Moulding a team for Success

-P.G. Daly

Not all project teams are made the same. New teams come and go and get reorganized almost every other month in today's hyper paced environment. One thing remains the same, though, from the time the first team was ever formed until today. It is people who make things happen, it is the people in the team who matter, and it is the people on which you must focus your efforts.

The following are some tips for success based on experts approach to, and lessons learned from, this experience.

Keep it manageable
If you have any control over the situation, strive to make your team a manageable size for the task at hand.Too many cooks spoil the broth and too few give the chef cardiac arrest as she tries to do it all herself. If you have no control, as is often the case, you simply need to focus on the other aspects of getting the team up and running, which I talk about below.

Understand each other
Just as you would want to understand the functional requirements of a customer before you build an application, you want to understand the members of your team and their perspective, interests, and talents before you embark on this journey together. Even if the team you are leading is mandated and its membership was determined by "the powers that be", it is still crucial to understand each other as individuals before you get to the task at hand. Taking the time to learn each other's personality, work style, motives, and talents will go a long way toward directing your efforts appropriately and understanding why things are happening the way they are at any given point in time.

Setting the ground rules
The sooner you can set and agree upon ground rules for the mode of operation of your team, the better. Leave no stone unturned in this area. I do not mean that you have to be rigid, procedure and process happy, or adopt an attitude of form over function. I do mean that you need to be clear on how the team will operate both within its confines and with others.The best way I have found to set up ground rules is to create a straw man and let the team provide their own input on it. Provide a suggestion and give your team members full permission to add, remove, and comment on it. Members may be hesitant to do so (especially if they perceive you as an authority figure), but assure them that their input is important. After all, no one wants to be dictated rules they must follow. Plus, people take more ownership in and tend to follow processes and rules they had a hand in creating. Finalize the rules based on consensus. Remember, however, that you are in charge and are responsible for ensuring that the rules are reasonable and will enable you to accomplish the task at hand. (After all a suggested ground rule of 3-hour workdays and free beer might be fabulous, but probably not conducive to accomplishing your objective.) Therefore, as the leader, you still have the last say regarding the ground rules.Bottom Line: make sure the ground rules are something everyone can live with, are practical, and strike the right balance between form, function, and flexibility.

Dividing up the work
Share the load. That is what a team is all about. When it comes to creating a project plan, it is not only important to get the job done but it is also important to make people as happy as possible with their role. Wherever possible, try not only to capitalize on your team members' individual proven talents, but also try to expand their roles to include some of their development interests. Some people need variety and although they may be fabulous programmers, they might also want an opportunity to interface with customers. So, rather than assign 100% of their time to banging out code, you might want to involve them in customer requirements definition meetings and presentations.

From personal experience I know how important it is to have the opportunity to spread my wings and not languish in familiar boredom.

Keep in mind that as people expand their comfort zones; their work might not always be of expert quality. After all, they are learning something new. Curb your need for perfection and speed at all costs and give people the opportunity to try, fail, try again, and succeed on their own.

Another key point in dividing up the work is to keep workloads reasonable and realistic. I am still aghast at the pace, workload, and expectations that exist for all of us in today's times. Since societal norms are just a bit outside my circle of control, I can only recommend to you that you carefully consider a person's work/life balance and workload capacity before you start doling out assignments. Keep in mind that next to no one will set boundaries and tell you no even if they are already overloaded, so be realistic both to yourself, your team, and the project as you plan and assign work.

Communication
Communication within the team will make or break you. I have had the distinct displeasure of being stuck on a team where people cannot and do not communicate. I can tell you it is like serving a life sentence in purgatory. In this situation no matter how hard one person may try and no matter how effectively they communicate, it can never be enough to overcome the unwillingness and inability of the leaders to communicate effectively.

Alas, though, we are building a successful team in this article so you, as team leader, will be eager, willing, and able to communicate with your team. Keys to successful team communication include:
• Regular and consistent communication (but don't overload people).
• Clear, concise, simple terms (remember the principle KISS = keep it simple stupid).
• Relevance. How does the issue at hand affect me?
• Open lines of communication for all members. Everyone and anyone should feel comfortable
speaking up and should have the opportunity to do so regularly. Communication is a two-way street.
• Listen to others. Practice good listening skills and honor the person who is communicating.

Making Decisions
Involve the team in the decision making process. Honor people by including them and respecting their views and opinions. Each day every one of your team members will have to make decisions. Encourage them to be independent as much as possible, while feeling free to seek your input and advice when needed. Empowerment goes a long way toward having a positive experience. If someone makes a wrong decision, do not beat him or her up. We all make wrong decisions now and then. That is life. Most likely, unless you are in a real life or death situation, a wrong decision will not kill anyone. Keep that in mind and maintain your perspective!

