You’re back. You’ve had a welcome break. And you’ve even made some New Year’s resolutions. But are any of them designed to make changes in your day-to-day work?
12 January 2007
I wonder how many of you like me made New Year’s resolutions and how many more of you have already broken them? I am determined this year that I am not going to break mine, and indeed am going to entwine them within my daily life and particularly my role in FM.
After a period of recuperation following illness in late 2005 I am committed to getting myself fully fit again. My aim is to be running a half marathon again by May and hopefully a full marathon by 2008, so where do I start? Firstly I need to get my diet right again and I’m no longer going to allow my work life to dictate eating the wrong things and at the wrong time.
With a restaurant at two of our sites offering a range of healthy options I really don’t have any excuse for not eating properly. Given my normal working week I am able to at least two of my daily meals during work time. Yes, there are some less healthy options too but workplace facilities have generally moved on so much that this is old news and healthy options should be offered as a matter of course.
Secondly, I am hoping to make a bit more time for exercise during my working day. There are some obvious examples like taking the stairs rather than the lift and generally just getting out and about more around our sites – in Bradford alone our property portfolio is in excess of 50 acres so I can. I also like to walk the dog, have a run and a weekly game of badminton. Balancing this around my travelling and work can be hard but it’s really about prioritising your time. At the moment by the time I get home and switch off it’s hard to get motivated to go out again so we’ll see if that works.
Thirdly I also hope to make a little more time for me and those close to me. I love my music and reading but never seem to have enough time for either but I am planning to make 30 minutes a day reading time and to use my time wisely with regards to listening to my music.
Fourthly I really want to push forward plans at Hallmark to provide a gym facility. For myself and many of my colleagues it would be an ideal way to take some time away from the office while improving health and fitness. I have the buy-in from our HR team who also recognise the benefits of introducing such benefits in terms of staff retention, recruitment, healthy lifestyles and a healthier workforce. I’ll keep you up to date with progress on this project.
Finally as many of you know I arrange a charity challenge each year at Hallmark. This year, in aid of Cancer Research UK, we plan to either walking Hadrian’s Wall; walk the canal from Liverpool to Leeds; or climb the Yorkshire Three Peaks... twice. I’ll let you know later in the year how I’m getting on with the above, in the meantime whatever your resolutions are, be they personal or professional, I hope you are sticking to them and I wish you health and happiness throughout the rest of 2007.
Ian Broadbent is director of property services at Hallmark Cards and the BIFM FM of the Year 2006
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