In Brief...

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`In Brief is a new section of Speech & Language Therapy in Practice for 2009 suggested by readers to showcase short, practical ideas. One lucky contributor in each issue will receive 50 in vouchers from Speechmark, a company which publishes a wide range of practical resources for health and education professionals working with people of all ages (visit www. speechmark.net for more information). Brief items (up to 500 words) may include therapy or assessment tips or a description of a resource you have developed. It may also be a reflection on the best piece of advice I have been given, or the things I wish theyd told me at University. Although what you write will be substantially your own work, please acknowledge any influences. E-mail your entries to avrilnicoll@speechmag.com.

Non Thwaite and Gwenan Roberts consider what, with the benefit of experience, they wish they had known before... One thing at a time
ve always been rubbish with understanding times and dates. The 24 hour clock is a mystery that once made me misunderstand and miss a plane flight home from Bolivia. I have no clue which months contain 28 days, and tend to triple book social dates as I have a vacuum where my mental calendar should be. I still hang on to the childhood idea that the summer holidays are an endless stretch of everlasting days and am shocked when a new term begins. Visual tools are something I constantly recommend for the children and adults on my caseload as the concepts of time and dates are so abstract and difficult for them. Its gradually dawned on me how important visual tools are for my own use too. I wish, that when I first started working, a version of myself from the future had drilled into me the habit of timetabling timetablewriting time into each month. Ive learnt that I need to see what Im doing for the whole month ahead on a crisp, organised page. This stops me from booking too much in or having an event sprung on me as I turn a diary page. Ive learnt that drawing happy faces on annual leave days and using different coloured highlighters for meetings, locations and appointments make me feel calm and happy. I get an absurd satisfaction from drawing a line through a day thats been done. Another top tip I would have given myself would be write down what youre going to do before you do it, then do it and only do that until youre done. This helps me focus on one thing at a time, rather than buzzing around biting small bits from my to do list or becoming distracted with thoughts of Ill just make this phone call / check my e mails / talk to the social worker. Unless I write down what Im going to do before I do it, these thoughts tend to turn into actions and, before I know it, I havent completed the action I first intended to do.

Writing something down before I do it puts a little pause into proceedings and makes me more aware of what I want to be doing rather than reacting instantly to thoughts. Amazingly enough, Ive learnt that its only really possible to do one thing at a time no matter how much I think I can multitask. Again, the simple act of writing down what I need to do, doing it then crossing it out leads to feelings of calmness and efficiency. These skills come as easy as breathing for some therapists but are ones Ive had to learn from copying organised peoples habits and reading time management books. In a job that needs huge amounts of organisation and flexibility, involving being in a plethora of different places every week, my monthly timetable and writing any task down before doing it are tremendously useful tools for me. Non Thwaite is a highly specialist speech and language therapist, Learning Disability Team, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. Recommended reading Forster, M. (2006) Do it Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management. London: Hodder & Stoughton. Maurer, R. (2004) One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way. New York: Workman Publishing.

Some time ago I attended an eight week Mindfulness course at Bangor University (http://www.bangor.ac.uk/mindfulness/) and wished that I had learnt this so much earlier in my career. Instead of holding on and trying to control changes, I have learnt to let go and accept the possibilities of opportunity. I have learnt to observe my reactions and thoughts and realise that they are just that reactions and thoughts. I have learnt that things will be harder if I try and pull against letting go, and waiting to see how things will pan out, lets me get on with the things that I am doing now, rather than spend my time worrying about the things that may never happen. I dont know how I will react tomorrow, I dont know how things will be, but right now things are just as they should be. Gwenan Roberts is a consultant speech and language therapist (learning disabilities) with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

Just as they should be

hanges, changes, changes! The only thing that we can be certain of is that things never stay the same. Having worked in the NHS for close on 30 years I have seen more than my fair share. Each time a new set of changes are suggested, I feel the fear and the panic arise as I anticipate a loss of control of a way of working that I understand and know. That is until now...

Non and Gwenan wrote these pieces during a writing for publication workshop in Llanfairfechan with Speech & Language Therapy in Practice editor Avril Nicoll. Avril is happy to arrange this for any group of speech and language therapists (minimum of 10). It takes around 3 hours. Non says that for her the workshop was confidence boosting, and made me think that ideas or practice we may consider as ordinary or humdrum may be extraordinary, useful or reassuring to other therapists, and therefore that its worth sharing them. For more information, telephone Avril on 01561 377415.