beautiful, caring, generous, loving and I can’t wait to marry her.

We’ve been together for over 7 years, and the time has flown.  7 years?  Yes - this is the 7 year itch - in reverse… haha!

Between us, we have 5 children; and before you start shouting at me - they don’t all live with us, all the time.

I Do

So, whilst this is all very exciting, it’s a really, lovely, tenuous link to talk about some of the apps we’ve been using to help prepare for the  big day.  

These won’t come as a surprise to regular listeners, but explaining them in a real-world scenario may help you to better understand the benefits they bring.

Karen is not a huge fan of using lots of different technology - a pad and pen are more her style.  Which is absolutely fine, and it works.  It just makes it more difficult if you need to share tasks and information.

So; what have we been using?

ToDoIst

First of all; as with all big events, there are to do lists on top of to do lists!  Whilst I use Todoist (and totally love it) I wasn’t going to ‘force’ it on Karen, so we set up a shared Reminders list on iCloud.  Now I can see all the tasks, when they’re added and, more importantly, when they’re checked off as complete.

I would have liked to have these in Todoist - however, since I use Fantastical 2, I set the specific Reminders list to show in my calendar, so I only needed to see one list; and it’s easy to add to a Reminders list from Fantastical 2 as well.

I did create my own list, in Todoist, for some things that I needed to do - like write my speech, sort out my clothes etc, and in this way could keep my individual tasks separate from the main tasks.

Calendar

Of course, there are many people involved in planning and delivering an event as big as a wedding, those who are providing services; such as the caterer, florist etc etc.  Meetings for all these were all managed using a shared iCloud Calendar.  

Again, as I use Fantastical 2 on my MacBook and iPhone; the calendar is available there, and I could continue to use that without any changes.

So, Fantastical 2 has proved itself very versatile in bringing together two applications together to minimise the number of apps that are needed.

With all the emails flying back and forward, I use Spark email, and the integration with Todoist helped me to save time, by just adding the emails to the relevant service, for following up later.

Evernote

Now, as the groom, I needed to write, and deliver, a speech.  I agonised and spent a rather inordinate amount of time going over it, finessing it.. and I needed a tool to keep it with me everywhere, so I could access it whenever I needed to. 

That tool was Evernote.  

I have been an Evernote user for over 8 years now, and whilst I have tried others, such as Bear and OneNote, Notes on Apple devices and Google Keep, regardless of the bad press that Evernote has received over the last few months, it’s still the service that I naturally turn to for taking notes.

A big benefit of Evernote is the Web Clipper. It's a fantastic way to take clips from pages on the internet and save them for later. Maybe you're researching a new car, or holiday or anything you like; you see something on the internet that you want to keep for reference.

The Web Clipper, which is installed as an extension on you browser, will let you either capture the entire screen, just a snippet or a text version and save it straight into your Evernote. You can even set the notebook you want it stored in, along with any notes and tags.

I use Evernote in conjunction with Scannable, so it was useful to capture invoices and important information we received, to store them in a single place.

I also use it for work, to capture notes from meetings, as well as somewhere to brain-storm ideas.

The search functionality within Evernote is second-to-none. If you've scanned in documents, the OCR capability for documents, means that when you search for something, Evernote won't only look at the notes that you've created, but also inside the documents (whether word or pdf). It will also search any text that's part of a photo.

This means, that even without the notebooks, if you're looking for something, then there is a very high probability of finding it just entering a key phrase or word.

This does mean that the number of results returned from this search could be daunting; and another reason why you could use the tagging functionality to help filter and focus on what you're looking for.

Evernote also has Templates; ideal if you’re using the same format for many notes.  When you start a new note, opt to use a template, and the screen will be pre-filled with tables, or format, for you to complete.  Great for agendas, or journal keeping or a telephone message pad etc.

Back to my speech… 

Google Sheets and Docs

Another HUGE part of planning a wedding is managing the finances!  Weddings aren't cheap and keeping tabs on the expenses is a must, to make sure you don’t go mad.  Of course, this is relevant for all things in life, not just weddings!!

I created a Google Sheet into which I added 4 columns.  The reason for the expenditure, the total expected cost, the deposit paid and the final column is a calculated value based on B-C (the expected cost minus the deposit paid).

Because this is a Google Sheet, I could share this with Karen, so she could also update the figures.

