FROM THE EDITOR   Resolutions... by Joseph Allbeury November-December 2003 I need help. Yes, I definitely need help. Not in a psychologically deranged about-to-go-over-the-edge sense, but help with getting my job done. It feels good to say it... finally. I need help! Some people have been alluding to this for a number of years, but I think it was more with regard to the former and any latent desires I might be harbouring to let loose with a weapon of mass destruction, assuming I could find one given the fact that the entire military of the world?s last super power has been unable to. Anyway, I?m digressing from this remarkable revelation I have made, which, as you can imagine, was not an easy conclusion to arrive at. Given that I am somewhat retentive, fastidious, committed, have a high work ethic and know the importance of attention to detail (and may have thus made a good dentist if you temper that with not too bad manual dexterity), deciding to give up a piece of the action, albeit small, was not easy. Musing over the notion of getting some help with things is one thing, transitioning to the mental assumption that some help could indeed be used, deliberating, debating and finally agreeing to action is a slow process and for me, a mental battle that requires myself to talk me into it. I love my work, I truly do. Not in a workaholic don?t want to ever go home sense, but in almost every other way. Unfortunately, like everyone else, time is precious and if one ever wants to see said aforementioned home, then one must prioritise and do the D-word. The beauty of delegation, if done properly, is that you end up doing more of what you are comfortable doing and less of the tasks that you may not do particularly well or that don?t necessarily require your specialised skills but that take up a lot of time. We all of course delegate a lot of things in life without realising it - when you put out the garbage, you are delegating its disposal to someone else. Now that wasn?t a hard decision for too many of us to make, now was it? There are so many things that we automatically delegate - or the fancy new age word - outsource - yet there is so many things that seem to be a personal affront not to do ourselves. Time eventually conquers us all eventually and even perfectionists come to the realisation that if they want the job done at all, sometimes doing it yourself is not an option. Simply, there just seems to be too much for the 24 limited hours of the day. So given this is my last communique before the New Year, I am resolving to find some help and if you?re finding there?s not enough hours in the day to enjoy the fruits of your hard work, then think about doing the same. And before I sign off for the final installment of Australasian Dental Practice for 2003 and contemplate what to include for the start of our 15th year in 2004, I would like to thank everyone for your support over the past year. Have a great Christmas and New Year and remember to take a break and find some time to relax with those dear to your hearts. Joseph Allbeury Editor and Publisher