What's Keeping You Up At Night?

A To Do List with a Twist

2012-05-28T10:34:33Z

How many of you suffer from a To Do list that is equal in length to a football field? How often are you able to accomplish all the items on that list? How does it make you feel when you fall short of completing those items?

In order to plan your time effectively you need to set priorities and then turn those priorities into action. Let’s spend a few minutes together doing this.

Please take a look at your current To Do List.
On a separate sheet of paper create to categories: Must Do and Should Do. Take the items on your current To Do List and place them under the appropriate category.
Under the Must Do category highlight the items that need to be done today. Before you go off and highlight anything ask yourself the following question: “Will my work or family suffer significantly if I fail to complete this item today?” If the answer is “yes” then highlight for completion today.
Once you have identified today’s Must Dos, then you can go ahead and prioritize them.
The remaining items should be placed on your Should Do list.
Once your Must Dos from today are completed look at your Should Do list and decide which action items should be moved to the Must Do category.

Follow this system for a few days and be amazed at how much you accomplish.

Regrets: How to Handle Them

2012-05-17T10:31:06Z

As we strive to move forward in life we are bound to make mistakes. Take the opportunity to learn from each mistake and continue moving forward. Wallowing in your regrets robs you of precious time and energy. Focus on living life proactively, not retroactively. Plan for your future. Don’t spend any more time than is necessary in reviewing/regretting the past. Look for the “silver lining” in each cloud. Maintaining a positive attitude will enable you to manage your time and your life well.

As Emerson wrote “Finish each day and be done with it.”

Excuses- What purposes do they serve?

2012-05-02T12:13:06Z

We are all guilty at one time or another in using excuses explaining our inability to take action. Sometimes our excuses take more time and energy to deliver than the original task we were supposed to do. When we make excuses we are telling others that we are unable to manage our time. If you are not able to manage your own time how will you be able to manage yourself? If you can’t manage yourself how will you be able to manage others? You need to focus on breaking the excuse cycle. Every time you excuse yourself for poor time management you give yourself permission to repeat the same bad behavior. Simply this is a waste of time and energy.

So, I ask you- what purpose do excuses serve?

Procrastination: Overcoming Inertia

2012-04-16T18:16:32Z

How often do you say to yourself?

“I’ll work on that tomorrow.”

“I’ll get back to him tomorrow.”

“I’ll start taking better care of myself, tomorrow.”

If the answer to this question is quite often, then perhaps you could benefit from following a simple 3-step process to help you overcome your inertia.

Step 1: Be aware of your tendency to procrastinate. When you find yourself in the act of procrastinating say “STOP THIS”, resist the temptation and refocus your attention to the project at hand.

Step 2: Define the action steps you need to take to get the task at hand moving along. What is that you need to do? What resources or information do you need to get the task completed? Make sure you come up with one concrete action step to take and act upon it.

Step 3: Once you have identified the action step(s) to be taken make sure you set a specific time you are going to complete the action step. This commitment you make will help to increase your motivation.

Some of you may be thinking that this is a lot to do. My question to those individuals – isn’t it a bigger burden carrying around all the projects/tasks that need to be completed?

Understanding Yourself and the Impact on Time

2012-04-04T10:06:39Z

When you understand how you best work with time and deadlines you will be able to defeat the greatest thief of time – the lack of appropriate time use.

Each of us is different. Some of us are motivated by possibilities and opportunities we can envision in our lives. Others are more motivated out of necessity, striving to avoid any negative consequences in their lives. Some of us like to plan well in advance and others work best under pressure. As you set your goals and establish an action plan for accomplishing the goal understanding your underlying motivation will allow you to be successful in making the best use of the time you have.

Time: The Most Precious Gift

2012-03-20T17:33:23Z

Do you always perform at your peak? Do you always provide ample support and attention to the projects and people in your life? Do you always finish your work and leave your job at the end of the day with a clean desk and an agenda for the next day?

Time is a precious gift. We do not own the hours in a given day but we do have the honor of using them. If you look at time as having two dimensions, hours and energy, ask yourself how well are you managing your time and your life? Do you find yourself wasting either time or energy? Being a “to do list” conqueror may not be enough. When you are getting the right things done at the right time you are being not only efficient, but more importantly, effective.

What can you do differently to become more focused and disciplined?

Are You Courageous?

2012-03-05T18:44:35Z

If you have seen the movie Wizard of Oz you are familiar with the lion that goes with Dorothy down the yellow brick road to Oz in search of courage. (For those of you who have not seen the movie, treat yourself – it is a classic). Little did the lion know that he didn’t need to follow Dorothy to get the courage he was searching for. What the lion needed to do is to look within himself and identify what he truly believed in. We become courageous when we are committed to a cause. Just because we are courageous does not mean we aren’t afraid. Our conviction to the cause is what anchors us and enables us to overcome the fear. As you continue to believe in yourself, others will join you in your cause and you will gain increased power and influence to turn your dreams into reality.

Managing Your Frustrations

2012-02-22T21:49:27Z

Unfortunately there are times in our lives where things just don’t go the way we want them to. It is natural to feel frustrated when this happens. But how productive is it for you to feel this way? How much time and energy are you expending feeling frustrated? What positive results are you deriving from this? My guess – probably not many. Typically what happens when we are frustrated is that we experience some self-pity that corrupts our positive attitudes and hampers our ability to achieve the results we want. So, what can you do to protect yourself from this negative spiral spin?

Take responsibility for what happens to you. Don’t blame others. Learn from these setbacks.
Make sure to set realistic expectations for yourself. Aiming too high, that is, setting unrealistic expectations for yourself will lend you to feeling frustrated.
Don’t expect and strive for perfection. Focus on striving for excellence.
Manage your expectations as relates to others and what you expect from them.
Maintain a positive attitude. It is hard to feel frustrated when you have your goals in mind as well as the rewards of achieving those goals.
Relive your past accomplishments. Success breeds success.

Worry, Not me!

2012-02-07T16:59:56Z

Don’t worry, be happy- how many times have you heard or even sang that song?

Why is that so many of us worry? Where does this worry come from? What good does it do us? Simply put, worrying is a state of mind, which can be also be derived from our fears (check out the last blog to learn how to eliminate fears). When we worry we spend needless energy in a place we do not want to be in. The more time spent talking about your worries, the more likely you are fueling them to gain greater importance in your life. Why not work on eliminating your worries by taking control of your thoughts and begin taking goal-directed actions. By doing this you can gain self-confidence and your ability to reason.

So, try not to worry as much and be happier!

Keeping Fear "in Check"

2012-01-23T12:17:40Z

As we get older we tend to lose perspective on failure. If you recall your childhood, how many times did it take you to learn how to tie your shoes, learn to write your name in script, or ride a bike without falling? I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that most of you did not give up and that you are able to wear shoes with laces, know how to sign your name and perhaps even ride a bicycle. I know it may seem like the challenges in our adult life are a bit more “challenging”; however, I would like you to keep the following in mind in trying to keep your fear “in check.”

Fears are quite common. We all have them. Even the most successful individuals. When you experience fear you are actually stretching yourself out of your comfort zone which is a good thing.
Fears are usually unfounded. We often believe the result of our fear can do more damage to us. If you think through the fear, ask yourself what is the worst possible outcome if it became a reality? Once you have identified the worst think through options to mitigate the risk.
Fears are just thoughts in your head. We all have the ability to control our attitude and our thoughts. Think of what you can do to work through the fear you are experiencing.