Abimbola Writes: July 2021

July 29, 2021 1 comments

Hey Blog Fam,

Trust you’re all doing great and going hard on all those great plans the Lord has placed in your hearts. Sending you so much strength from here.

I have been working for some couples of years, about three years now, although in different positions, and I have learnt a thing or two along the years.

While there are some lessons I have learnt myself, and they are tips I have been applying to my life even before I started working, but they are some that I have being taught by my senior colleagues.

I don’t claim to know everything, in fact, I don’t, but one thing that has really helped me over these years is the fact that I love to maintain a teachaeable spirt and I have had amazing teachers over the years.

So, if you are here for the tips to further accelerate your productivity at work, then let’s dive right into it.

1. 1. To-do list

To-do list have been saving ife since 1402 ( whatever this means sha), but this is just so you know that it has been the causative agent in helping people become productive. If I didn't mention causative agent, how would you know I studied Microbiology na.

I. I mean how do you intend to get productive without being able to score yourself and see if you are actually doing the things you said you will do?

To do list is a list you empower by writing down the things you intend to do in a day, and at the end of the day, you are able to evaluate yourself by yourself.

Y. You can choose to write your tasks down at the end of each day or first thing in the morning, and then follow it through. There will be days when you will default, but make sure those days are exemption and not the norm.

Take yourself seriously and do what you have to do even if there is no one watching you.

2. 2. Set Piorities

You don’t want to be that person who is continually busy, but has a lot of major tasks undone.

You don't want to have to be apologizing to your superiors every other day, or have the company you work for pay fines that could have been avoided if only you have done what you were supposed to do at the right time.

There is a way to measure these things, there are 20% of the things you do which gives you 80% results, and there are 80% of the things you do which only gives you 20% results.

Know those things to cut off, and those things you should do more of.

Find out those little things you can do that will make you be on top of your assignments at work and begin to do them.

As new tasks come to your table, separate the one you must do now, and the one you can afford to do later. Don’t leave more important matters and start spending your energy on the not-so-urgent ones.

Your boss will understand if after submitting your important task, you then tell him/her that you are still working on the not-so-urgent one.

This is better than submitting lots of not-so-urgent tasks and leaving the important one undone.

3. 3. Be Proactive Not Reactive

This is one thing I learnt from my HRM, he foresees things, gets them done even before anyone asks for it, and by the time a demand is being made, he brings it out of his archive to everyone's amazement.

Don’t always wait till you get all swamped with request from every department before you get to work, learn to be one step ahead in your actions at all times.

4. Use Your Downtime Wisely

You are not busy everyday of the week, and even if you were busy everyday in a particular week, the next week might not be as busy as the previous, so use those not-so-busy time wisely.

In your busy-but-productive periods, note those things you should do that will help you become more efficient, and when you get less busy, do them.

For example, it is the end of the year, and your department has to sumbit a report, times like that is a time when every one is busy, but as you are busy preparing your slides, look out for things you can do to lessen the amount of work you have to do at the end of the next year. Things like collating reports at the end of every month so you’re not looking for June report when December comes.

And as you take that mental note, when you finally become less busy, create a schedule that helps you track the months as they go by, and by December, you’ll not have to be running around.

Learn to do things when there are no deadlines attached, your work will come out better when you are not trying to run around from one department to the other looking for a report.

This doesn't mean you shouldn't socialize during the time when you don't have a lot to do on your table, by all means socialize, crack jokes, dance, catch up on the things you have missed out on when you had so much to do, but then, get back to your plan.

5. Leverage On Technology

Thank God for technology. It has brought so many endless opportunities to us and our work.

Leveraging on technology can take your office game from 1 to 100.

I learnt this tip from my HRM too.

In times past, I used to wonder how he was so efficient. If you ask him for a particular file, he will send it to you though he isn’t even physically present in the office.

Try scanning those documents to your mail, have your important hard copy documents scanned and saved in your mail where you can always retrieve them even if you’re stuck in Lagos traffic. It will do you a whole lot of good.

Buy a dedicated flash drive, copy your electronic files on it, so you can always carry it around with you.

Use this technology to your advantage!

There you have it, five tips to help you increase your productivity at work.

Bonus Tip

Prayer.

Even as you carry out your duties, pray. Pray for wisdom, you'll be needing a lot of it.

