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It was a momentous experience for June as I participated in the AfroBlogger’s WINTERABC2021 and was duly nominated for the most outstanding blogger for the #WINTERABC2021 but I had to give way from Elise Triza who, to be honest, deserved it from day 1. She brought the game on and did not flinch for a single day even when some of us were struggling especially in the Business/Tech week. (Oh how I struggled in this week!!! But the Lord is faithful, I made through it alive.) To everyone who read and still reads my content, I am eternally grateful.

As I was taking a short break, I get nominated for The Golden Bloggerz Award by my sweet friend Mrs. Arinda Joy Mbabazi, the brains behind The Sparrow and I am grateful that she did. I am more than delighted to jump on.

The Golden Bloggerz Award is one made to motivate and reward all those amazing bloggers that work daily to serve their audience and are worth more and deserving of this recognition. Their priority is to do their best to help their readers solve their problems & reach their goals! Now when I say that it is such an honor to be nominated, you know what I mean. The feeling of being recognized for all your hard work is such a priceless feeling.

THE GOLDEN BLOGGERZ AWARDS RULES

1. Place the award logo on your blog
2. Mention the rules.
3. Thank whoever nominated you and place a link to their website
4. Mention the award’s creator and provide a link too.
5. Tell your audience 3 things about you
6. Nominate 10 – 20 people who deserve this award
7. Let your nominees know by messaging/commenting on their Social Media or their blog
8. Ask your nominees any 5 questions you want.
9. Share 2-3 links to your best posts

THREE THINGS ABOUT ME

I wrote 20 facts about myself in this very place, and I wouldn’t want to repeat myself. It was a piece that I wrote that tried me and choosing just three things would be such a hard paper. So why give you three when I can give you 20 of those. Click here and tell me your favorite three from what you will have read.

MY NOMINATION QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT BLOGGING?

If there was one thing I was most beaten for growing up aside from being naughty, it was talking. Friends I went to school with will tell you that the only time I wasn’t on the list of noise makers was when I was sick or as a prefect supervising another lot of students with my same vice. (Set a thief to catch a thief type of thing.) The times when I was not on that ramshackle piece of paper that class monitors used to use, chances were high that the teacher would let the culprits go. When I grew up and realized that I could get to talk in other ways like writing, I was ecstatic. You see, in adulthood, everyone is busy doing something important including me, so my favorite part about blogging is that I get to ‘talk’ unlimitedly and even get to be paid for it. Brilliant!!!! I don’t have to get into trouble for it like back then in school.

2. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST STRUGGLE AS A BLOGGER?

My struggles are not that many but I will have to give the biggest to the creative block that happens time and again. I used to feel guilty and bad about it but not anymore. There is a period I went off these streets for nearly a month, not because I did not have the content, but I was going through a phase that sucked all my zeal to be creative. Each time I wanted to write so badly, I found myself giving up on the first line. This is the most guilty I ever felt I think, and I remember apologizing so much for it to my audience until one of them told me that it is okay to go off for a while to refill your cup. “You cannot give what you don’t have,” I remember him saying and since then I don’t feel bad about it. But it is still a struggle for me because I love to write and when I cannot for someone reason or another, it gets to me.

3. CAN YOU SHARE SOME OF YOUR PRODUCTIVITY TIPS?

You cannot be everywhere, spreading too big, only leaves you spreading too thin. So in whatever I do I try my best to specialize and get well versed in that area. It also helps the consumers of your productivity not to get confused as to where to belong.

In writing or call it blogging, you cannot do away with reading. Read, read and read. This will sharpen your creative craft in that area. I love to read other bloggers’ material to have a diversification of different skills of writing. I learn a thing or two that I can incorporate into my writing, which has been of so much help.

Love positive criticism. You cannot know it all and there are always things that you may never tell unless someone tells you. The consumers of your productivity will always stir you in the right direction so listen to them.

4. WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT YOURSELF IF YOU COULD?

Change for me is usually uncomfortable and I usually struggle with it. That being said changing something about myself is not in the cards for me. I believe I am created in the image of God just as Genesis 1:27 reads and changing that would be doing a disservice to me, so there is nothing I would change about myself but it is my life goal to live to be a better Christian, daughter, sister, friend, and citizen of this beautiful universe.

5. WHAT IS ONE THING YOU WILL NEVER DO AGAIN? WHY?

I have told this story repeatedly, and by now, you should have read it if you actually read the 20 facts about me. The one thing I can never do again is to accept a job offer without understanding the conditions of the task at hand. It is said “Once beaten twice shy,” I think for me I am thrice or more shy despite this having happened very many years ago. To know the reason why, you will have to read about it here. It is number 13.

I NOMINATE THESE PEOPLE

1. Valentine

2. Patricia Opio

3. Grace

4. Olivia

5. Anita Komukama

6. Fiona Laker

7. Tuha

8. Elise

And feature these guests;

9. Becky

10. Dearna

11. Emeka

MY QUESTIONS FOR THE NOMINEES

Joy came up with good questions I would love my nominees to attempt them too. It should not be that hard, isn’t it? My guests are free to try these too.

1. What is your favorite thing about blogging?

2. What is your biggest struggle as a blogger?

3. Can you share some of your productivity tips?

4. What would you change about yourself if you could?

5. What is one thing you will never do again? Why?

It was a hot afternoon, the sun was on an unknown competition with someone and it was clear it was in the lead because it was just midday yet the scotching heat left everyone rubbing pools of sweat from their faces. Being the era of face masks, the whole combination left one very exhausted early in the day. My goal was to go purchase a pair of shoes in the shortest time possible for an upcoming function that was a few days away and race back home to complete a proposal that was long over due. I walked into this shop and a very good looking lady, worn to the nines was busy on her phone. At first it did not hit me thinking whatever it was that had robbed her attention must have been important. I stood infront of her and it took her about two minutes of my being there to lift her head. In the 90th second my irritation was beginning to rise but I struggled and kept calm. When she finally lifted her head, in what looked like a scene in an Indian movie, very sluggishly, she asked what she could do for me. Mark you the whole time she was glued to her seat, legs crossed over her thighs and mouth in her nose. Her attitude had one of the worst foul smells I had come across in such a long time. Greeting for her was not part of the menu, needless to say it felt like she was helping me. Long story short I packed my sweaty, hot tired bones and left her shop before I could lose my mind. Poor customer service has got to be one of if not the biggest pet peeves for me.

Very many people wonder why some business do not live to their 2nd birthday and among the many reasons, it is for pet peeves like these that have sent so many businesses down the drain. You may be wondering what a pet peeve is? A pet peeve is a behavior or display that generates slight annoyance in people. They aren’t things that are so inappropriate and rude that they necessarily warrant taking action, but they’re generally bothersome in a way that will make one roll their eyes in frustration or whatever emotion they employ to express their frustration. I have put together a few pet peeves that could help business owners and not leave their clients spreading the worst gospel about their business which works more against them than anyone else.

• Being distracted

Being distracted mostly by the gadgets we have with or around us like a mobile device or television has got to be one of the biggest breaches of business etiquette one can do. It is very impolite for you to be using a smartphone or other mobile device during meetings or infront of a client unless you’re dealing with some sort of an emergency, which in any case you would let the person know. If it is not an emergency, it can surely wait and give the person infront of you undivided attention.

“Many times I have seen people try to sneak a peek at their phone in the middle of a business meeting or simply set their phone on the table and in the end get distracted thus frustrating the other party, What this indirectly communicates, is that they (the client) are not that important and they can wait. You will be lucky if someone tells you off that they are offended but most of them will go tell someone who will tell someone and the damage chain will go on. Months down the road you will be wondering how this all happened forgetting the 6 minutes you threw your business to the dogs. Developing business relationships is so important, and getting a chance to be physically present with clients in the this fast progressing Fourth Industrial Revolution where many things are going online is becoming increasingly rare. Take full advantage of those opportunities by being present and making the people you are with feel important and valued. Turning your attention to your phone will not do that.

