Tag: Design Your Days

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Wellness

Yes, we can! 5 ways to grow our inner strength.

Many people concentrate most of their time on their outer growth. They work hard to be recognized for their achievements. They progress in their career and reach a status thinking that they will finally feel fulfilled and achieve a sense of accomplishment. Sometimes they call this happiness.

The problem is that life is full of issues – stress, losses, vulnerabilities, pain. Some are out there in the world, such as financial concerns, relationship problems, losing a job. Others are physical like injuries or illnesses. And some others reside in our minds – anxiety, depression, low self-esteem. To complicate things, sometimes it happens than more than one issue comes at the same time (oh, joy!). One time, I talked to a man who needed a little help decluttering his overwhelmed mind. I suggested that he prioritize his life in terms of what he valued. For example, in my life, my top 3 values are: 1. My health 2. My kids 3. My work. He said that everything was all jumbled in his mind. If this is true for you….please talk with me…you might be right on the verge of a breakdown!

What you really need to take back control of your life is a strong inner core. The journey is made by ups and downs. In life, as in business, challenges can become obstacles and opportunities can turn into triumphs. Guess who’s the only constant? YOU. To effectively deal with issues, we need resources. Easy, right? So, your next question is – where do I find these resources? Guess again… Inside of YOU of course!

That’s your inner strength, all the good stuff you have in yourself.

  • Capabilities such as mindfulness, emotional intelligence or resilience;
  • Positive emotions like gratitude, love, self-compassion;
  • Attitudes like openness, confidence or determination;
  • Virtues like, generosity, courage, wisdom.

Let’s do some housekeeping now. Go and find these great qualities you have buried inside yourself, dust them off and let them shine. Here are a few steps you can follow to nurture your inner growth.

  1. Know who you are

Your personality is the foundation of your power, while insecurity can kill your inner strength. Invest some time in understanding who you are, what makes you happy, what is really important for you. Remember, the path to success (or happiness) really depends on the variables we use to describe what ‘success’ (or ‘happiness’) is for us.

  1. Identify your strengths

All of us are born with unique capabilities and skills, and the way to build one’s strength is to focus on these specific skills and work to enhance them further. Give yourself time to recognise the tools you have to direct the life you want to lead.

  1. Take control of your body

Use your body to strengthen your soul. Physical and mental strength work in synergy and feed each other. Follow a balanced diet, sleep 7 hours a night, exercise, dress to make you feel good. If you feel good when you look in the mirror, you will start your day with confidence.

  1. Create a positive circle

Make an effort to be surrounded by positive people, who make you feel good, energized and motivated. Spend time with others who are strong inside, celebrate you and feed positive energy into your life. Limit any time around negative people or energy.

  1. Ask yourself “why”

Whatever you do, do it purposefully. Cultivate the things that make you feel accomplished and fulfilled. Make an effort to do something meaningful so that you feel you make a difference in what you do. When you decide, commit and then act. Being strong requires an efficient use of energies.

Inner growth comes from the knowledge that you have the equipment and tools to handle life’s challenges. Building inner strength is a lifelong task. If done right, not only will it pay off when difficulty arises, it will become a habit, and eventually a part of your identity. Yes, you can!

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AD/HD file systems Get Organized More time in my day prioritize procrastination Productivity productivity in the workplace project systems Time strategies

An Easy Way to be your Best Self

Most people I run into say they’d like to be more productive. So, I offer a magic pill for $9.95. I’m kidding, of course.

…Do you ever beat yourself up for not being perfectly productive 100% of the time?

The first step (really) in the ABCs of Productivity is to Accept your reality. This means you must accept yourself. To accept yourself, you must understand yourself. Here’s a snippet entitled “Understand Thyself” from a recent workshop: CLICK HERE

Once you do two things, (1) accept yourself and (2) understand yourself, the stage is set. You are getting closer to being “100% productive.”