In all teams there will be situations where either no one will make a decision or it is really not appropriate to empower the masses. In these cases, you must step up to the plate and make the decision. If you respect your people and save these authoritative moments for only the times where it is necessary to move the team forward, you will be much more successful in earning the respect of the people on your team.

Handling Conflict and Disagreement
Conflict and disagreement are inevitable. Even the best run and most compatible teams have run into these obstacles occasionally. The measure of success is how you handle them. Do not back away from conflict, but do not engage yourself emotionally in it either. In moments of conflict you must first honor the individuals involved and then seek to solve the problem at hand. If need be, diffuse a particularly heated situation by creating the necessary time, space, and perspective for people to regain composure.

If you have fostered an environment of trust within your team, you will be able to encourage team members to resolve differences on their own. If need be, facilitate the process in a professional manner. All conflict and emotional upset stems not from the actual problem at hand but from the emotion and feelings individuals assign to the problem at hand. That is, their reaction to the problem and what they make that mean.

Bottom Line: People first, then things (I paraphrase and steal some of financial guru Suze Orman's philosophy here). If you handle the people successfully, the problem will just become another item that requires a decision.

Tooting the Horn
As team leader, you are in a unique position to do much horn tooting. Toot your own horn, toot the collective team's horn, and honor individual accomplishments whenever possible. Oftentimes, as the leader, you will have more access to the customers and managers than your team. As a result, people may associate the project's success solely with your efforts. Although this is good in terms of tooting your own horn, a good team leader brings the contributions of all team members to the forefront. That is, tooting the collective horn of the whole team. Lastly, for outstanding individual contributions, recognize those people and toot their horn by mentioning their name to your superiors and customers and giving credit where credit is due. People need to feel their contributions are valued.

Doing this will not only gain you the respect of your team members, it will also make you feel good to be able to make a difference. This is one way you as a team leader can truly make a difference in the lives' of others in the course of your daily job (and you thought being in Intranet Development couldn't make the world a better place!).

Measuring Success
Quite obviously, there are the typical project deliverables on which your team's success will be measured. These deliverables typically include the usual delivering what's required, on time, within budget, etc., etc., etc. However, I believe there is one deliverable even more important than these even though no one will ever give you a bonus, raise or promotion for it. That deliverable is: the growth of the individual team members as people.

The ability of you and your team members to grow and learn in a positive, enjoyable environment is the #1 deliverable of your project team even though no one will ever admit to or reward you for that.

"Carpe Diem" - Seize the Day

I have been a little overwhelmed with work, duties, and obligations lately. I was trying to prioritize what to take action on, trying a little self-motivation. So, I just randomly said "carpe diem" to myself, hoping for some action to get out of planning mode and into action mode. After all, the phrase seems to work for so many others.

Carpe diem! This is popularly translated as Seize the day! It is hard to wrap my mind around seizing something as metaphysical as a "day" or "time." How do you seize what you can't touch? (I know, it isn't meant to be literal.*)

There are three ways to live life to its fullest and that probably should be the focus of your day: laugh at life, wait to worry, and practice forgiveness.

#1 — Laugh at life.

Things happen that you cannot manage, manipulate, predict, or prevent. That's just life. However, of the things you can control, one of them has the ability to positively impact every area of your life, including the hard times. It's your ability to laugh!  Laughing is not a personality trait. Instead, it is something we do purposefully, looking for things to laugh at.

The French have a great adage: "The most completely lost of all days is that on which one has not laughed." I like that and try to make each day count. One of my most constant sources of laughter is laughing at myself. Whoever said that if you learn to laugh at yourself, you'll always have something to laugh about, was absolutely correct.

If I take myself too seriously, then I begin to think more and more about the negative situations around me. From that vantage point, discouragement, lack of faith, hopelessness, and bitterness can seep into my life. Instead, laughter enables me to maintain a healthy perspective. Why not laugh? There's always a reason to laugh. There's probably also a reason not to laugh, but you have to choose which one you want to do. Here are five reasons why cultivating the habit of daily laughing is beneficial. Laughter is…

1.       Better than tears.
2.       Good for you.
3.       Powerful.
4.       Fun to be around.
5.       A good teacher.

#2 — Wait to worry.

