Inter-American Development Bank
facebook
twitter
youtube
linkedin
instagram
Abierto al públicoBeyond BordersCaribbean Development TrendsCiudades SosteniblesEnergía para el FuturoEnfoque EducaciónFactor TrabajoGente SaludableGestión fiscalGobernarteIdeas MatterIdeas que CuentanIdeaçãoImpactoIndustrias CreativasLa Maleta AbiertaMoviliblogMás Allá de las FronterasNegocios SosteniblesPrimeros PasosPuntos sobre la iSeguridad CiudadanaSostenibilidadVolvamos a la fuente¿Y si hablamos de igualdad?Home
Citizen Security and Justice Creative Industries Development Effectiveness Early Childhood Development Education Energy Envirnment. Climate Change and Safeguards Fiscal policy and management Gender and Diversity Health Labor and pensions Open Knowledge Public management Science, Technology and Innovation  Trade and Regional Integration Urban Development and Housing Water and Sanitation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Caribbean Development Trends

  • HOME
  • CATEGORIES
    • Agribusiness
    • Antigua and Barbuda
    • Barbados
    • BehaviorChange
    • Belize
    • Bermuda
    • biodiversity
    • Blockchain
    • Caribbean
    • Caribbean Culture and Media
    • Climate Change
    • Creative Economy
    • Crime Prevention and Citizen Security
    • Data and Knowledge
    • De-risking
    • Dominica
    • Dutch
    • Early Childhood Development
    • Economic Growth
    • Education Policy
    • energy
    • entrepreneurship
    • Environmental and Climate Change
    • Events
    • Extractives
    • Finance
    • Fiscal Rules
    • gender
    • Governance and Regulatory Policy Reforms
    • Grenada
    • Guyana
    • Haiti
    • Health
    • Health Policy
    • Hurricane
    • Hurricane Irma
    • infrastructure
    • Innovation and change
    • Intellectual Property
    • IWD
    • Jamaica
    • JumpCaribbean
    • Labor
    • Labour Markets
    • MOOC
    • Music
    • Natural Disasters
    • Nurturing Institutions
    • OECS
    • Podcast
    • Poverty
    • Private Sector and Entrepreneurship
    • Saint Kitts and Nevis
    • Saint Lucia
    • Saint Vincent and Grenadines
    • skills
    • Sports for Development
    • Suriname
    • Technology
    • The Bahamas
    • The Blue Economy
    • Transportation
    • Tourism
    • Trinidad and Tobago
    • Uncategorized
    • VAWG
    • Webinar
    • women
    • Women for Change
    • youth
  • Country Offices
    • Bahamas
    • Barbados
    • Guyana
    • Jamaica
    • Trinidad and Tobago
    • Suriname
  • Press Releases
    • Bahamas
    • Barbados
    • Guyana
    • Jamaica
    • Trinidad and Tobago
    • Suriname
  • Authors

Cricket Wicket

July 20, 2015 by Dorri Agostini 8 Comments


 

 

1

Colleagues, Family and Friends – Supporters at the Cricket Rematch (Photo by Dorri)

 

The Trini bowler throws the pitch.  It looks promising.  The line towards the wicket is clean.  The crowd is on their toes.  The Barbadian batsman (Julian) gracefully swings the bat and …. FOUR shouts the Umpire.  The crowd groans.  It seems despite all efforts, the Trinis cannot bowl, run, catch or stump out this batsman who remains standing tall at the wicket. This was the scene of the 2013 IDB Trinidad and Tobago Country Office (CTT) annual picnic. A blow to the Trini pride which fueled many heated conversations (in jest only of course) and lots of picong over the last two years which, on April 2nd 2015, culminated into a Cricket Rematch of epic proportions.

For those who could not tell, CTT closed its doors a little early on April 2nd to allow staff to carry their chairs, snacks and beverages to the pre-designated Cricket Rematch pitch in the Queen’s Park Savannah.  However, perhaps this was more than a just a rematch but an intentional activity to set aside some time for the refueling and replenishment of CTT’s mental resources. Joe Robinson in his article The Refueling Principle states that “productivity isn’t about how many brute hours you rack up – it’s about how effective you are at replenishing mental resources.  And the key to that is …. taking time off”.