• Crossing boundaries

Getting too personal can be very irritating for all of us at a point. Much as I know that being friendly in business is good, too much intimacy can easily be misunderstood and misconstrued. During small talk the line is really thin of crossing lines so try and refrain from sharing intimate details of your personal life in a business setting. You can have a brief talk on the current affairs in the country but do not be caught in the cross fire of discussing the better political party or the must go to church around town. Your recent break-up with your significant other has nothing to do with a client so save yourself and the client from the awkwardness.

• Too much information syndrome

Ever got to a business page and see alot of information but fail to make use of any? We are in times where very many businesses have gone online, using mainly social media to market their items and or services to the whole world. Now because of the looming competition that seems apparent, business owners feel the need to pour as much information as possible onto these sites. Having a structured way of sharing information and well thought times to share as well as putting out only information that needs to be out there will save you the energy and do your business justice. Try to keep the business pages professional and be careful not to share personal information on the business pages.

• Not being respectful with time

There is an old saying the reads, “Time is money.” It is my belief that etiquette anywhere really boils down to showing respect to others and this applies in businesses too. If you made an appointment with someone, why would you wait for them to call you first or reach in the agreed venue before you? Why? They have the luxury to be late but you don’t. Remember what they say about customers? A customer is king. As a rule always be aware of other people’s time. Pay attention to being timely for meetings (I cannot emphasize this enough), do not overstay your welcome, be succinct, prepare and listen. Be aware of others and listen.

What pet peeves have you experienced receiving a service? Let us help business owners today?

Creatives week; Day 1

I belong to a writing family called Afrobloggers who seek to impart storytelling knowledge and skills to African bloggers through webinars, workshops, and tutorials and once again this year they are doing this through organizing a writing challenge for the family.

If there is a challenge that I was reluctant to participate in this year was #WinterABC2021 partly because I have been on a writing sabbatical for close to a month now. (the reasons for the sabbatical will be a story for another day) Thankfully unlike the previous years where the writing challenge had a daily topic, this time we have themed weeks. This is in a bid to align the topics with the site objective which I thought was very wise, so all I have to do is to adopt the theme, create content that aligns with my site and let my readers enjoy away.

Starting off this day, we will be taking down memory lane to the uneventful past year 2020 as a creative. Is it only me who has seen a sudden influx with the use of the term creatives? The other day I was scrolling through twitter when I saw an advertisement for “creatives weekend” and looks like being a creative is the new post COVID slogan. With the entrance of COVID19 in 2020, many people have had to become more creative with their time to remain afloat. So who exactly is a creative you may be wondering.

To understand who a creative is, let us understand that creativity refers to the act of creating new things. It’s innovative, mind-blowing and fresh yet relaxing so I want to believe everyone has the capacity to be a creative. Real creativity in any space requires vulnerability and sensitivity. Talking about the past year 2020 where everything changed very unexpectedly, we are attempting to see what it was like for many creatives.

A blessing in disguise

In the wake of the outbreak of the COVID19 pandemic, many governments world over imposed periods of lockdown and here in Uganda, it was not any different. On March 18th 2020 a countrywide lockdown was imposed as a measure of curbing down the spread of COVID19 to reduce the pressure on the healthcare system which is already wobbling. This period was strange for everyone. It indiscriminately had an unprecedented impact on social lives and many had to find a way of managing the situation at hand. A lot of the negative effects for this period have been pointed out but with these came some positives. Follow with me as I point 2 that stood out for me;