More damage is done by worrying than by what is being worried about. This is because over 90% of all worries never come to pass. Worrying is neither normal nor necessary. Over the years I have made it a deliberate point not to worry. If something happens at work or home that would constitute a worry, I have learned to address the potential worry and say, "I'm going to wait to worry." Then when I objectively and realistically address the issue, the obvious need for worry goes away.

How can you win over worry? Entire books have been written on this subject, but I have found that regardless of the great information on this or any topic, people will continue to do what they choose to do. The only way for them to bring about change is to willfully change their way of thinking. Living with a positive attitude and without worry is a great way to live. I don't expect something bad to happen, but if it does, I deal with it and get on with life. Make the decision for yourself to live worry-free. It is not only possible, but it is very enjoyable.

#3 — Practice forgiveness.

Forgiveness is an incredible thing, especially when we're the one being forgiven for wrongs we have committed. It not only feels great to be forgiven, but it feels just as great to forgive others who have wronged us. To me, forgiving others is like being given a reprieve from an impossible task. It takes time and practice to develop an "I will forgive you regardless of what you do to me" mentality, but the rewards are immeasurable.

Despite the heavy price that forgiveness carries with it, the price of un-forgiveness is far greater. People who never forgive have effectively been held captive, stuck in a jail they made for themselves. Their emotions, creativity, joy, peace, hope, dreams, etc. have been minimized by their unwillingness to forgive. Choosing to forgive or not forgive will always be our choice, but for me, it's always been one of those "no-brainer" choices. Forgiveness is first a choice and then an action. Forgiveness is freedom. Forgiveness requires guts, determination, courage, and a whole lot of love.

Wouldn't you rather be remembered for someone who lived life to its fullest than someone who was negative, bitter, or unforgiving? There's an old saying that if you want to know what people will say about you when you are gone, write your own epitaph now and then live that way. Here are a few of my favorites. He … loved God first, loved his family and extended family, was an encourager, a giver; he always had a positive attitude, and he kept his word.

Remember, we don't always get a second chance. I want to make the most of everyday, because tomorrow there is no guarantee. Carpe diem — seize the day — to start living life to its fullest! Learn to laugh at life, wait to worry, and practice forgiveness.

Work-Life Balance

One of the most important ways of creating work-life balance and reducing stress in your life is to be able to switch off from your work. In my experience this is most common when people work from home, however it also applies to people who go out to work. I'll start with some general strategies and then we'll look at the challenges relating specifically to working from home.

General Strategies for Switching Off From Work

Setting Boundaries

So, the first question to ask yourself is "How accessible am I?" Can you be contacted late at night or early in the morning when you aren't normally at work or even being paid to take the calls? If so, then you will need to consider your boundaries.

Having strict boundaries between your work time and your personal time can really help switch off from work and reduce the stress that this extra thinking is causing. In some cases, there needs to be some conversation between yourself and your team or bosses to establish an acceptable compromise. Some people can simply let go of their need to look after every little detail at work and trust that it will happen in spite of their absence. For others, simply stopping being accessible 24-7 is the answer and gradually people stop contacting them out of hours.

It's important to consider your position, level of responsibility and your situation before making changes like these - seek professional help in considering your options.

Reducing and Managing Your Workload

How good are you at saying "No"? Do you take on more work than you can possibly do, in order to please your boss, company or other people? If so, then this is likely to contribute to an inability to switch off from your work. With more to do than they can possibly manage, most people take their work home with them.

Be clear on your responsibilities at work - if someone asks you to do something that is outside of your normal duties, then consider first if you have time to do that. In many cases it is easier to say, "I'm sorry, I'd love to help, but I have to get _____ done first. If I have time I'll stop by later and help out."

What many people find is that if they consistently say yes, then they become the first person who is asked to help out and soon everyone asks them. It's better in the long run to be honest and explain upfront that you don't have time, than to disappoint when you can't deliver on time for them.

Of course, you can still say yes when you have time or really want to help out.

Focus on Personal Goals

One of the simplest tools to use to help switch off from work is to have a different focus. Many of the people I speak with and help have hobbies and personal goals which they simply don't feel they have time to do. When you break it down, the fact they are not doing their hobby is often to do with all the thoughts about work that they bring home with them. Even when they are not actually working whilst at home, there are lots of things on their mind. It's incredibly hard to be motivated to do anything else during these times.

Some of the worst things to do in this situation are often the things that most people do - crashing in front of the TV is probably about the most common. Ok, so there are some programmes that will really engage you and will help you switch off from your thoughts about work, but if you are simply watching "whatever's on" then this is really not going to help.