In this article, we’ll review the four steps to take you through this self-discovery process. By taking the time to complete this process, you’ll be rewarded with a renewed self-understanding, setting the stage for personal and professional growth and productivity. For you readers who are ready to start achieving, please Contact Me and set up a complimentary Discovery call to eliminate those productivity gremlins for good.

Ready? Let’s get started right now with step one, which is a 4-part question:

Step One: Ask yourself, when are you at your best? (note: This is something most of us never consider. Yet, when considered and followed, a BIG DIFFERENCE can be seen.)

– What time of day do you have the most energy?
– How much rest and/or sleep would you have had?
– What foods would you have eaten (or avoided)?
– What would your family relationships look like?
This may seem simple, and not really related to productivity or achieving more. You may have been looking for that magic pill. It may surprise you to learn that while STRATEGIES are important, knowing where you are at a baseline is critical.

Step two: How are my current work systems doing? What is working great, and what could use some upgrading? Systems to consider: calendar, correspondence, task management, file management, priority management, long range planning.

Step Three: Dare to detail your TRUE desires (know thyself)! With this exercise, you have permission to think big, be brave, and be bold. If you don’t stretch you may never grow. So go ahead and ask yourself…if I am REALLY TRUE to myself….
– What does my work look like?
– What is my life like?
– What qualities do my clients have?
– How do I feel?

Step Four: What do you think might be preventing you from achieving the desires you just outlined above?

Bonus Step: Do something- anything- no matter how small- today. What one tiny step can you take to achieve your true desire? For example, if you think you might want to someday get your Master’s at the local college can you spend 15 minutes at lunch perusing the fall offerings?

I hope this article helps you understand yourself.

To get the most benefit, and fill it in yourself. Refer to it daily, just for 5 minutes. Remember, what you do every day shapes our future. Success, then, is a habit. Remember, your coach and accountability person are just a call or email away!

Categories
AD/HD More time in my day prioritize

How? What to do in the Land of Good Intentions

I have taken a summer break from posting the Design Your Days blog entries….but as sweet fall air kisses us, so too I offer a couple of “last” podcast/blogs to round out the Design Your Days series.

As you likely recall…I have joined with Sue West, www.organizeforafreshstart.com. We are the Design Your Days Duo for this series of audio interviews.  These are meant to give you short, “use today” pieces of advice, in 5 to 8 minutes. If you like this podcast, please LIKE our Facebook page for tips on your newsfeed several times a week.

You can either listen HOW no. 2 or read below….

Giving presentations, I find that many of the participants expect “just information and tips.” Introspective work is shunned.

So many of us feel “pressed for time” and “just want the practical strategies”. Our Design Your Days workshop attendees realizethat the best strategies won’t last, unless you’ve done the AWARENESS work and found the ones that fit YOU and YOUR life. They understand the power of the DYD framework and know why the ‘how’ practical side is the  last focus area.

So, assuming the listeners HAVE gone through the whole process, knowing WHAT gets in their way, Why they want it, what they WANT more of and less of….they are ready for the HOW. Sometimes we KNOW what to do – and we INTEND to do it- but as the saying goes, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” So how do we turn those intentions into action?

Many good ideas can be found in one of my favorite books, Following Through by Steve Levinson and Pete Greider. Pete and Steve do a fantastic job of explaining that there is NOTHING WRONG WITH US when our intentions alone do not produce long lasting results. Why?

Many good ideas can be found in one of my favorite books, Following Through by Steve Levinson and Pete Grieder. Pete and Steve do a fantastic job of explaining that there is NOTHING WRONG WITH US when our intentions alone do not produce long lasting results. Why?

We have two innate guidance systems in our minds. And there is no built-in mechanism for ensuring the 2 mechanisms work in concert with one another. They are: the PGS (primitive guidance system) and the Intellectual Guidance System  (IGS). The primitive guidance system has much power, but not much intelligence. The IGS has much intelligence, but little power. So in a contest, who wins? That’s right, the one with the power. So when you “should really clean your office” (IGS) what happens? How about when you “should do your taxes early this year?” Again the IGS is driving this. You need to find that PRIMAL REASON to change your behavior. The motivation.