Pray

There is so much light***

July 22, 2021 1 comments

Hey Blog Fam,

Trust we’re all doing great, and running hard after those things the Lord has placed in our hearts.

Today post is cenetered on an incident that occurred in my final year in the university, just before my convocation.

I remember clearly that day in Olabisi Onabanjo Univeristy, that is the name of my university, and in case you don’t know, I studied Microbiology.

So, after the compulsory project and all those other things the final year students are expected to do, we were asked to come and defend our project.

Some days prior to the defense day, I remember travelling back from home to school. On the day of the defense, we all wore our best corporate dress, and we were anxious to just get this defense behind us. I know I couldn't wait to close that chapter and start another.

Few hours after most or even all the microbiology students were in the school premises, we were suddenly told that the defense has been post-poned indefinitely.

Trust final year students and their noise, we expressed our displeasure, but what could undergraduates in a Nigerian university possibly do, so we accepted our fate.

People who didn’t have a place to stay because they had rented out their rooms travelled back to their homes, and some others who even though still had their rooms, but didn’t want to stay back in the school environment, thereby miss eating all the delicaies that they were already eating at home also went back to their father's house.

I wasn’t happy that the defense didn’t hold, but because my sister was still in school back then, I was more willing to stay back. My course mate who also doubles as my friend, Ola, went back to her home in Abeokuta and I stayed back in school.

This is where it gets more interesting...

That evening, there was no light in the town where my university was located, so my phone was off, same with my sister. I was in my room when one of my hall mates came to tell me that a friend of mine, Tobi, who was also in school with me said my defense will hold tomorrow.

I was surprised, because this friend is in an entirely different department, and he shouldn’t even know anything about what will happen in my department.

But my friend Tobi wasn’t the mastermind behind it at all, apparently when my friend Ola had gotten back to her home in Abeokuta, our class rep got news that the defense will hold the next day, so he made the announcement on the class group chat but because my phone was down, I couldn’t see it.

Ola tried calling me but couldn’t reach me because of my phone, that was when she decided to call my dad. She had always heard me talk about my dad, how wherever I was in the world, if anything ever happens, my dad would always find a way out for me.

She called him, introduced herself as Bimbo’s friend and told him of my defense which will be holding the next day. My dad appreciated her, then got to his assignment of reaching me.

He called my sister and I, but when he realized that our phones were off, he reached out to my cousin who was also a student although we lived in different places within the town. Even though at that time, she wasn't in school, she had travelled home.

My cousin then called one of my friends who then called one of my hall mates, who then told me. You can see how long the chain was.

I got the information, I went for my defense, the defense ended well. I graduated, and here I am today.

THE END

This is one life incident that I still hold very dear to my heart, I can’t even bear to think of what would have happened if I had missed my defense because no one could reach me.

Life Lesson - God Is Committed To Us

As a child of God, I know there are some things that might happen and it seems like nothing good is going to come out of here, but in the midst of it all, never doubt God’s faithfulness to you.

If my biological father could look for a way to make sure he was able to reach me to let me know the necessary information I needed, how much more your heavenly Father.

And come to think of it, he has to na, my school fees for the first three years in the university was in six digits, so he couldn't bear to see all of that waste, and he would then need to pay for an extra year for something that could have been avoided.

But even asides that, even if he didn’t pay so much, he is still my dad and he is committed to see that I do well and all goes well with me.

How much more God. He can’t fail you, he has invested too much in you, and he is so commited to you, and he loves you.

It will work out well. God will make it end well. Trust his person. He is your Father, and he won't watch things go awry for you.

You’ll be alright, I did my defense and all went well at the end of the day, you’ll be okay too, just hang on.

So, this is my story, of how I missed missing my final year defense.

There is so much light***

July 15, 2021 1 comments

Hey Blog Fam,

Trust we’re all doing great, and that we are all going hard on those things God has placed in our hearts.

It sure feels like it was just a day before yesterday when we started the year 2021. I still remember when I published the first blog post of the year.

Read: My Thoughts To You As We Start A New Year

And just like that, the second quarter also ended, leaving us with the remaining half of the year.

Read: 1st Quarter Is Ending, What's Next?

I don’t play football, nor do I actively watch it, but I have seen from the few matches I have watched as well as heard from people who actively watch soccer how although the first half of a match is so important because it creates the structures the footballers need to win the game, but then it is not the ultimate.