In order to make changes to your thought habits, you have to first change your actions - this can be hard work! In this case, the best thing to do is to begin to do all the activities that you enjoy doing in your free time - maybe cooking, running, walking, golf, spending time with the children or a partner, etc. The first phase is tricky because you will find that you still have work on your mind and are distracted from what you are doing. Keep in mind that you are there to enjoy this activity and do what you can to remain focused on it.

Over time, as you keep yourself busy in your personal life and practice being focused on and enjoying your activities, you will find that you automatically switch off from work and eventually the thoughts and worries that used to pop into your head, will no longer come.

Turn Off Your email and Do Some Work!

Email...

I meet so many people who do their work emails at home, indeed with Blackberry and PDAs it's so much easier to do now. I came across this very interesting video about email and the fact that if you receive interruptions then it can take 8 to 10 minutes to get back to your concentration level.

If possible - keep your work email at work and leave it alone when you are at home! If you catch yourself saying "I'll just check my email..."

DO SOMETHING ELSE INSTEAD!
 

Working From Home - Switching Off

Boundaries

Boundaries when you work from home are all the more important. First and foremost, have an area that is exclusive for work - preferably some kind of office room. If that's not possible in your home, then use an area of a room that you do not use very often and ensure that you are able to enclose your work equipment, files and information (e.g. in a cupboard, filing cabinet, computer unit etc).

Have a timetable and stick to it like glue - not only do you have the temptation to do work outside your working time, you are also available for personal things to encroach on work time meaning you have to catch up later.

Ok, sometimes there will be an important call or something you have to do, but at all other times, make sure you can switch off the phones (and have an answerphone) and the PC is off to help avoid emails etc.

GET OUT!

Working from home has special challenges - you can feel lonely and isolated, constantly available and in some cases, because you live where you work, you feel on duty 24 hours a day.

There is only one answer to this - get yourself out of the house. Make it part of your personal goals or focus to do enjoyable activities out of the house - every day.
 

Conclusion

Switching off from work is vital to remain physically and mentally healthy. If you are worrying about work, or find it difficult to switch off from work, then sooner or later something will give. There are some very lucky people for whom work is play and vice versa and their limitless energy comes from this attitude, but when your home and personal life is affected then a balance must be sought.

Kickstart Your Day

by Vlad Dolezal

Have you wondered- How to Wake up Excited and Full of Energy?

Most of us must have noticed this that when we were small kids, we used to wake up tired to get to school on time and wanted to just crawl back into bed and sleep for another hour or two.

Yet at the weekend, we would jump out of bed before 6, excited and full of energy. Why? Because there are some exciting cartoons on TV or friends are waiting for jogging or you are going to the swimming pool....!

Have a reason for waking up

A great way to wake up excited and full of energy is to find your mission in life. Your purpose for existence. And then go, and take daily action to get closer to achieving it!

If you find a purpose big and exciting enough, it will pull you out of bed in the morning, and fill you full of energy better than a cup of coffee, yerba mate, and cocaine all together! (not that I have ever tried that)

But even if you haven’t found your mission yet, or aren’t working on any specific part of it right now, you can still wake up with a smile on your face.

Just find a fun and exciting thing to do, and plan it first thing in the morning!

One of the best productivity tips you’ll ever hear is doing the most uncomfortable thing in the morning. That’s great once you’ve woken up… but to get yourself to wake up, planning something fun and exciting works far better.

If you plan something boring and uncomfortable for your morning, you will wake up, and just pull the covers over your head, and pretend the world isn’t there. Or even go back to sleep.

If you plan a fun and exciting task for your morning, you’ll wake up, grin from ear to ear, yawn a loo-o-ong lazy yawn, stretch from head to toe like a cat, and then jump out of bed, and be off towards a new exciting day!

So what’s the exciting task you want to plan? That depends on you.

I personally love juggling. So if I had a tough day ahead of me tomorrow, I might decide to do some juggling first thing in the morning! That would get me out of bed and excited for the rest of the day :D

Just pick something you love, and do it first thing in the morning. You’ll love the results.

Doing Vs Happening

--- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Only one who is 100 percent in doing can recognize the happening.

The healthiest way to apply this knowledge is to see the whole past as happening and the present as doing. If you see the past as doing, then ego and regret come along. And when you see the present as happening, then laziness and unawareness set in. If you apply the doing for the future, it brings tension and worry. If you apply the happening for the future, it might bring some confidence and also lethargy.

Let the happening be for the past. Let the doing be for the present. And the future is a mix of both.

The wise will see the doing in happening and the happening in doing simultaneously. Are you confused now? (Laughter)

One who does a lot of work will never say he did a lot. When someone says he did a lot of work, that means he can do more. He has not done enough. Work does not tire you as much as the doership does.