When you are constantly working, not allowing yourself periodic breaks throughout the day, you are draining your pool of cognitive resources – the result of which is a decline in your productivity and creativity.  It may be prudent to ask yourself the following questions:

  • Am I a regular offender of eating lunch at my desk while continuing to work?
  • Do I disconnect from being electronically attached to the office over the weekend?
  • When did I take a vacation and totally unplug from the office?

Not allowing yourself the time to replenish can lead to burnout, poor performance and stress, making it difficult to focus, plan and make good decisions.  Regular refueling is a requirement for quality output. We all need breathers and should take them. Maintaining our good health, physically and mentally, depends on it. Consistently achieving excellence depends on it.  Being more effective and successful in all aspects of our life depends on it.

2

Trini Batsman, Ian, Man of the Match, April 2015  (Photo by Dorri)

 

So what was the result of the Cricket Rematch during CTT’s mental replenishment break?  The Trinis were triumphant and are holding the Man of the Match Title – at least for now.

Picong – word in the Trini dialect meaning “the exchange of teasing, generally in a light-hearted, bantering manner”.

 

 

Follow us on Twitter: @IDB_CarDevTrend


Filed Under: Arts, Culture & Creativity, Trinidad and Tobago Tagged With: Caribbean development, cricket, Picong

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sacha says

    July 20, 2015 at 8:47 pm

    I’m guilty of not taking enough mental breaks throughout the day. Time for a change perhaps.

    Reply
  2. Peter says

    July 21, 2015 at 3:03 pm

    Well, well, Ms Workaholic writes extremely well on the subject of taking breaks & disconnecting from electronic gizmos, dare one ask if she too takes her own advice?

    Reply
  3. Ian says

    July 21, 2015 at 5:37 pm

    Dear Dorri:

    Excellent blog! Just so you know: I have forwarded the blog to CPL to let them know of my availability to play with Red Steel (the winning team). I was already contacted by Tridents but I politely refused. I didn’t have the heart to tell Tridents that “real” cricketers play with Red Steel!

    Reply
  4. MaryAnn says

    July 23, 2015 at 8:08 pm

    excellent article…. hope you’re taking your own advice 🙂

    Reply
  5. Tony says

    July 24, 2015 at 7:45 am

    Dorri…so true about replenishing. Am a little confused about ‘the Trini bowler throws the pitch’! That’s not Trini talk is it? 🙂
    Good blog

    Reply
  6. Mary Lou says

    July 25, 2015 at 10:43 pm

    Wow, man of the match too? Well done and Well written.

    Reply
  7. Gizelle says

    July 26, 2015 at 3:45 am

    Hmmmm….interesting concept. Good writing D.

    Reply
  8. Eli says

    July 28, 2015 at 7:13 am

    Breaks from the mundane are very important. We need them to keep perspective on our place in the world as a reminder to not take life so seriously. Because after all we are just specks of dust compared to the majesty and unfathomable grandeur of the Universe.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us

Subscribe

Search

Caribbean Dev Trends

We provide unique and timely insights on the Caribbean and its political, social, and economic development. At the IDB, we strive to improve lives in the Caribbean by creating vibrant and resilient economies where people are safe, productive and happy.

Similar posts

  • Can Lessons Be Learnt from West Indies Cricket?
  • One-day? Twenty-20?
  • “Explaining” Cricket
  • What’s Cricket Got to Do with it?
  • Making People Happy

Footer

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
facebook
twitter
youtube
youtube
youtube

    Blog posts written by Bank employees:

    Copyright © Inter-American Development Bank ("IDB"). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons IGO 3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. (CC-IGO 3.0 BY-NC-ND) license and may be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed. Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC- IGO license. Note that link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license.


    For blogs written by external parties:

    For questions concerning copyright for authors that are not IADB employees please complete the contact form for this blog.

    The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IDB, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.

    Attribution: in addition to giving attribution to the respective author and copyright owner, as appropriate, we would appreciate if you could include a link that remits back the IDB Blogs website.



    Privacy Policy

    Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

    Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo

    Aviso Legal

    Las opiniones expresadas en estos blogs son las de los autores y no necesariamente reflejan las opiniones del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, sus directivas, la Asamblea de Gobernadores o sus países miembros.

    facebook
    twitter
    youtube
    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
    Cookie settingsACCEPT
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled

    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

    Non-necessary

    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

    SAVE & ACCEPT