The Unthinkable

There are many things in life that are certain. You will get older for example. The sun will rise, the sun will set and British weather will continue to bamboozle us all. There are other things that are likely or may be assumed, such as being in a serious relationship, getting a job, perhaps having children. Then there is The Unthinkable that’s not certain, it’s not highly likely but it’s possible. By The Unthinkable, I’m referring to something happening that might result in a personal injury claim.

I’m pretty good with the internet and the news and it seems that every single day there are reports of something bad happening to someone who quite frankly didn’t deserve it, such as an injury that wasn’t their fault. As a parent, something bad happening to the kids is beyond unthinkable, so unthinkable quite frankly, I’m just not going there. Something happening either Roy or I, that would be terrible.

We have this somewhat macabre saying, Roy and I. We say, “If I was run over by a bus tomorrow……”; it’s our reference point for if one of us had an accident/were injured and couldn’t work. We both work and as someone who works from home myself being injured would be catastrophic. Lost earnings, losing clients as I have no colleagues to pick up the slack, looking after the boys, doing the school run, taking them (and paying for) their out of school activities. With the unthinkable comes the necessity of having to think about the practical.

Now I stop to think about it, being injured would be plain blooming awful, both for me or Roy (obviously) but for the family short and long term. What would make such a circumstance even more difficult to get past would be someone else being at fault. When I think of the types of injuries that are not uncommon yet could so easily happen, I shudder a little.

Thankfully, cross your fingers, touch wood and all that I’d like to hope that we personally won’t be affected by injury thanks to the actions and poor choices of others, however, I’m not naive enough to presume it couldn’t happen. It could, it does and worryingly, those who find themselves hurt and out of pocket because of others believe that ultimately that they would need to “suck it up”, to try and get past it themselves, regardless of the hardship.

That isn’t the case however as there are people who can help. If your first thought on reading that last sentence was “ambulance chasers” I wouldn’t blame you. There are a great number of people who would happily cash in on your misery in order to make themselves money. There are however those who, while still running a business, and not pretending to do otherwise (which is refreshing) who are people who can help, who are trained to help and who do so in a way that is sensitive to your situation, and the situation of those around you.

Would I contact someone reputable to help me gain compensation if I was hurt due to negligence, due to carelessness which in injuring me would have a detrimental effect on my boys? Yes, I would. I would do anything to soften the blow and any lasting issues they would be party to, never mind dealing with my own issues and injuries. I’d also hope that in doing so that while primarily my motives would be for my family that I would also want to see things change. Sad but true, sometimes change occurs only after a legal case forces people to change. If change could help other families escape the same issues then yes, I would go for it!

What about you? If the unthinkable happened and someone was hurt through someone else’s actions, what would you do?

 

Top Tools and Apps for Business

We all have such a lot to get done, especially those running our own businesses. I came across a really interesting thread on a Facebook group I belong to about what tools people recommend for getting things done, and efficiency. It made me think about what tools I currently use.

Apps and tools are great for helping get things done and I have worked my way through a great number of them over the past ten years. There are no wrong tools, it’s all about what works best for you and this is my current collection. It might alter slightly as time goes on.

CANVA
I use Canva for images/headers and all things social media related. The phone app is rubbish (right now) so don’t base your opinions on that, stick to the web version which is excellent. 95% of the things I create on Canva are free however occasionally I will buy credits so that I may use specific premium images that are perfect for what I’m working on.

A quickly put together image for a client’s Facebook page using Canva.

BUFFER
I use Buffer (paid) for all of my social media/client accounts. I’ve used Tweetdeck, Hootsuite (hated it) and various other scheduling apps and sites and have found Buffer to be the best one for me by far. We just clicked Buffer and I.  This is one of the few things I pay for (I don’t pay for anything unless I need to) and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.

Buffer run a Twitter chat weekly which I find great fun for hints and tips, and brushing up on certain areas (as well as meeting some great freelancers and what not). These chats are found via the #bufferchat hashtag and a recap each week will fill you in on what you missed if you couldn’t make it. There’s also a #bufferchat Slack that some find useful. 

RANDROP.IO
I use Raindrop.io on phone and web for resource collation/bookmarking. I’ve used Evernote web clipper and Pocket before now, however, find this the smoothest one for me. Even better, I have it installed on my Kindle Fire tablet so when I have some time I can catch up easily on everything in my “Read Me” collection that isn’t urgent or client related yet interesting, business-wise or not.

OUTLOOK
What can I say, I’m an Outlook girl, using outlook.com as my main email and my calendar. The desktop Outlook 2016 and I are having some syncing issues right now so I’ve moved back to the web-based version as part of Office365. The Outlook calendar I love. I don’t keep a paper schedule/date book etc anymore as this has taken over, and of course, syncs brilliantly with my phone. 

DROPBOX
Again, I’ve used other cloud-based programmes but always come back to Dropbox for safe storage/file sharing.

ZOHO
I use Zoho invoicing (free) and find it very user-friendly. Their customer service is also excellent! If you have a query there is a web chat function and if mid conversation your chat disconnects (for example if like me you forgot to plug the laptop back in) they email you to make sure you receive the answers you need. 

OTHER TOOLS
I use Asana for some web-based info storage (lists and what not I don’t need daily) and KanbanFlow for the Pomodoro timer. If you haven’t used the Pomodoro system before now it is well worth looking up. Highly motivating, great for productivity, especially if you’re having one of those days where you’re easily distracted.

TO DO LISTS
There are so many online/mobile apps and sites for to do lists, task management, planning and more. I’ve stepped away from all of these and instead my task lists/schedules/get stuff done has reverted back to paper via the Action Day 2017 planner. There’s just something unrivalled about putting pen to paper.


 

What are your must-have tools, apps, websites and systems for getting things done?

*Please note that this post contains an affiliate link to a product I value.