All the talents you have are for others. If you have good voice, it is for others. If you are a good cook, it is for others. If you write a good book, it is for others. What do you do? You don't sit and read your own book!

If you are a good carpenter, it is for others. So all of your talents are useful for others. If you are a good surgeon, it is for others. You cannot do your own surgery. This is interesting. If you are schoolteacher, it is for others. You cannot teach your own children; they don't listen to you anyway. So all your work and talents are for others.

If you don't make use of your talents, they will not be given to you again.

How to Get Things Done Fast

Whether you're facing down a deadline or just trying not to waste too much time getting something done, a little extra attention will help you get through your tasks quickly.

1 Take a bit of time to plan ahead. Although planning may not be your highest priority, even a minute or two spent charting your course can help to get you there faster.

2 Keep a to-do list. Understand what you need to do. For certain sorts of tasks, you could keep this list in your head. Don't panic or lose your head, even if the list seems long or daunting right now. Break down larger tasks into manageable parts.

3 Do anything you can to shorten the list. Is there anything you could delegate? Can you ask for help? Is there anything you can safely do later, perhaps after a deadline? Is there anything you could skip entirely? Are there shortcuts you could take or ways you could speed up the process? Can you ask for more time? Eliminate any time-wasters or low value activities or leave them on the bottom of the list until you have more time.

4 Recognize your priorities, and note them. This process can be as formal or as informal as you prefer, but you'll generally have certain tasks that are more important than others, and it's important that you focus on these tasks first. One way to consider priorities is to consider the impact of each task or sub-task and the consequence of not doing it or letting the deadline slip.

5 Take note of any deadlines you are working towards. If there are intermediate goals, give them intermediate deadlines, even if they are approximate.

6 Take note of your motivations. Try to state them as a positive (getting a good grade in a class, getting a problem solved) rather than negative (not losing a customer, getting in trouble). Your motivations will fuel your speed and extra effort and determination that you will need to get through the tasks.

7 Jump in and start. If it's hard to get started, do any little piece that gets you into the task. Generally, any start is better than no start, even if it's not ideal.

8 Work as quickly and efficiently as you can safely work. Balance your pace so that you are not working so quickly that you make mistakes that cost you further time.

9 Take breaks. As time allows, take short breaks to rest. For a project over many days, this means getting enough sleep that you can stay awake and concentrate. For a one-day project, a couple of minutes every hour will allow you to eat, drink enough water, use the bathroom, stretch (if your task is sedentary) or catch your breath (if it is physically active), etc. Don't take such long breaks that you lose your momentum. Rather than schedule them strictly, take breaks at natural stopping points in your work. Breaks can also provide a moment for intermediate planning or discussion if you are working as part of a group. It's a good idea to review your plan along the way and modify either your course or your plan, or both.

10 Be disciplined. Focus, be persistent, and be consistent. It will help to get through your tasks as efficiently as possible. If you find yourself losing focus, try to figure out why, and quickly. Are your objectives unclear? Do you need information from others? Are you getting stuck on something? Is your plan inconsistent with your progress or your goals?

11 Celebrate your accomplishments and get some rest as soon as you are done.

12 Do any required follow-up work. Let others know you have finished and give them whatever information they need to proceed with the next steps.

13 Take steps to avoid the next rush. Get ahead of your work

Tips
- Avoid the need to rush, if possible. Try to include ample time when planning your tasks. If you have run short of time, it isn't the end of the world. Do as much as you can in the time you have left, doing the most important things first.

- Try not to sacrifice quality, but don't insist on perfection, either. Many times, an adequate result released on time

- A bit of planning, however informal will often more than make up for whatever bit of time it consumes. Plans need not be exhaustive, just enough to serve as a guide.

- Try to stick to your plan, but don't be inflexible about changing it if conditions, priorities, or requirements change.

- If you are choosing your own goals, choose them wisely. It's all right to challenge yourself, but choose goals you can reasonably accomplish with the skills and resources available to you.

- If you save time by working quickly, you can use the extra time to tackle lower priorities, get ahead of other work, or help the people who helped you through the last crunch.

- Most tasks become faster and easier with practice, especially low level ones. If your tasks are centered on computers, for instance, try to learn to touch type and use commands fluently so that you can focus your energy on higher-level tasks.

- One easy thing to curtail is irrelevant chatter. If you need to meet with others to plan or coordinate your tasks, do so, but remind everyone to keep the conversation to the necessary minimum. Otherwise, save the chatting for lunchtime on a day when you're not in a hurry.

