I am listening to an audio book at the minute called ‘The 5am Club’ by Robin Sharma.
In it, the highly-respected author, leader and performance coach extols the virtues of getting up every day at 5am and developing a morning routine to maximise both creativity and productivity.
Well, I had a good go at that when I packed my diary out for a day of meetings in London with clients and perspective clients last week.
And I can exclusively reveal, here in this blog, that the ‘5am Club’ principles, are hard work!
If I ever elevate my business to warrant a Robin Sharma-type book, it won’t be based on my love for the 5am alarm. Although 'needs must' - quite regularly actually, with travel plans and working with international clients in different time zones around the world - I’d much rather join the 6.30-7am-ish club to be honest!
Train to London
Last week, it was fine and perhaps strangely, I loved the 5am alarm call. After working from home, remotely so often over the past couple of years, it was refreshing. Admittedly, I’m a little out of practice, the alarm really stung on a cold January morning and the coffee was in full flow. However, I found myself in London for my first meeting of the day at 8.30am after a train journey from Leicester.
During a busy day, I met with a British Chamber of Commerce panel that I am involved with for a Cambodia symposium this week. I also met with a new GEST client who is looking to expand their offering into the UAE and KSA along with a UAE-based client who is looking to open new schools.
My last meeting of the day was with a partner for the launch of a new product I am collaborating on called Global School Payments.
I have been working on this project for a while now with a partner and we are hoping to launch with our pilot schools soon.
Global School Payments is an integrated payment platform to provide secure, simple and efficient payment solutions for independent and international schools. I am honestly, so excited about it…but that’s all I’ll say for now.
More about that soon...
Face-to-face meetings
I got the train back around 8pm and was back home late. It was a nice throwback to a pre-COVID era that has been missing over the last two years. Arriving home tired and late, I could reflect on a busy and productive day and the type of day which I think could become more prevalent over the next few months.
With events in the UK, Europe and most of the Middle East being put back until the Spring because of the Omicron wave of Covid, it’s going to be really important to see people face-to-face in meetings when we can, to maintain those personal interactions that are so important for business.
It will also, I am sure, take a little while after the pandemic has neared its endgame for footfall to get back to ‘normal’ levels at the EdTech events we all attend. Those who simply turned up at events and expected large footfall are likely to be disappointed – and hence why having a strategy around those events is so key to our work at GEST.
I have a good feeling about 2022 and I am looking forward to getting a busy diary again as GEST Consultancy enters our second year of existence.
Let’s see how often the 5am alarm sticks…
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