I know that it is the holiday season and just about everyone is posting about that. I, on the other hand, am having a difficult time getting into the spirit of things so far this year. This being the case, I have decided to catch up on my other postings in hopes that the Christmas bug will bite soon.
I recently attended a seminar titled Time Management and Organizational Skills. For those of you who know me well ~ this might seem silly but I thought is sounded interesting. I mean, who doesn’t love to be organized?? I do enjoy the satisfaction of completing tasks and feeling like I know what is going on ~ even if these times are rare. I would like to share with you my experience and thoughts on the day.
Since I was attending this seminar I thought I would get the most I could out of it. I usually keep to myself and not mingle with the other attendees since it does not matter to me why they are there. In my past experiences, most individuals are required to attend some type of training/seminar at least once per year. In my current position, it is not required. I am one of those rare individuals who begs my boss to let me attend these type of events. If I could, I would attend seminars/training sessions all the time! I really do enjoy going and learning new things, which is rather funny to me since I never really enjoyed school ~ except for the extra-curricular activities :)
As I previously stated, this was a session that involved time management so I figured that showing up on time was key…..in this case I was early! Walking to the “classroom” always feels like the first day of school. Immediately, eyes are darting around the room while trying to figure out which seat to choose. Do I sit in front? Back? Or just blend in the middle? I still have not figured out the best place to plant myself but since I was early I had a lot of spaces to choose from. I settled in and scanned through the booklet of information and other papers that I was given at the registration table. Then there was the decision to be made about the dreaded name tag….HELLO, MY NAME IS……..I’m not sure how others feel about name tags. I understand the reason to have them but I do not like to wear them – mostly because I am that person who forgets to take it off! Although, it makes for an interesting conversation starter in Jewel.
As I sat in my carefully chosen seat I watched as the other attendees came in and went through the same seat-selection dilemma. The group of individuals was made up of mostly women at a variety of ages and lines of work. I spoke with a number of them – Secretaries, Office Managers, Sales persons, Business Owners. The reason for their attendance varied as well – New job or promotion, required by their employer, individual/personal growth. (I know this information due to the fact that I was feeling a bit daring and decided to jump out of my comfort zone.) It is always nice to have a group who is excited to learn, as I was hoping these people were. The biggest concern for me is always what type of speaker/presenter I will be with all day. I have been in some sessions that I would have to classify as awful only because of the speaker ~ I was hoping this would not be the case. As it turned out the speaker, Ray Santerini was great!
Ray walked in and made his way through the room all the while introducing himself to each and every person ~ shaking hands, thanking them for attending and chatting with everyone. WOW!! This was something I had not come across before. Not only did Ray make everyone feel comfortable, as much as one can be in a room full of strangers, but also energized and excited about the day……And it was! Ray explained how our day would unfold and began with a great story on how he was able to get a handle on this time management. He shared many personal stories to aid his explanation of the different materials. He also did a great job of breaking down the material as to make it easy to implement into real life situations.
I was truly enjoying spending the day with Ray and my newly organized friends because we could all relate to one another. Until this seminar I was not sure if there was a term that could describe me. As it turns out, I am, as Ray described, a Procrastinating Perfectionist. Now it all makes sense!! I could see that by the other’s facial expressions I was not the only one relating to the topics at hand.
Before I knew it the day was done yet I was not ready for it to be. I felt as if there was still so much more I could learn. Which brings me back to the title of this post….Are seminars worthwhile or time wasters? I am very happy to report, as you have probably already figured out, that this was the best seminar I have been to. Every bit of information was interesting and helpful. I have even started implementing some of the tips I learned ~ and can definitely see some differences. But the best part of the day was the presenter and my fellow attendees. As they can make or break it for me……They made a day of learning fun.
So, in the end the session was worthwhile and very inspirational. Thank you Ray………
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