We also created the guest list and the table plan in Google Sheets.   We used Google Docs for some Reserved signs we wanted to put on some chairs.

Wrap Up

Planning a wedding is a lot of fun, and we’ve really worked as a team to make sure it’s going to be a day to remember.

Here’s a recap of the productivity tools we’ve used to help us.

Todoist and Reminders

Apple Calendar and Fantastical 2

Google Docs

Google Sheets

Evernote

Wedding Phrases

Whilst I was pulling the details of this episode together, I got to thinking about phrases to do with weddings.  The most common one, that I can tell, is to tie the knot.  

Where does that phrase come from?

There is a suggestion that this expression derives from the nets of knotted string which supported beds prior to the introduction of metal-sprung bedframes. The theory goes that, in order to make a marriage bed, you needed to 'tie the knot'. Like many such folk-etymological explanations, there's not a shred of evidence to support this idea.

It isn't clear whether this expression derives from an actual knot used in marriage ceremonies or whether the knot is merely symbolic of a lasting unity. Knots have a   place in the folklore of many cultures and usually symbolize unbreakable pledges. Actual knots have certainly been used in marriage ceremonies for some time and the tradition of trying the wrists of the bride and groom with twine continues today in marriages in the use of sashes which are placed over the principal's wrists. The word 'knot', although not in the phrase 'tie the knot', has been associated with marriage since at least the 13th century. The Legend of St. Katherine, circa 1225 used the Middle English 'cnotte', that is, 'knot', to mean 'the tie or bond of wedlock; the marriage or wedding knot’.

What about - Plight my troth.  A very old-English saying.

Troth is faithfulness, loyalty, honesty. Troth is not something you just trot out. It is something that is a commitment. It is something you plight. So the magic spell could be I promise you I will be true.

Other, more common, slang terms include Getting hitched and Getting spliced

Podcast of the Week

Before I finish, it’s time for “Podcast of the Week” - my weekly look at another podcast that you might find interesting / enjoyable.

I don’t normally do national radio podcasts; but one I listen to every day is from BBC Radio 2 - it’s the daily pop quiz, called Pop Master.

Hosted by Ken Bruce, this quiz is part of the weekday, mid-morning show, and pits two listeners against each other to get the highest score, to get the chance to win a digital radio.  The podcast splits this segment and presents it in a nice, roughly 15 minutes, episode.

As I said, I would normally promote an independent podcaster, but since this one is a lot of fun to listen to; especially as I try my best to answer as many questions as possible, then I thought I’d include it.

That’s Pop Master, from BBC Radio 2 - it’s available wherever you normally listen to you podcasts.

Thank You

And that’s it for another week.

I’m going to prepare to tie the knot and plight my troth!!  

I hope you’ve found this episode interesting.

If you have any questions about anything I’ve mentioned, or anything else, then please get in touch via Twitter @prodmatters

Please don’t forget to press the subscribe button in your podcast app of choice, then you’ll get a notification ding when a new episode has been released, so you won’t miss another episode.

Thank you very much for listening and until next time, remember, Productivity Matters.

Equipment I use to make my podcasts:

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Pop Filter - https://amzn.to/2OVMbQP

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Please help to support this podcast - click here to make a donation which will help me to keep creating great content.

It's very much appreciated.  Thank you.

If you purchase from these links then I may receive a commission.  This does not affect the price you will pay.  Thank you.

No Such Thing As Perfect Email

Intro

Hello?  Hello?  Are you there?  Ah…. hello

I’m Julian and I'm really pleased that you've chosen to download and listen to this episode.  I really appreciate you taking the time to listen to little 'ol me! 

Podcasters say it all the time, but it really means a lot that you’ve chosen to listen.

If you're new here, then welcome to the Productivity Matters podcast.

Now, my very first episode was a rather quick, tentative chat about email.  On this episode, I’m going to take a look at my email client of choice - Spark.

If I just press this button here, we can get started…. 

Using Email

We all use email; and we use it a lot.  Whether we like it or not, it’s a primary form of communication.  I’m not comparing it in terms of social media messaging apps, like iMessage, WhatsApp, Messenger or the like.  They are forms of instant messaging, usually used for ‘chatting’.  Back and forth conversations, either between two people, or in groups.

Email, on the other hand, is less immediate.  Yes, I know we receive messages instantly; but an email doesn’t ‘demand’ and instant response.  They contain all sorts of information, and are heavily used for marketing messages; and if you make an online booking for the theatre, or buy something online, then the chances are you’ll receive the confirmation in your email inbox.

