I know it’s not the beginning of the week, but the next Monday will be here in 5, 4, 3…. So here are a few tips I’d like to share with you that can help you get (not only) your next week off to a truly great start!
a. Don’t Let Things Pile Up I am a notorious procrastinator, but I finally realize that I only cause myself unnecessary stress when I permit things to pile up. Even in a world that often demands that we multitask, trying to cover all your bases (or put out all the fires) we encounter is often less effective than we’ve been led to believe. To give myself more traction in dealing with private and professional issues as they pop up, I create a “do by” date/time for things I don’t feel I can (or should) handle right away. That “do by” date isn’t just arbitrary, but based on relevant and practical criteria. Example: Do I really need to read a letter from the IRS on Friday or in the middle of preparing for an important presentation? I can’t do anything about it right now anyway, and it would certainly overshadow my weekend or distract me from fully concentrating on my preparation. So, instead of just sticking the letter in a drawer to be read at that dubious point in time called “later”, it gets mentally marked as “do by Monday morning” or “handle the day after the workshop”. By assigning it its own specific place in the future on my timeline, I can free up my weekend emotionally/concentrate fully on my work, knowing that an important matter won’t just get lost in the maelstrom.
b. Set Realistic Expectations for Others I used to always fall into the trap of over-promising when people wanted something from me. To hear me tell it, everything could be done “in a minute” or “by tomorrow morning”. I finally learned my lesson – after pulling many stressful all-nighters to meet near-impossible deadlines to which I’d committed myself – from a former colleague who is an illustrator. He actually draws rather quickly, so he originally felt it was o.k. to tell clients that he would have something finished quickly as well. This obviously also impacted the amount he could invoice. When he began working with an agent, however, she pointed out to him that his “work time” wasn’t only the time he spent with actual pen-in-hand. He spent a lot of time thinking about the concept, and often also made several drafts before getting to work on the final version. By only reporting/invoicing the time it took to do the final version, he was giving the client a distorted view of his work process and undermining their sense of the value of his final product. Now I fight my own urge to be quick and give more realistic timings to everything. For me it begins with not jumping to answer a (prospective) client’s email right away, which often resulted in my interrupting my concentration on another task to do so. Not only shouldn’t people get the impression that I’m just sitting by the computer waiting for their email, but by giving myself time to think about their questions or comments I come up with more useful and insightful responses. The same goes for the time it takes for me to prepare everything from a proposal to the concept for a finished workshop.
c. Be More Organized I’m one of those people who has long struggled to find the “perfect” productivity solution. For years my life was a collection of lists and notebooks and Post-It notes stuck to the side of my computer with a flurry of both personal and business-related reminders. And let’s not forget the numerous things I simply tried to remember not to forget…. Although I have yet to find a fool-proof system (and, let’s face it, a system is only fool-proof if it’s “in your face” enough to actually motivate you to do things!), I think I’m getting closer to something that suits my purposes.
- My first “aha moment” regarding personal productivity and organization was “write it down”. You are only wasting precious brain capacity and concentration when you struggle to remember those four things you need from the supermarket or the action steps that you are responsible for from your last meeting.
- My second realization was that I needed things easily accessible in all situations. That means I need an online solution that’s also good offline, as well as mobile.
- Thirdly, I needed to keep track of things that I dealt with during the day that weren’t on any list, but were urgent enough to take up my time. That way I don’t feel unproductive if my to-do list isn’t whittled down as quickly as I believed it would be.
Now I have an online to-do list that not only let’s me prioritize and categorize my different projects and tasks, it also syncs with my Google calendar. For personal tasks and things I think of “on the fly” I use the task manager on my smartphone. And – at the end of each day – I use a simple online program called iDoneThis to let me keep track of my real progress by recording (and copying to my calendar) everything I’ve actually achieve on any given day.
d. Get Help When You Need It Coming from a corporate environment where I could delegate, one of the first stark realizations of self-employment was having to do everything myself. The second realization is that doing everything myself also meant spending (too much) time doing things that don’t substantially contribute to my bottom line. Seeking outside support is therefore the logical solution. Whether you can afford to hire (virtual) support, agree to exchange services with a business acquaintance or friend, or make use of the many Web 2.0 support apps out there, realize there is a solution that fits your needs – and your budget. By investing the time to investigate those possibilities now, you are freeing up your future time and can invest it in those activities that matter most to the substance of your job/business.
e. Re-Evaluate the People Around You Sometimes we allow the people around us to contribute to our negative stress levels. Look at the people you interact with on a regular basis, and truthfully identify anyone who brings unneeded stress and negativity into your life. Sometimes an open conversation about how their attitudes and actions impact you will help matters. If not, make a conscious effort to avoid that person as often as needed, especially when you are feeling vulnerable to stress and/or concentrating on important projects.
f. Deal with Tensions Right Away Have you got a list of personal recipes for de-stessing? If not, you should! For some people it’s sports. For others it’s music. For still others it’s meditation or yoga. Think about the things that help you relieve tension, and be more conscientious about utilizing them whenever negative stress rears its ugly head in your life. But don’t suffer from the delusion that you have to wait till your next session at the gym after work or weekend spa appointment to de-stress! Find quick fixes that help you during the day, be it an upbeat playlist on your MP3 player, a mini-meditation or a deep breathing exercise, or a quick walk around the block.
g. Don’t Over-Stretch Yourself Since moving to the country I realize just how much I allowed my former corporate/urban lifestyle to overshadow my own interests and objective with false or artificial expectations: From the car I drove to where I ate to the type of clothes I wore. Take an honest look at your current lifestyle and goals, then ask yourself how many of those goals are driven by what you want in life versus what society (incl. extended family and friends) seem to expect of you. Once you’ve weaned yourself from other people’s expectations and concentrate your energy and resources on the things that truly resonate with you, the increase in energy you experience will also help neutralize much of the negative stress you experience in life.
Whether only one or all of this tips resonate with you, simply being more mindful of the way you approach goals and challenges in life provides you with an opportunity to get off of autopilot where it isn’t working for you. By re-thinking some of our learned behavior and choosing to do pivotal things differently, we can take control over improving our quality of life, as well as the outcome of the work that we do.
Trina E. Roach, founder of Creating Tomorrow: The Leadership Consultancy, is an American executive coach, trainer & HR development consultant who supports the professional growth of ad execs and small agency/business owners on both sides of the Atlantic. Based in Germany, she works with clients throughout Europe, as well as on the East Coast of the USA.
Visit the consultancy’s homepage or Trina’s blog to find out more about her work. Or contact her directly to find out whether she would be right right coach for you:
http://www.creating-tomorrow.com
http://www.creating-tomorrow.com/blog
info (at) creating-tomorrow.com
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