We have seen football teams who were leading in the game, sometimes by three goals to nil. And just past halftime into the game, the seemingly losing team just wakes up and can go ahead and not just equalize, but even go ahead and win the match.

You see why you can’t afford to quit on the year just yet? We still have time, six months is more than enough to accomplish those goals, or to solidify them.

While the essence of this Blogpost isn’t to tension you or to make you feel like if you haven’t achieved anything this year then you should just hide your face somewhere, far from that, I am very aware that there might have been things you wrote down that you were not able to do, or your goals that didn’t play out exactly like you planned it.

But like we all know that it’s a waste of precious time crying over spilt milk, the past is gone, and we can no longer do anything with it, but what we can definitely do something about is the time we have now and we can make plans concerning the future too.

I am not here to tell you that even if life didn’t go as you planned it, you might as well just fold your hands, invite others to a pity party, and then have them join you even as you cry your heart out.

Read: 5 TIPS To Remember When Life Doesn't Go As Planned

Far from it, whatever has happened has happened.

If it was good. Great

If it was not so good. Great all the same.

And if you need to cry, sit down, cry, and then, get up.

Irrespective of whatever has happened, as said by Soren Kierkegaard, life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forward.

So forward ever.

Did your plans see the light of the day? If your answer is yes, I rejoice greatly with you but don’t just sit down there rejoicing in those things alone. Of course, celebrate the victory so that they can be a form of ginger to achieve what is ahead, but by all means, aim for more. There is more waiting ahead of you. There’s more than this!

Did it feel as if life was just smiling when you were making your plans because those plans didn’t see the light of the day?

If this is you, then accept this virtual hug from me, trust me when I say I understand how it feels because I actually do. But this isn’t the time for you to just lazy around, or just hands up or lose the zeal to pursue your plans or those big dreams that God has planned for you. Your best days are here. Get up with a renewed energy and please keep going. Better days are ahead of you.

It seemed like a dream, too good to be true, when God returned Zion’s exiles. Psalm 126:1 (MSG)

This will be your testimony when everything begins to play out beyond your wildest dreams, imaginations and even beyond what you could have ever prayed for.

As of today, we have used exactly a week into the second half, so you're still in good time to tighten up your seat belt.

Go back to that drawing board, go back to those things you wrote down before, dust them and start all over again if you have to, but please don’t quit.

You did not fail, you only learnt how not to do it.

God didn’t promise us a smooth ride, but what he assured us of is that he’ll be with us every step of the way, God is with you, never doubt, so go in this strength.

I am here trusting that the remaining days of this year will be better for you than the previous ones because God will deal wondrously with you.

Keep going HARD after those things. Don’t relent. It can only get better.

Have a great third quarter and enjoy the rest of the year.

It’s the second half of the match, team members, let’s do this. We will end strong.

God gat us!

There’s so much light***

July 08, 2021 1 comments

So, Mrs. T expected us to talk to ourselves, she told Daniel to spend more time with me and also affirm me.

At first, it was very awkward, he would come back home early, play with the children, then after the children have gone to their rooms, we will end up just staring at ourselves over the dressing mirror in the room, after which I'll go into the bathroom, shower and come out, apply my night beauty products, lie on the bed and sleep.

That was our routine for some days after the meeting with Mrs. T.

On one of those nights, my friend called and I left the room to pick her call. Some days after the confession night, I had gotten in touch with my friend; Mildred.

We were prayer partners years before I got married, but I had made sure the relationship died a natural death after always claiming I was not available for two months at a stretch whenever she called me every Saturday morning which was usually our time for prayer, the relationship had died a natural death.

She was the first to know when Dare wasn't given me attention and Daniel had started pouring accolades on me. She had tried to warn me but I wasn't willing to listen, but with everything crumbling, I had no choice but to call her.

That day when I called her, she encouraged me and promised to always lift me up in my prayers just like she has always done. There and then, we had created a schedule to always pray for a minimum of 30 minutes every day for my home until the storm passed.

Talk about Christian friendships where there is no iota of judgment. I sincerely wish more people can uplift people who have fallen in one way or the other, they already have gone through enough, no need to add to the feeling of guilt they are experiencing.

