Category Archives: General

Time Management

General, Productivity

I’m currently reading Management, Theory & Practice by Kris Cole. I flicked through the chapters and decided to jump ahead to a chapter about managing personal work priorities. The chapter goes through the common scenarios or problems which waste time, along with different techniques to combat each one.

It seemed like a good idea that I put some of the time management strategies through their paces and see what works for me and what doesn’t. While I’m learning what works for me, I thought I’d drop notes here for you all to read and comment on.

What are your favourite time management strategies for getting things done?

Cafe Marina

Food, General

On Sunday, Claire and I drove to the North side of the Gold Coast to the Marina Mirage shopping complex. While we were there, we thought we might as well have some lunch and ended up sitting down at a little place named Cafe Marina. Claire and I were happy to be greeted by a very happy bloke who sorted us out regarding their menu promptly. What we were even more impressed about was that they had a wide selection of gluten free meals available. The bloke (I presume the owner) was ‘in the know’ regarding gluten free dining, so that was fantastic and promptly pointed out a whole swag of meals on their menu which Claire could eat. In the end, Claire selected a chicken and mushroom risotto while I picked a spaghetti bolognaise. Since the restaurant was a little swish, the price matched that; however they were delicious!

If you’re in the area and want a fine meal, especially if you’re looking for a good gluten free restaurant:

Name: Cafe Marina
Address: 75 Seaworld Drive
Main Beach, QLD, 4217
Phone: 07 5591 1400

C Espresso Bar

Food, General

This morning Claire and I were in Southport, so we decided to find a cafe to have breakfast at. After a short walk, we ended up at the newly constructed Southport Central. A quick scout around and C Espesso Bar seemed like an excellent candidate. I ordered a big breakfast, while Claire ordered bacon & eggs. Both of our meals were excellent, delivered in good time and very tasty. I was also pleased to find out that they make a fine cup of espresso as well! The price was pretty reasonable as well, I think it was about $27.00 which included the two meals, a mug of espresso and a juice for Claire.

In case you want to check out what C Espresso Bar has to offer, their details are:

Name: C Espresso Bar
Address: Shop C5 Southport Central
56 Scarborough Street
Southport, QLD, 4215
Phone: 07 5591 6377
Fax: 07 5591 7449

Chocolate Addiction

Food, General

The Ultimate: Cadbury Dairy Milk ChocolateI think if you were going to make a sweeping statement and have a good chance of it being right, you could safely say that everyone loves chocolate. Chocolate is sweet, it makes your body generate endorphins (the happy drug) and it melts in your mouth – what else could you want? As it turns out, my wife Claire could want one more thing, for it to not make her sick! She loves chocolate so much that she’ll eat it even when she knows that it’ll make her sick. Thankfully, after eating it and feeling ill – she doesn’t want to go near it for a while.

Cadbury, if you’re listening – you’d win the hearts of every lactose intolerant person if you released a range of your chocolate which tasted just as good as the normal range!

Shopping Trolley Etiquette

General

It would seem that the greater population needs a refresher course in the fine art of shopping trolley etiquette. When you’re at the supermarket and pushing a trolley around, from now on please consider yourself like a 4WD on the road. Just like driving a 4WD, you need to be aware of your surrounding space and show a little consideration to other drivers.
Following is a short list of things to consider when you’re next pushing around a shopping trolley.

  • Walk with the flow of other shoppers. You wouldn’t drive into oncoming traffic in your car – so don’t do it in the supermarket.
  • If you need to stop for something in an aisle, take notice of where your trolley is. Most supermarket aisles aren’t very wide, so when you leave your trolley on a 45° angle – it is a hassle for other shoppers to get past.
  • Don’t take your trolley into an area where you can see it is congested. Contrary to popular belief, you are allowed to separate yourself from your trolley. No one is going to steal a trolley full of food which you haven’t paid for yet, in a supermarket full of that same food.
  • Don’t let your child steer the shopping trolley, I know you think it is cute but my heels don’t.
  • When exiting an aisle, you really need to give way to the other shoppers on that aisle already.

While we’re in the shopping environment, you might as well take notice of these other gems:

  • Organise yourself, make a list of things you need before you get to the supermarket. Honest, it’ll save you time and save everyone else thinking you’re an unorganised twat.
  • Where appropriate, take a number and patiently wait to be served.
  • I know it surprises you, but you’re fully loaded shopping trolley doesn’t fulfill the requirements of ‘express‘.

You are now equipped to piss off your fellow shoppers less.