Other key points about email - in 99% of cases, it’s totally free.  You can use it regardless of your platform, whether Apple, Android, PC, Mac or Linux.

There are no mysterious algorithms that display your messages! No one company ‘owns’ email.

Another point to note is that, since any reply isn’t expected straight away, then you have the chance to consider a response and how to write it properly.

Emails are pervasive.  They’re everywhere, and managing an inbox is sometime tricky.  The flow of messages can start to make you feel threatened by the volume and that you can’t possibly get to them all.

There are a couple of things you can do to help.  

So, what can you do to make handling your emails easier?

Firstly - Decide what you want to do with it. Does it require an action from you? Do you need to do something?

If an action is required, put the email into a folder that's specifically for these type of messages. Alternatively, add it to a to-do list for future reference

Secondly - If no action is required, do you need to read it now?

Thirdly - Is it a marketing message? Unless you specifically want what's being marketed right now, delete it. Remove it straight away.

One of the biggest issues are the number of emails that are delivered from businesses we've had previous contact with, maybe only once, and gave them permission to send us marketing blurb.

If you don't want to receive them, it's easy to stop - click the 'Unsubscribe' link, usually at the bottom of the message. Firms have to delete you from their mailing list, and after a week or so, you'll stop getting the emails.

This is something I do on an annual basis (if not more often). I have a cull of the emails that are being sent to me. It's incredibly cathartic and all of a sudden the number of emails being delivered dramatically reduces.

Now, I only get emails from the places I want them from - which means I'm less likely to miss them.

There’s plenty of advice about email management, but I wanted to tell you about the email client I use; and why I chose to use it.

Spark

I use Spark email.  Developed by Readdle, I find the app very reliable and very consistent.  It’s free to download and use and is available on the Mac and iOS.  There are paid options for businesses use - more on that shortly.

So what does Spark have to offer.  Firstly, it’s compatible with all the major email providers, Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, Yahoo, Exchange and many, many more.  I’m not stating any of these as unique to Spark; but calling them out.

Spark offers a ’Send Later’ feature, so now you can schedule when you want emails to be sent.  Ideal if you’re working late at night, but don’t want the email to be sent until the morning.

You can ’snooze’ emails.  This will remove them from the inbox, only to be returned at a pre-determined time.  Useful if you’re busy and want to deal with it later.

A relatively new feature is that of Templates.  If you find you are sending repetitious emails, you can create a template, including placeholders for specific information to be added, and then just recall the template when you’re ready to go.  It saves typing the same thing over and over again.  I’ve used it quite a bit, and it’s a real timesaver.

I also like the integrations available.  You can create save an email directly into Todoist, as a task to follow up later.  You can save links to Pocket and any attachments can be saved to your cloud storage of choice; all from within the app.

Spark is also available in the Share sheet within iOS; so if you have something you want to share, just choose Spark, and send it as an attachment in an email.

The search functionality is also good, and uses natural language; so, for example, if you’re looking for a pdf document, just type in ‘pdf document’ and all pdfs will be returned.  Of course you can also search by people or email addresses.

Other functionality includes email signatures; you can create multiple signatures per account, a facility to do quick replies and there’s also a built in calendar.  I can’t see the point of that last one though.  Seems a bit superfluous to me.

Finally, there’s the Smart Inbox.  Spark will automatically categories your emails and display accordingly; but you have a great level of control over how this is done.  I love the Smart Inbox - it lets me see at a glance what there is to deal with, and I can handle them individually.

Spark for Teams

Spark also offers a business facility - Spark for Teams.  This expands the functionality to enable collaboration on emails.

There’s shared Templates, and you can actually collaborate on an email before it’s sent.  This only works in business where Spark is the email client, and is a great way to expand the collaboration between colleagues, in a single space.

Colleagues can also ‘chat’ on Spark, to add ideas about emails, before the final version is sent.  It keeps the collaboration in one place.

Cost

So, what about cost.  Well.  Spark is free for personal users; but that also includes up to 2 collaborators and up to 5Gb of fie storage.  For a Premium service, with unlimited collaborators, unlimited email templates and up to 10Gb of file storage per user, then it will cost $8/month (it’s a little cheaper if you pay the year up front)

Other Providers

In the interest of partiality, there are a number of email providers available; the obvious is Gmail, or Outlook or Yahoo.  Then there’s Airmail, (which I used to use, but started to have trouble with synchronising emails!)   

