As a business, there will be a number of resources that are absolutely 
essential for you to operate, which could include:
- Tools/machinery
- Phone lines
- Computers
- Internet connection
- Printers
- Fax machines
And I write this article shortly after my partners laser jet printer started producing large black runner marks all over the printouts! And you’ll never believe when it started… well, at least I couldn’t!
It started when they were printing the envelopes for the Christmas cards. The only word that sprung to mind was, ‘TYPICAL!’ This printing had been left until the last minute and now the printer’s playing up. Just another thing to add to the to-do list before the week’s out…
From what I found out on the net, the toner is probably the problem – so it could be worse. For example, my partner, Paul, is in the Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning business, and he has to have a variety of machinery to be able to do his job, amounting to thousands of pounds – but what do we do if something happens to that? Well, we’ve had more than a couple of close calls, and at least one occassion when it went right past close and we’ve had to cancel work! Which leads me to my point…
Like most items we purchase, equipment lasts longer when it’s well maintained. Whether it’s a company vehicle, your printer or your machinery – they all will have a life expectancy, and it’s up to you to maintain your resources to ensure they last you as long as you expect them to!
As modern businesses, most of us will have a computer, internet access and electronic customer databases, and with increasing dependence on technology, you must ensure you also do whatever you need to do to ensure that your internet is secure and your data is backed up, because if you don’t, you will risk all of this detail being lost, and that may be irrecoverable!
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I’m writing this shortly after all our latest power cut! Although it was only a few hours, it was one of the longest we’ve had in ages! They’re quite a rare occurance anyway, and of course, it could’ve been much worse. Particularly for us – we weren’t prepared with back up gear of any kind. Suddenly we needed generators, or candles, our fire and a gas 
cooker… Candles and fire we managed, but the generators and gas cooker were another purchase away…!
With increasing dependency on electricity to work, live and play, when it goes, we all get a little lost. My partner was a fine example – he was walking around in circles, wanting to go to the shops and tear out the board games only 10 minutes into the power cut! I recommended that he didn’t use all his escape cards too quickly, and thought he should try and enjoy it! (And this, coming from me, who can’t really leave work at work!)
Suddenly we had been thrown into a situation where technology was out the window, apart from our mobile phones (so we could still text mum!)
This article is for those of you who spend too much time thinking, worrying and of course, doing, work. Don’t get me wrong, I admire hard workers and don’t think much to slackers, but I recognise that some people just work too much, to the sacrifice of their health, spare time and may be family – although I’m a bit of a hypocrite, I write this at 7pm on a week evening while my partner plays his racing games on the computer (he doesn’t have much trouble not working)!
My point is that we were forced to do things a little differently that afternoon – we had no TV, no computers, no i-pod, no landline, no lights – just candles and a fire on a cold winters eve. My partner finally sat down with his Dad’s old guitar, which he’s been meaning to do for years, and started making some music; and may I say, considering he hasn’t played for years – I was very impressed!!!
We also got our Christmas Tree just a touch early this year, so the sitting room couldn’t have looked more perfect! My man, however, wasn’t occupied for very long, and any signs of a power recovery had him running to the ipod player, only to be disappointed seconds later when it crashed again..
Therefore, I could quickly see that we occupy ourselves with too much, because it’s too easy to do so. We can take work anywhere with us now, and we can play on most consoles – we don’t use our imagination to think about things to do anymore. As young kids, we specialised in making something out of nothing and we’d be content for hours, but now, we struggle to come up with anything more than a dinner out or a cinema trip. Some of us will sit at home, after finishing late, feeling unfulfilled watching TV for the rest of the night, or stressed out when we’ve got something to go to…
I appreciate that most people have 101 things to do, and I’m one of them! But this power cut made me see that we need to spend a little more time away from the technological screens and try using our minds to think of some stimulating activities that don’t involve consoles, computers or mobiles, and perhaps time will fly while you’re having fun!
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