- Don’t allow yourself to be too overwhelmed. If you are feeling overwhelmed, take a short break (even if it's only long enough to take a deep breath), center your thoughts and energy, and focus on a smaller piece of the task.

- Think twice before giving up. Often, pushing past an obstacle will give you more momentum to continue.

Concentrated Effort

by Bryan Golden

“Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.” – Napoleon Hill

“It’s not easy being successful” is a claim I have heard from people who are making excuses for not pursuing their dreams.  It’s true, success does take effort.  But it also takes as much, if not more, effort to continuously struggle without being on a path to success.

Living takes effort.  However, you have the power to formulate any strategy you want for expending your effort.  You can scatter your efforts so nothing is accomplished.  Or you can concentrate your effort into a powerful force.

What happens when spilled jet fuel on a runway is ignited?  It burns, creates a lot of heat, but doesn’t get you anywhere.  But burn it in a jet engine and you then have the means to get to a specific destination.

Why are there different results?  When the fuel is burned on the ground, its effort is dispersed and nothing is accomplished.  In a jet engine, the effort is concentrated and directed in one direction.  Only in the engine will the fuel’s effort get you anywhere,

In addition to concentrating your efforts, it is imperative to provide enough effort to get the job done.  Imagine it takes a full tank with 200 gallons of fuel to fly to your objective.  What would happen if you only put in 190 gallons?  You would crash short of reaching your goal.

What about a situation where you have a full tank but it’s still not enough to take you to your target?  You would need to stop and refuel as many times as necessary in order to complete your trip successfully.

Unfortunately, many people either do not put enough fuel into their tanks or don’t refuel as needed.  So it’s no surprise they never reach their destination.

It takes a lot more effort to get your dreams off the ground than it does to keep them going.  It’s during this takeoff phase that people are prone to becoming discouraged.  Those who provide the necessary effort to lift off will enjoy the benefits for a long time.

Lori and Carol are childhood friends.  They graduated from high school together.  Each got married and started a family.  They even had two kids each.  In their early 30’s, Lori and Carol were working as clerks in the same financial firm.

Although they worked the same hours as Carol and Lori, the accountants earned a much better salary.  Lori and Carol realized they would have more opportunity if they had accounting degrees.  They enrolled in a local college and began taking night classes.

It took a lot of effort to work full time, take care of their families, and go to school.  After two years, Carol dropped out of the program.  She had become tired of the grind.  Although Lori was also fatigued by the demanding schedule, she kept putting in the necessary effort until she graduated.

Now both Lori and Carol work just as hard at their jobs.  Because of her degree, Lori makes a lot more money.

Lori’s financial situation is better due to the extra effort she expended to get her degree.  While she was in school, Lori had little free time for herself.  Today she enjoys the benefits of her extra effort.

Regardless of how you define success, it takes effort to achieve it.  It also takes just as much effort to struggle without reaching your goals.  So why not expend the effort it takes to live the life you want?

An 18-Minute Plan for Managing Your Day

Peter Bregman

Yesterday started with the best of intentions. I walked into my office in the morning with a vague sense of what I wanted to accomplish. Then I sat down, turned on my computer, and checked my email. Two hours later, after fighting several fires, solving other people's problems, and dealing with whatever happened to be thrown at me through my computer and phone, I could hardly remember what I had set out to accomplish when I first turned on my computer. I'd been ambushed. And I know better.

When I teach time management, I always start with the same question: How many of you have too much time and not enough to do in it? In ten years, no one has ever raised a hand.

That means we start every day knowing we're not going to get it all done. So how we spend our time is a key strategic decision. That's why it's a good idea to create a to do list and an ignore list. The hardest attention to focus is our own.

But even with those lists, the challenge, as always, is execution. How can you stick to a plan when so many things threaten to derail it? How can you focus on a few important things when so many things require your attention?

We need a trick.

Jack LaLanne, the fitness guru, knows all about tricks; he's famous for handcuffing himself and then swimming a mile or more while towing large boats filled with people. But he's more than just a showman. He invented several exercise machines including the ones with pulleys and weight selectors in health clubs throughout the world. And his show, The Jack LaLanne Show, was the longest running television fitness program, on the air for 34 years.

But none of that is what impresses me. He has one trick that I believe is his real secret power.

Ritual.
At the age of 94, he still spends the first two hours of his day exercising. Ninety minutes lifting weights and 30 minutes swimming or walking. Every morning. He needs to do so to achieve his goals: on his 95th birthday he plans to swim from the coast of California to Santa Catalina Island, a distance of 20 miles. Also, as he is fond of saying, "I cannot afford to die. It will ruin my image."