Podcast of the Week

OK - it’s time for “Podcast of the Week”…

This time it’s a particular favourite of mine “No Such Thing As A Fish”

This is a weekly podcast from the QI offices, in Covent Garden, in which the writers of the hit BBC show of the same name, gather around the microphone and discuss the best and most interesting things they’ve discovered this week.

If you’ve ever seen QI, then you’ll know it’s filled with amazing facts and interesting information; and this podcast does the same thing.  The 4 presenters, Dan Schreiber, James Harkin, Andrew Hunter Murray and Anna Ptaszynski are naturals at telling their discoveries and the humour that ensues.

They have a number of books available; which you’ll find links in the show notes, as well as a live tour.

If you want to while away 45 mins or so, each week, either on the commute or while doing the dishes, then you can’t go far wrong than give these guys a listen. 

That’s “No Such Thing As A Fish”.

Check out these books

The Book of the Year 2018: Your Definitive Guide to the World’s Weirdest News (No Such Thing As a Fish)

2,024 QI Facts To Stop You In Your Tracks

Thank You

And that’s a wrap for another episode.

Where does the phrase Wrap come from. It’s traditionally used in the film (movie) industry and dates back to the 1920s. Although today’s films are usually recorded digitally; when a director had finished filming a scene or sequence they would (and still do) call out “that’s a wrap”. 

Wrap supposedly is an acronym for Wind Reel and Print. In other words, taking the roll of film and printing it ready for inclusion in the editing process. 

So, I hope you’ve found this episode interesting.

If you have any questions about Spark or anything else, then please get in touch via Twitter @prodmatters

If you’d like to recommend a podcast to be featured as my Podcast of the Week, then let me know about that too.

Please don’t forget to follow me where you normally listen to your podcasts.  Just hit that ’Subscribe’ button in your podcast app of choice, and you’ll get a notification thingy when a new episode is available.

Thank you very much for listening and until next time, remember, Productivity Matters.

Equipment I use to make my podcasts:

Blue Yeti Microphone - https://amzn.to/2R2am1N

Pop Filter - https://amzn.to/2OVMbQP

Professional Microphone Boom Arm - https://amzn.to/2P4EIio

Please help to support this podcast - click here to make a donation which will help me to keep creating great content.

It's very much appreciated.  Thank you.

If you purchase from links on this page then I may receive a commission.  This does not affect the price you will pay.  Thank you.

Setting Healthy Goals

Intro

Hi there.

I’m Julian and I'm really pleased that you've chosen to download and listen to this episode. Or maybe you haven't downloaded it.  

Maybe you’re streaming it directly.  

Whichever way you’re listening, I really appreciate you taking the time to listen to little 'ol me! 

If you're new here, then welcome to the Productivity Matters podcast.

On this episode, I’m going to take a look at the NHS, setting personal goals and, of course, my Podcast of the Week…

Are you ready?

Let’s go... 

The National Health Service

It’s been a bit of roller-coaster time lately.  I recently changed jobs, moving from the excitement of working at MediaCity, to the not so exciting NHS (that’s the National Health Service, for those of you outside of the UK).

The NHS is a huge, unwieldy beast of an organisation, responsible for health and social care for millions of people, throughout the UK.  Just to give you an example, during 2017/2018, there were over 23 million visits to the Accident & Emergency departments.  And it’s completely free at the point of use.

This normally means that anyone registered with the system, available to legal UK residents regardless of nationality, can access the full breadth of critical and non-critical medical care, without payment.  There are some exceptions such as eye-care, dentistry and prescriptions, but these are heavily subsidised, so are cheaper than private providers.

It started 70 years ago, in 1948, and now employees around 1.2 million people.

Approx 80% of the NHS in England is funded through general taxation and National Insurance contributions, which are made by employees, employers and the self-employed. A much smaller proportion is collected through patient charges, as I mentioned, for things like prescriptions and dentistry.

To put these numbers into perspective, the total cost for running the NHS in 2017/18 was £125 billion….   equivalent to about $163 billion!

The proportion collected through the National Insurance contributions accounted for £24 billion - about 20% of the total cost.

