It has felt like a long time coming, but we really are in the thick of it now: the Paris Olympics are well underway. Putting it simply, I love the summer Olympics and in my younger days was a real nerd for facts and stats. Who of you can name the host cities from the first one of the Modern era in 1896? I must admit I can.

For two and a half weeks, we are witness to some of the finest displays of human ability, skill and endurance in this festival of sport. We are an audience to participants of all shapes and sizes from countries across the globe as they battle it out to be the best in their chosen event. We can only watch in admiration as they claim those glittering medals, whether it is the 100m, BMX, clay pigeon shooting, etc. I am hooked, whatever it is, given the sheer diversity of the occasion.

And yet we, the viewer, should be congratulated for taking on our own monumental challenge for this fortnight – the task of keeping up with all the action!

BBC iPlayer and Discovery Channel are currently offering the multiple sports available to choose from – live and on replay. How can one choose between hockey or the heptathlon, dressage or diving, cycling or swimming and fit it all in? If the games are 8 time zones away, ironically, the logistics are easier!

We must balance our day jobs and social lives and the sun is finally out – but how are we supposed to make the most of it when we have so much on offer?

Ultimately, it’s about good time management – a very valuable skill in all aspects of our lives (not just during the Olympics!). Key to this is deciding our priorities and building out from there – what sport(s) do we want to focus most of our time on, what would we like to watch if we had more time available to us? Additionally, we can make lives easier for ourselves through good planning, for the day, week and the two weeks of the Olympics. And finally, we have to recognise that there are only limited hours in the day – we cannot punish ourselves when we do occasionally miss events and tasks because we have chosen to prioritise our time differently on that occasion. But communicating this to your colleagues is vital if we are looking at the workplace.

Enjoy the Olympics (and your summer holidays) as they only come round every 4 years, and when your attention returns to your roles and career, we at ABPM are on hand to help you.

 

Rej Abraham, Sarah Torrington, Matt Byrne, Alex Handford