So he works, consistently and deliberately, toward his goals. He does the same things day in and day out. He cares about his fitness and he's built it into his schedule.

Managing our time needs to become a ritual too. Not simply a list or a vague sense of our priorities. That's not consistent or deliberate. It needs to be an ongoing process we follow no matter what to keep us focused on our priorities throughout the day.

I think we can do it in three steps that take less than 18 minutes over an eight-hour workday.

STEP 1 (5 Minutes) Set Plan for Day. Before turning on your computer, sit down with a blank piece of paper and decide what will make this day highly successful. What can you realistically accomplish that will further your goals and allow you to leave at the end of the day feeling like you've been productive and successful? Write those things down.

Now, most importantly, take your calendar and schedule those things into time slots, placing the hardest and most important items at the beginning of the day. And by the beginning of the day I mean, if possible, before even checking your email. If your entire list does not fit into your calendar, reprioritize your list. There is tremendous power in deciding when and where you are going to do something.

In their book The Power of Full Engagement, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz describe a study in which a group of women agreed to do a breast self-exam during a period of 30 days. 100% of those who said where and when they were going to do it completed the exam. Only 53% of the others did.

In another study, drug addicts in withdrawal (can you find a more stressed-out population?) agreed to write an essay before 5 p.m. on a certain day. 80% of those who said when and where they would write the essay completed it. None of the others did.

If you want to get something done, decide when and where you're going to do it. Otherwise, take it off your list.

STEP 2 (1 minute every hour) Refocus. Set your watch, phone, or computer to ring every hour. When it rings, take a deep breath, look at your list and ask yourself if you spent your last hour productively. Then look at your calendar and deliberately recommit to how you are going to use the next hour. Manage your day hour by hour. Don't let the hours manage you.

STEP 3 (5 minutes) Review. Shut off your computer and review your day. What worked? Where did you focus? Where did you get distracted? What did you learn that will help you be more productive tomorrow?

The power of rituals is their predictability. You do the same thing in the same way over and over again. And so the outcome of a ritual is predictable too. If you choose your focus deliberately and wisely and consistently remind yourself of that focus, you will stay focused. It's simple.

This particular ritual may not help you swim the English Channel while towing a cruise ship with your hands tied together. But it may just help you leave the office feeling productive and successful.

And, at the end of the day, isn't that a higher priority?

An Error Free Life

Yesterday I was reading an article on the art of "Poka Yoke" and was wondering how can i use it in my day to day life activities.

As few may be knowing "Poka Yoke" is a Japanese term that means "mistake proofing" or "error proof" or "fool proof".

Mistake proofing is the result of using wisdom and ingenuity to create methods or devices that prevent errors. The objective is to focus on the error/problem and identify steps / actions / tools to minimize the probability of an error occurring again.

Poka Yoke is not specific to manufacturing at all. There are many poka yokes in all of our daily lives that we take for granted or simply do not recognize as poka yokes.

Examples of Poka Yokes:

> One example is the small hole in almost every bathroom sink. It is a poka yoke to help prevent sink overflow.

> Another example is in our cars that have automatic transmissions. You can not remove the car key while the transmission is in an unsafe position and the wheels are unlocked. The key interlock in this case is a Safety poka yoke.

> Another example would be Memory cards for your camera, laptop, or phone. Most have a notch or tab type poka yoke that prevents the card from being installed upside down.

There are 3 levels of mistake proofing:

    Level 1: Prevent an error/ mistake from occurring at the source
    Level 2: Detect the error/ mistake as it is being made.
    Level 3: Stop the defect from reaching the next operation.

Still... I am wondering reading this... how to use this into a life philosophy. If anyone finds a way to adapt this into our lives; please do inform me.

I am sure the most difficult part is realizing the errors/ mistakes in one's life. Hmmm.

I finally think - "Life is not about to remain error free. Life is about correcting mistakes."

Focus!!!

- Mike Brooks

"Secret to Success? Focus on What You Want – Not What You Don’t Want!"

One of the most powerful techniques you can use to ensure your immediate and continued success is to stay focused on what you want – and all aspects of that – and not to give in to worry, doubt, or to the temporary circumstances that might be happening right now in your life.  I know this sounds simple, but most people find it extremely hard to put into practice.

To start with, while everyone understands the importance of goal setting, and many of you may even have goals now, what usually happens after the excitement wears off is that reality settles in.  You may have a goal to earn a certain amount of money, or drive a different type of car, etc, but after you receive a few checks that seem to be about the same, or after you get back into your old car for a few months, have you ever found that you forget about your goal and just start accepting that things are probably going to remain the same?