In Scotland, Ireland and Wales, the health service is a devolved matter, so those governments can decide how much to spend on health, from the block grant that they receive from central government.  One important difference is that they do not charge for prescriptions - so patient care is completely free.

Whilst the NHS is a much derided organisation - there are many people who complain about many aspects including lengthy waiting times for consultations and surgery, lack of beds in hospitals, and closures of clinics around the country.

As with all taxation and government spending, it’s a very hot topic, and one that I’m neither inclined, nor qualified, to talk about in any detail.  Like most people I have my own opinions and it’s my personal belief that without the NHS, the country would be in a much poorer state.  Maybe that’s because I have had many personal interactions with them, over the years, and I’ve never had cause for complaint.  Much the reverse actually.

Episode 9 of this season, at the end of January, I published an episode about my experience with Diabetes (link in the show notes) and the care I’ve received has been second to none.  

When my dad was very ill, they pulled out all the stops to save him; literally transferring him, in an ambulance, about 200 miles, to another hospital, for a life-saving operation.

This doesn’t take away the very real issues that are affecting the NHS - doctors and nurses are under increasing pressure, and it’s more than a regular occurrence that routine operations are postponed due to the lack of beds being available.

However, if we only had private care available, then the state of health and wellbeing in the UK would be in a very grave situation - pardon the pun!!

So, why have I given you this basic insight into the NHS?  Do you know something?  I don’t really know… just wanted to share a little background on one of the largest institutions in the UK.  

The small part I play is within NHS Digital - the national information and technology partner to the health and social care system. They’re working, through technology, to help transform the NHS.

Goal Setting

It’s important, when going through tough times that we remain positive. 

Don’t focus on what you don’t have.  Don’t focus on what you wish you had.

Focus on what you DO have.

Of course, you want things, and having targets and goals are all credible things to set yourself.  Indeed, without them you’ll be stuck in a rut.  

It’s important to review goals.

Without goals you lack focus and direction. Goal setting not only allows you to take control of your life's direction; it also provides you a way of checking whether you are actually succeeding.  

When you start your goal setting process, you need to start with careful consideration of what you actually want to achieve.

It’s important to also remember that goal setting is an ongoing activity.  You don't just set a goal and forget about it.

Life happens and sometimes you need to review the goals.  Remember to keep checking that you're on track, and make regular time-slots available to review your goals. 

It’s very important that you're motivated by your goals.  They must be important to you, and you need to know that there is a value in achieving them.

What are your priorities in life?  Set goals that relate to them.  If you’re not careful, you could end up with too many goals; which means spreading yourself too thin and unable to achieve them.

Make sure there is a sense of urgency around achieving your goals.  Not so much a 'can do' attitude, more of a 'I must do this' attitude.

Your final goal may not change, but the plan you have put in place to achieve it could change quite significantly, which is why it’s important to have review sessions with yourself.

Stay focussed and take the bull by the horns.  That’s a strange saying isn’t it?  Why would anyone do that?

Why would you grab the bull by the horns?  I’ll tell you why.  It’s because it is dangerous.

It means doing something difficult in a brave and determined way.  

So, that’s what I’m going to do.

Review my goals and aim high.

Podcast of the Week

Right.  It’s that time again.  It’s time for Podcast Of The Week

This time it’s Married On The Mic…. a weekly podcast from a couple who describes themselves as "A fun podcast about real marriage. Hosted by radio personality Dana McKay and her husband Rick.”

I first came across these two a couple of weeks ago, when Dana actually commented on one of my recent Instagram posts, if I was one of the 50 podcasts that I had subscribed to?  I replied that it is now, and I’ve listened ever since.

Each episode cover a range of subjects, from double-dating to unemployment and from bed-hogging to professional cuddlers, gym updates and snoring.  They’re such a great team together, and I’m looking forward to the next episode.

That’s Married On The Mic, with Dana and Rick…. give them a listen.

Thank You

Great.  Well, that’s it.  I hope you’ve found this episode interesting.

Feel free to contact me about anything I’ve talked about, and if you want to be featured as my Podcast of the Week, then also please get in touch. You can do so via one of the social channels.

Details are in the show notes. 

As always, if you haven’t done so already, then please click on that Subscribe button in your podcast app of choice, to follow me and be notified when the next episode is available.

Thank you very much for listening and, until next time remember, Productivity Matters.

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Sources of reference:

https://fullfact.org/health/how-nhs-funded/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Health_Service_(England)