Out of nowhere, you receive a surprise. It can be professional or personal, big or small, welcome or not, but a surprise in any case.
If it’s positive, you’re probably feeling pretty good. On the other hand, a negative surprise can knock you out.
We’re approaching Memorial Day weekend in the U.S., which means a three-day weekend for many people and the unofficial beginning of summer. It’s the time to stop and smell the roses, the coffee, the golf course, or whatever makes you take a pause and refresh.
Many of us function at warp speed, and don’t take nearly enough time to reboot, reassess and reflect. This is a good weekend to do so, and hopefully you’ll do something that fits one of those categories.
How prepared are you for the unexpected. “Life happens” – and doesn’t it always seem to do so at the most inopportune times?
You can perfectly plan your schedule, and then life inserts itself, throws you off base, and leaves you bewildered about how this could have happened when you were so well organized.
The “fresh start” perspective of the new year can be a blank slate. Aside from the ubiquitous resolutions, it gives you a chance to refine or modify more subtle things that may need refreshed or enhanced.
Does anything come to mind?
Last time, we looked at four areas of focus as a foundation for good time management when you’ve been promoted into a new managerial role. To review, these include managing priorities, determining needs of your new director reports, managing projects, and fitting in with the pace of the environment.
Today we’ll look at a way you can plan and manage your time through determining the level of importance and urgency for your tasks. This method went into broad based use from Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
To set and attain goals is an important process for nearly all high-achieving leaders. Whether you go through a formal process to set and monitor goals, or informally record your aspirations, the desired outcome is the same.
People typically identify tasks or activities as the stepping stones for goal achievement. For example, if you want to achieve a certain revenue number in your department, you can divide that number among your employees resulting in a goal of x dollars per employee.
Something that differentiates top performers from others is that they stay focused on the end result. They don’t just write a report or complete an assignment; they think about how their work can have the greatest impact on the end result or user.
The workplace is filled with busy people, and some might offer the excuse that they’re just too buried to bring project x to the next level. Although this may be true, those who break through the busy-ness barrier do it regularly.
Many people made priorities based on an old list of what is important to them. Every once in a while (Every month? Once a quarter? Twice a year?) it is helpful to rethink your priorities and determine whether a change is appropriate.
This is especially important for leaders because their priorities certainly change based on what is going on in their companies.
Spring has arrived. It’s that time of the year when once upon a time spring cleaning was the source of household activity. Some researchers attribute the origins to the Iranian Norouz, the Persian new year, which is also the first day of spring. Tradition was that Iranians would “shake the house” prior to and in anticipate of the new year.
Closer to home, a colloquial version is to “redd up,” like the verb, to rid, meaning “clear, put in order, clean up.” If you’ve ever lived or passed through Pittsburgh, PA, you’ve probably heard this expression!
Last time we talked about prioritizing activities that you want to complete by the end of the year. Another important exercise for year end is answering three questions to help you identify and reframe your activities in the new year.
While reflecting on these questions, keep in mind both professional and personal interests.