So in the example above….set a meeting in your office with someone who you will want to impress to get it organized. Your PGS will be in touch with your pride, and that will get you moving.

Sue and I are sharing our “best practices” for the HOW over this and subsequent podcasts. Last time, we introduced the time inventory.

Now, we weigh in with a recommendation to focus on getting more sleep.

There is a well established link between sleep deprivation and symptoms of distractibility, inattention and hyperactivity for any one of us.

So in “intentions” check sleep first. Be strong and creative if you have to be in getting the amount you need. If you have a neuro-biological condition such as ADD or ADHD, then your intention to action model HAS TO BE unique, because of your brain chemistry. Start with sleep and quiet time (meditation, mindfulness or simply quiet time for yourself).

Now, we have 2 podcasts in our HOW bucket. We’ll continue with practical strategies to get you started in taking back your time and life in the coming podcasts.

If this topic struck a chord with you, we know you’ll get much more benefit from our Design Your Days workshop. We offer public workshops periodically; check out our facebook page for the latest ones.

We offer the Design Your Days workshop to YOUR group of businesspeople, so please contact one of us for more information and to get us on your schedule.

You can find us on Facebook as Design Your Days.

Categories
Get Organized More time in my day Time strategies Uncategorized

How will I do it? Practical Strategies to Get Moving NOW.

Are you saying…I know WHAT gets in my way. I know what I WANT.  I know WHY. Now…HOW will I do it?

That’s right, it’s the H in the W+W+W+H = Woo Hoo! Process…Where you can now really fly.

I join again with SUE WEST to provide this podcast in our series…the HOW click HOW no 1 or read on…

So many people want a quick fix; an answer to a “problem” about getting more organized and/or getting more out of their life BEFORE they’ve gone through the process. They want the HOW first….the proverbial cart before the horse.

So much needs to be fast, fast, fast. But as a favorite author, researcher and speaker, Brene Brown tells it well in her book “The Gifts of Imperfection:”

When we skip the hard stuff, it just doesn’t work.

We don’t change. We don’t grow and we don’t move forward without the work.

My work is about the things that get in the way. I’m not about the ‘how to’ because in my experience I’ve never seen any evidence of ‘how to’ working without talking about the things that get in the way.

So, own your story. Tell it. There is freedom,  relief and more when we do.

Again, Brene Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection

We will be sharing our “best practices” for the HOW over this and subsequent podcasts. Here’s the first one: the time inventory. Some students have referred to this practice as a time diary. To do this, record your time each day. Record it as you are actually working (or playing!) Do not wait until the end of the day, or the next day, and say “what did I do?” You will lose precious minutes and hours. Over a series of days and weeks, you will begin to see patterns. It does not matter if you record it on a piece of paper or electronically; only that you do it consistently and in a timely manner.

Perhaps you intend to get up at 6am, exercise, eat breakfast then get going with your day by 8:30 am. But, time and time again, it’s 9:00 am or later and you have not eaten, have not showered, and you are just catching up with “a few emails” first.

Once you actually begin to record your day you will see that you may wake up at 6, but stay in bed routinely until 6:30. Then you may quickly check facebook and you are not having that first cup of coffee until 7 am. By then you may figure you’d better exercise and when you return it’s 8 am and you want to answer an email quickly. As 9 am approaches you are “fighting fires”, are still in your lycra, have not showered or eaten.  This knowledge empowers you to change the pattern.

That’s enough fieldwork and practice for our listeners this time. The first step is always noticing. Seeing where exactly the issues are, because if you don’t diagnose the problem correctly, you’ll try something and it won’t even be the solution to the right problem! So step back and just observe yourself this week.

This is a good start to opening our HOW bucket. We’ll continue with practical strategies to get you started in taking back your time and life in the coming podcasts.