Or have you ever attended a motivational seminar or read a motivational book and been fired up for a while?  Have you even taken some of the advice and written down your new goals or even taken some action on trying a new marketing plan or diet?  If you have, then you’ve probably experienced the kind of let down that comes from not making progress fast enough and of laying in bed at night worrying about your income or about your future.

In fact, let me ask you right now: “How much of your thinking is about what you don’t want to have happen or about what might happen if something you’re trying to accomplish doesn’t work out?”

The answer to that one question will always determine your ultimate success.  You see, the secret to all success is to be able to stay focused on exactly what you want regardless of how long it takes, or what else is currently happening, or what temporary obstacles might be in your way.  It is this single ability to stay focused, committed and always trained on the end result you want – no matter what – that will enable you to ultimately achieve any goal you can set.

So how do you stay focused on what it is you want when so much seems to be to the contrary, or your mind constantly says, “Yes, but….”?  Here are some tips that help me, and they might help you as well.

I remember when I wanted to upgrade my Nissan Hatchback to a Mercedes.  Well, at first I couldn’t afford the down payment, didn’t know how I was going to make the monthly payments, insurance, etc.  Instead of trying to figure all that out, I started with the thought, “If other reps in the office drive nice cars and they seem to be able to write enough business to afford them, why not me?”

That basic belief was the core driving thought that I always went back to when I had a bad sales day, or week.  Whenever my mind started to go negative on me with the, “Who are you kidding?  You a Mercedes?”  And so forth, I would always reaffirm what I could believe in – “If others could do it, I could do it too!”

After that, I strengthened my vision by going to a Mercedes dealership and test driving the car I wanted; I had the sales rep at the dealership take pictures of me next to my ideal car (in fact you can see that exact picture by clicking here and scrolling down a bit), and I brought all the brochures home that I could and kept them on my desk and looked at them often.  And then I wrote up an affirmation card and spent three to five times a day slowly visualizing how I felt now that I owned that car.

That combination – always combating any negative thoughts with a thought I could believe in – “If others could do it, I could as well” – along with constantly feeding myself the feelings of having accomplished my goal, enabled me to stay focused on what I wanted, rather than on what I didn’t have.

The result?  Four months after writing up my affirmation card and making the commitment to own the car of my dreams, I went back to the same dealership and bought the exact car I had been visualizing about.  You see, the manager drove that car and it was still available when I was ready to buy.  Coincidence?  I don’t think so!

So my question to you is this: What do you want, and what belief can you buy into that can become your default belief that will counteract any negative thinking?  And then what kinds of reinforcement tools can you surround yourself with that will keep you dreaming about how you’ll feel once you attain your goal?  These, coupled with an affirmation statement that you visualize several times a day, will keep you focused on what you want.

And once you do that, your goal will always become a reality…

Fuel your life with passion

No matter how beautiful or sophisticated an automobile is, it will never be in motion unless it is fueled. Cars were built to run on fuel, and until that is done nothing else will make them function normally. The engine will not even start, talk less of moving; every one knows that. What every one does not know however is that in life, in order to advance meaningfully, there is a need to fuel your passion.

Everybody was born with a passion for one thing or the other. Unfortunately, many people are yet to discover in full their area of passion but that notwithstanding, they still do have latent passion for something waiting to be discovered.

"Where Your Passion Goes, Your Life Flows"

Personal conversations that reveal and connect you to your passion in order to unleash your personal power and live your best life.

Passion is your life fuel. When you are lacking passion, life gets upside-down.

Having a hard life is defined by each person. It could mean that it’s difficult to get through the day. Or it might mean illness, injury, trauma or even unexpected life disasters.

The good news is that these are all signs that invite you to experience a new level of personal power.

You see, many people think that being confused, in challenging situations or even in toxic relationships is a bad thing… and that’s not true. These are simply signs that it’s time to seek a new life state. And you know it because you aren’t able to access or feel your passion.

The simplest explanation is that passion is life. That means that, like any life form, passion will always try to flow. But when it is blocked, unexpressed or unacknowledged, it will create constricted results, like illness, injury, confusion, emotional trauma or other personal power imbalances.

Just like water that gets dammed, clogged or blocked, neglected passion will overflow into other areas in unexpected ways. These are simply energy imbalances which signal that it’s time to create change in your life. Once balanced, you are living in wellness, health, alignment AND abundance.

It’s time to feel your passion so you can make decisions from your personal power.

Your passion is your guide to new results in your life and business.