That particular night, she had to call me because we had missed our daily 3pm prayer where we have always lifted up my marriage to God. We had to catch up, and the nighttime was a good time for both of us.

I left Dare in the room and went to the sitting room to pray with Mildred.

Our prayers were always full of confessions, and praying in the Spirit. We kept calling unto God to come help calm the storm that was raging my home.

Soon, my husband started talking to me, telling me my gown fits me and accentuates my curves , how much of a great wife and mother I am and how much he loves me. I am sure he didn't get to that place in a day, but I am sure the process of praying and talking to our counselor is beginning to produce results.

Seven months after telling my husband my mistake, Dare suddenly came home one Friday evening and told me to get dressed as he wanted to take me out.

My first thought was 'to where? And that was exactly what I blurted out

' It's a surprise, just get dressed' He said and left the room.

I stood in the center of the room thinking of what to make of Dare sudden request, but I made sure not to overthink, so I just opened my closet to make a choice of what I would wear.

Just then Dare came into the room to tell me to pack my bag for the weekend and to also take a dress suitable for church on Sunday.

'Esther, please wear that gown I bought for you during the last anniversary' He said and left the room again.

I stood there in the middle of the room surprised.

So the vigils with Mildred for the past months have not been in vain, I can't even remember the last time Dare noticed what I was wearing, talk less of even suggesting what I should wear.

Soon, we were on our way out of the house, my husband had informed me we were going to the Ola's residence to drop off the children so that we can have enough time to ourselves, apparently when Dare was going out and coming into the room, he has gone to pack the children's room to pack what they will be wearing for the next two nights as the Ola's will be the one bringing them to church because we attend the same church.

After dropping the children off, Dare started the journey to only God-knows-where that he is taking me to.

On the way, he played songs we used to sing together while we were courting, and with that song came many pleasant memories.

Soon we joined in the song and started singing, and started jiggling as we rode down

We entered into the street that housed one of the resort centers I have always nagged about in past years, he had never been able to get time off his job to take me there but the fact that we are there now together was really exciting.

We checked into one of the luxury rooms that looked like a home away from home

After settling in, we went to have dinner in the resort restaurant, we ate in silence while our eyes were doing the talking.

When we came back to our room, we changed into more comfortable clothes and got talking.

'I am sorry for neglecting you, deeply sorry for placing my job above you, I knew you were complaining but I felt you'll get over it, I never knew it would get so bad to the extent of you seeking succor in the arms of another man' Dare said

'I should be the one apologizing, I shouldn't have cheated on you regardless of how you were neglecting me, and I am very sorry for that. I wish you can look into my heart and see how sorry I am' I said in response.

'I might not be able to see into your heart, but I know that you are indeed sorry, and we can definitely move past this. While I am not claiming it will be an easy ride, but we can do this as the Lord helps us' He said and opened his arms wide for me to come into.

What better place to be than being in the arms of a man who loves me. We have been through the worse thing possible and we are out of it stronger.

This weekend will be our 30th wedding anniversary, and just seeing how our lives have unfolded took me back to my diary of those years.

Has it been easy all these years? Not at all!

I have stumbled on Dare waking up in the middle of the night, declaring over me that my love fills his heart, that he won't lose me to the bitterness of heart and hatred. Those were times when he had remembered what I did. God made it possible to forgive me and we are better off together.

Infidelity is a wrong thing to do, but we have gone through that fire and have come out of it more refined.

The children have left home and have started their own families and we are really enjoying ourselves.

I have to stop writing, I can hear my husband whistling upstairs, he needs me, please don't ask me for what. There is a reason why I am a married woman. Hahahahahahaha

THE END

Thank you to everyone who followed this series, thanks for the feedback, the corrections, and all the positive words.

This series was written out of a place to understand what goes on behind the scenes of married women who had reasons to have affairs with men other than their husbands, while it is not a good experience, but we all can't deny that this happens sometimes.

Marital infidelity shouldn't be the end of the marriage, every home is worth fighting for, and once the party involves acknowledges his/her shortcomings, then the home can be rectified.

Trust that we have all learned a thing or two, both as singles and as a couple.

Thanks for coming on this ride with me, see you next week Thursday with another post here on the Blog.

God Bless You, and Happy New Month!

There Is So Much Light***

July 01, 2021 1 comments

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