If this topic struck a chord with you, we know you’ll get much more benefit from our Design Your Days workshop. We offer public workshops periodically; check out our facebook page for the latest ones.

Categories
Get Organized More time in my day Time strategies

All I really want….

Wanting. Hundreds of thousands of songwriters continue to use this theme. It seems we all “want” something- presumably something we cannot have.

Our podcast – Sue West and Carol Williams of the Design Your Days Team- is about the “3rd W” of the W+W+W+H = Woo Hoo! Process (What, Why, Wants, and How)

Listen: what do you really WANT? or read on:

A friend introduced me to Alanis Morrissette’s  song “What I really want” a few years ago. And it reminds me of what we talk about …

The lyrics go something like this:

All I really want is some peace
a place to find a common ground
All I really want is a wavelength
All I really want is some comfort
A way to get my hands untied
And all I really want is some justice…

Wanting. It seems so selfish to WANT, doesn’t it? Yet, when we stop Wanting, we stop growing.

One person from a workshop WANTED to know “how to get back on track” with her intended tasks. This was expressed at the beginning. However, toward the end, it became clear that what she REALLY wanted was the time and space to PONDER what she wanted “next” in her life. In fact, both were applicable. But, how much more powerful is it to find the time and space to ponder your LIFE versus what’s right in front of you on your “to-do” list?

Since we all have to find our own way, here’s another approach. If you feel like: you don’t have time to ponder your life, or maybe your family isn’t supporting you, or you just don’t think of yourself as a dreamer, ponderer, creator, you can:

  • Keep track each day for about a week of what you love about your days, what you’re doing, who you’re doing it for, how healthy you feel – or how energetic, what mood you’re in as the days go along, what gives you energy and what takes it. Keep track right in your planner, on your iPhone – not in your head; it is more difficult to see patterns.
  • That’s a first step. Just notice. Become a little more aware of how your time is used. Keep doing this until you start to see some patterns emerge for things you want to change.
  • Tying this example back to our song lyrics, you’ll note that Alanis talks generally – she wants peace, common ground in her relationship, justice. She does not get specific. She talks about themes, feelings, and values. And behind those lyrics, she is saying what she knows she does not want, too.

One client I had went through a process of determining her Big Wants. I asked her to think about one big dreamy goal, that seemed almost “too big” to accomplish. She wrote it down. Then I asked her to find 3 small steps that pushed her just a LITTLE CLOSER to that goal. She did not do that right away. When she came back, she realized that she had the wrong Big Goal because she was Not Excited about that big goal anymore. She was an entrepreneur who wanted to hold a day long workshop. But she realized that actually, what she really wanted, was to spend more time with her family while earning the income she required and not necessarily any more. She determined what she REALLY wanted. Although it may sound trite, we must determine what we REALLY want before we can achieve it.

Did this help you in determining, like Alanis, “what you really want?”

Categories
EpS Events Get Organized More time in my day Time strategies Uncategorized

What Gets in the Way- When you are Designing Your Day?

You get up. Get ready. Today is an open book. Today I have a little time. Today I am not booked solid….I can “finally” catch up.

Sound familiar? Does it work? Many times – no.

What gets in YOUR way? Sue West and I explore this as part of our Perspectives Podcast Series. Listen here: WHAT gets in your way? or read on.

Sue: Well, whether we like it or not, we have arrived. It’s 2014, another ball has dropped, and we are hearing, and could be feeling, “this year will be different”. But is that little voice in your head saying….really? Why should it be any different THIS time?

Carol: Hi, this is Carol Williams, productivity coach at EpS, Efficient Productivity Systems.

Sue: And this is Sue West, AD/HD and life transitions coach

We have joined together as the Design Your Days Duo for this series of audio interviews to give you short, “use today” pieces of advice, in 5 to 8 minutes. If you like this podcast, please LIKE our Facebook page for tips on your news feed several times a week.

