Kevin Pocock | Content Specialist, Occasional Poet.

07May 2013

What Marathons Teach Us About Content

Me in 2012: I was a little peckish

Recently, I was part of the support team for a good friend running the Virgin London Marathon for a very worthy cause.

As a former entrant who really doesn’t think they’re an expert on the subject – and my training proved that – the day allowed me to offer some knowledge when asked and to, I hope, be of some use to the friends I was with.

Of course in 2012 I ran the course myself. Well, I ran up until somewhere between mile 20 and 21 at which point my core let me down and every stride was a flash of pain in my side.

That was my own fault…sort of. Due to a calf issue my training saw me run a maximum 13 miles…just once. And so with double the distance to do, and only four hours sleep, I pushed my body pretty much to the limit that day.

And the one thing that’s stayed with me (and probably always will do) is the support I received from Londoners from every part of this great city.

How is this about content? I hear you ask.

15Apr 2013

Out With The Old And In With The…POWER

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I’ve switched old for new in one change and have been benefiting since.

What is this change?

Not a secret formula. Not some new time-management technique. Nor a way to prepare and eat meals without taking my hands off of the keyboard.

No, no, none of those. Let me tell you about about this one thing I’ve changed.

Although it’s nice to occasionally detach yourself from it and see daylight, the best ones are the cornerstone of any freelancers workplace.

It’s so important an item that if yours isn’t right you should prioritise changing it immediately and consider other premises for work until you have! I’d thought about changing mine for a long time, but suffered over a year’s day-to-day use without doing so.

In fact, up until this weekend I’d been using a budget wooden one with a slide-out drawer (they are horrific), and it’s been making me miserable.

09Apr 2013

3 Keys To Successful Self-Employment

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Recently I’ve been saying to people that work is…good, but I feel like it could be better.

I feel as though I should be achieving more, getting greater satisfaction from my situation, and being more excited about my working life. Not that I’m not, but that it’s not quite at the level of enjoyment where I think it could be.

And it’s a strange thing.

After all, I’m self-employed. My own boss. I’m the captain, the compass, the onboard motor – the wind in my own sails when that motor has its hiccups – of my own ship. So essentially what I’m feeling is a result of my own decisions, and that I’ve not hit the levels I think I can is down to me.

But that also means I can change it.

It might take a bit of trial and error, and it’s got to be an ongoing, long term process, but here’s how I’m going to to go about hitting new highs in my business.

1. Taking Charge

If I’m the driving force behind my own success, that means I’m also – ultimately – the thing that’s holding me back when I feel like I could be doing more. This doesn’t mean I have to go hell for leather and overdo things, but it does mean recognising complacency and kicking it in the arse.

True, I might not be able to achieve the levels of satisfaction I’d like without some breaks coming my way but trying helps. That I’ve lasted this long is a testament to what I’ve achieved, but I’ve faith I could be achieving more.

So I’m taking charge.