1. Uncertainty

Much as this period came with uncertainty which often comes along with it stress and anxiety, for creatives this served as a catalyst believe you me. This was in abid of making sense of the situation and trying to cope with the uncertainty. Every many people discovered skills they did not know that they had. Content creators shot up in arguably the shortest time ever recorded in the world. I for one, much as I was still actively employed, I was working from home which only meant that there was more time on my hands than before hence lighting my creative fire which got me to read and write more. A total of 57 articles were written in 2020 alone, something which probably would not have happened if it were not the ‘downtime’ that was made possible by COVID19

2. Solitude

With lockdown measures heightened, we were not able to leave our homes except for a few meters around the home maybe, could not meet family and friends, workplaces had changed addresses to virtual avenue so we could not even meet workmates came with it solitude. Solitude has for long been a bed for creativity to be birthed. I know many creatives who often say I need time alone to ‘create my baby’, now we had more than enough time of solitude to create. So many songs were written, books authored, art pieces drawn, careers redirected and birthed thanks to the uninvited periods of solitude that we were given. I was able to finally take a chance on being an author myself being able to write a book on nutrition for the differently abled children called Differently Abled Nutrition that will be on the market anytime now.

What blessing in disguise stood out for you during this period? It surely can’t be all bad.

Let us start off the #WinterABC on lemonade we made when life handed us lemons.

In this writing world it is not always rosy. There are days when you will wake and feel like writing and other days it will feel like a lazy Monday getting out of bed. But guess what? This is very common and perfectly okay I will say if you ask me. In the fullness of time, things will fall in place. I guess this was the fullness of time. You know that verse in Galatians 4:4 that reads “But when the fullness of time had come,God sent forth His Son” now in my world when the fullness of time has come and here is another of my random writes.
So it has been a whole 4 days since I last put pen to paper and I just cannot get my mind to settle for one thing to indulge in. So I decided to seek the opinion of a trusted friend and the conversation short as it is went down like;

Me; Can you believe I have not written a thing in days?

Friend; How many days are we talking about here?

Me; About a week

Friend; Whaaattttttt!!!! Who does that? Aren’t you thinking of anything? You literally have to be writing every given moment. Get serious Lutgard.

Me; (Still in shock) I cannot find anything to write about I grab an excuse.

Friend; Write about love then

Me; But why love all the time, anyway let me do that…..

So I have decided to write about love languages something which to my surprise many people don’t know about or know but just couldn’t give it a name.

There are five languages that were written in 1995 by a gentleman called Gary Chapman which are ways of experiencing and expressing love.
One of them is physical touch; now I begin with this because I am familiar and well versed with my very own. This is a language for people who can not get enough of hugs, cuddles. these are the people who can assess the quality of a hug seconds into it. With these people just a rub on the back will cease the fire.

Then there is a language of affirmation. These are the people why the fashion and cosmetology world has a lot of business. They feast on being praised and being affirmed even in the least of things. You will become their favorite person if you can take notice of the lip color change or the 1 inch increase in that muscle they go to gym everyday for.
Did you know that if you equate love to receiving gifts you have just found your love language?

The third language of love is receiving gifts. How can it be my birthday and I receive only 1 gift or none you are thinking. In your world a person to prove their love to you is to appear at your doorstep with a wrapped something. Their can never be more than enough love if gifts are not somewhere in the picture.

The fourth language is quality time. It is your language if you are better off having the one you love sit by your side all day doing nothing else but having you all to them. Let the phones buzz, let that football match pass just to spend time with you. You will sit at the balcony in the deafening cold and not care a bit as long they are there with you.

The last love language is acts of service. To these people you are the most loving being alive if you just get out of comfortable zone and do something for them. You visit them and put everything in order or get that nail remover and clean off her varnish or better yet cut the nails too.
According to Chapman the only way you will discover another person’s love language is; one must observe the way they express love to others, and analyze what they complain about most often and what they request from their significant other most often.

I hope this shades some light on which of the 5 languages of love yours is or for your significant other. This way the feeling of “am not loved enough” will decrease because you know what, people tend to love in a way they prefer to receive love; and this is natural believe me.