Carol: As you may know, Sue and I take participants in our Design Your Days workshops through our unique process of What, Why, Wants and How. Today we’re going to focus on WHAT – What gets in your Way when you are designing your day? We’ve chosen two of the most common themes we hear and we’ll offer strategies for effectively addressing those WHATS.

Sue: “I know I am at my best, when I’m feeling organized.” That’s what a client said to me about her business and about her life in general. She went on to say “I’m an organized person.”  “My business started growing. I wasn’t really paying attention; I was just getting the work done. Now, I turn around and yikes – I’m lost and overwhelmed,” So I asked what gets in her way of getting back on track, she said this:

“I don’t know how to prioritize. It ALL seems important.” And that was a familiar statement.

If this sounds like you, here are key questions to start designing your own solution:

  1. You need one place to put everything, so that you have an accurate picture of everything you need to do, BEFORE you set priorities. How well is your “capture” tool – paper or technology – working for you?
  2. How often are you looking at your list? Should be morning and end of day, plus if something big changes during the day – not an email hijacking your priorities, but a bonafide reason to change priorities set earlier in the day.
  3. What makes something a priority in your world? This you may have to notice for yourself as you sit to review your list tomorrow. For example, today, my highest priority items went like this: scheduling several client meetings, talking to a prospective client for awhile, answering a few questions about my Board work, interruption by the new person who will be doing the plowing at my house, writing my mother with info I’d promised because she only has email two days a week, and writing this podcast, because we both wanted a day or two to review and practice. So, my priorities were based on: client relationships, future client potential, response time standards I have for Board emails, the knock at the door by Mike, my mother’s constraint of the two days, and a deadline Carol and I decided on. See it’s not just money and deadlines; it’s more complex, and quite unique to each of us and what’s going on in our world.

Carol: Sometimes we hear about how “holidays” get in our way. We hear something like, “If it weren’t for all the “extra” of the season, I’d be more organized”. The solution lies in learning from those experiences. Since we are now past the holiday season (even though I WAS humming at the beginning of this…yes…) it’s still fresh in our minds. What could we have done differently to ease the stress a bit, as we look back? Record this in your new calendar for 2014 in a place where you will see it at the end of October. That’s right, start planning right around Halloween for what’s to come. When you make the time to reduce, eliminate, or delegate some of the tasks associated with the holidays, while embracing the traditions you hold dear and allowing time for those, the season will be much more joyful and you will emerge on January 1 feeling ready for the new year.

For example, I have a client who has recently downsized her home. Many of the family’s belongings that relate to “annual” decorations are kept in a storage facility. She recently recounted a meltdown that she had in December when finding that she had 8 bins of holiday “stuff” to find a place for. Much of it was given to her by a well-meaning relative. Her husband gently suggested that they choose only 2 bins and leave the other 6 in storage, at least for this year. They decorated together that night, and delighted their children in the morning. The message here is “How Much Stuff Is Enough?” Are your memories weighing you down? If so, find ways to let them go and get the extra weight OUT OF YOUR WAY.

Sue: To wrap up, we just provided two examples of What might Get In Your way when designing your day. If these struck a chord with you, we know you’ll get much more benefit from our Design Your Days workshop on Friday Jan 31 at 9 am at the Center of Health Promotion in concord. Register by calling them at 603.230.1121. Or you can check our Facebook page, Design Your Days, which has the signup link too.

In the next podcast we hit the next question, WHY? as we will continue to move through the Design Your Days process. At the end of about 12 podcasts, you will look back and find that we’ve provided an excellent overview of our process.

CAROL:

If you cannot attend our January session, we offer the Design Your Days workshop to YOUR group of business owners, so please contact one of us for more information and to get us on your schedule.

Again, you can find us on Facebook as Design Your Days or contact us individually through websites:

Sue’s is www.OrganizeForAFreshStart.com

Carol’s is http://www.efficientproductivity.com/

If you found our advice valuable, please consider sharing our podcast or blog with colleagues and friends.

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