NORTHERN PLANNER

I mentioned I'm reading Richard Wiseman's 59 Seconds. Mostly in the cause of learning about brevity and some psychology quirks to log for a brief one day. However, lots of it seems quite useful.

There's stuff you already know, like performing small acts of kindness can make you really happy – I'm well up on that score with the amount of tea I make but I'm sure I can do better.

One thing I like is getting into the habit of counting your blessings. Taking the time to appreciate the perfectly brilliant things in your life that get taken for granted.

For example, it amazes me how wer'e becoming used to things appearing in our lives that seem almost beyond science fiction and pure magery. My Ipod not only stores most of my over-large CD collection, I can get to any track in two seconds, I can create any playlist for any mood, I can even shoot a quick video and share it with the world in 15 minutes.

I grew up with cassette tapes and vinyl, even 10 years ago, what I can do now would have seemed pure fantasy.

And then there's moving jobs. Every day I have at least an extra two hours, for more swimming, more Will

and anything else I want. Yet I'm already getting used to it and moaning about having no time.

And then there's making the effort to write down thing that went well in your day, every day for a week. Think I might have a go at that.

So here's the first episode.

This morning I got up at just after 6 and went swimming. It was one of those mornings when I really wanted to just sleep in, but managed to haul myself to the pool. Only to find the fast lane dominated by a huge, twenty something powerhouse who looked very, very fast. Being slightly competitive, I hate swimming with people who are much faster than me, and I don't like getting in people's way.

But when I got in, I found that while I wasn't quite keeping up, he wasn't quite pulling ahead much either. It was little victory of age over beauty, but to be honest, it was just nice to know that I'm faster than I think I am.

Not to mention I did 1,500 meters in 20 minutes. That's the fastest yet this year, and, to be honest, the fastest I've gone since I was 20, mostly down to the fact I didn't do 1,500's if I could help it, but also because my body's beginning to do what it's told.

Wonder what will go well tomorrow?