There’s not enough time in the day! I’m so behind! I’ll never get caught up! I’ll never get ahead! Have you ever said this? I’ll take a wild guess and say, yes. Our society has become so fast paced, that if you stop to blink, you miss something. People are checking their email and responding to texts while they’re stopped at a red light, waiting in the school pick-up line, or worse…in the bathroom stall. Everything seems urgent. And yet, how can we possibly keep up? Never mind the piles of laundry, the lawn that needs to be mowed, grocery shopping, and someone has outgrown their shoes again.
Have you ever observed someone that seems to be so busy, yet they always seem to get everything done? And sometimes even more? Let’s face it. We all know someone like that. Well, here are a few tricks of the trade. Take time to plan your day- Whether you do this the night before or first thing in the morning, pause and really look at your calendar. Think about everything that you have to do and everywhere you have to be. This will mentally prepare you for a busy day. Eliminate distractions- This can be difficult to do when you are managing so many things (like family, a business, etc.). But if you know that you MUST get something done, plan on turning off the phone, banning yourself from social media, or locking yourself in a quiet room until you get it done. Plan on interruptions- There is no exception to this (unless you have locked yourself in a room-see above). You will be interrupted. You are working on a blog post, and your baby decides he’s not going to nap that afternoon. You are going over your slides for your afternoon presentation, and your laptop decides to freeze. When you know that you will be interrupted (even though you don’t know how), you can learn to roll with the punches. It’s just a minor setback. Complete your most important tasks first- Can you imagine if you started out your day by crossing off the 5 most important things? You’d have the rest of the day to accomplish the less urgent tasks. Sleep well, exercise, and eat healthy- We’ve heard this time and time again. Sleeping 7-8 hours per night, exercising daily (and walking to your car in the office parking lot doesn’t count), and eating healthy are all proven ways to boost energy levels and increase your focus. Of course you can accomplish more when you have a boost in energy! Create organizing systems- For some, this may be a detailed to-do list. For others it might be a color-coded calendar or filing system. And others may ask Siri to give them reminders! Set a time limit- I love this one. If you sit down and tell yourself that you have only 1 hour to get it done, you will. Here’s the trick. You will be so focused and deliberate, that it will probably be just as good, if not better, than if you had allowed yourself the entire morning. Delegate more often- Good leaders are good at delegating. Business owners are visionaries and need to think ahead. They can’t get bogged down with the day to day operations, like proofreading and editing their materials. Outsource. Put these tips to the test, and you will see a noticeable improvement in your time management.
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She had on her best suit, responsible high heels, meticulous hair and makeup, and a beautiful string of classy pearls. She sat nervously in the hallway waiting to be called. Her fingers tapped her leather portfolio as she ran through her interview answers in her head. She was determined to be accepted into pharmacy school. The door opened, and it was her turn. She stood up tall and reached her hand out with a firm and confident handshake, a smile that was friendly yet serious. She sat down and one by one, the questions came. Out of habit, her fingers glided over the smooth and bumpy pearls that sat nicely around her neck. And then, in a split second, the string broke! Pearls scattered across the small room like fish in a pond startled by a heavy rock thrown in. And in that split second she thought, ‘what now?’
Confidence is maintaining control even in what could be a terrible situation. And sometimes that means faking it. Confidence is putting your best foot forward, knowing that you can’t control every variable. Meghan and the recruiter got down on the floor and together picked up every little pearl, filling a dixie cup to the brim. And they laughed about it. Meghan stayed calm and left the recruiter with a lighthearted joke, not knowing if she’d ever hear from her again. But she did. And now you can call her a PharmD. There are FIVE simple ways you can increase your confidence today. Talk to yourself-We all have an inner dialogue. Use it to build yourself up. I do this before a speaking engagement. ‘You know this stuff. You are prepared. You aren’t nervous.’ Face your fear- Don’t hide from it. March right up to that person and have the difficult conversation. Stand tall- Research shows that when you stand straight and tall, you actually feel more confident. That’s easy! Dress for success- Have you ever noticed that professional coaches wear business suits to games? And doctors wear a white coat? That’s not by accident. And we’ve all heard the term “power tie”. Ladies, that new skirt and pair of shoes makes you feel like a million bucks! Use it to your advantage. Exercise- Getting your heart pumping can increase your memory and thinking, improve your self-esteem, give you more energy, and increase your resilience to stress (www.helpguide.org). Be confident in everything you do. Be confident in knowing that whatever it is that represents you (a resume, a blog, marketing material) makes you look your very best. I recently heard a discussion about how busy people find time for everything on their plate. We all have the same amount of time in a day. Twenty-four hours. That’s it. It’s what you do with those 24 hours that can make you successful at what you do. That means deciding what is important and what has to wait. That means deciding what you (only you) can do and what things you can allow someone else to do. Some people hire a cleaning service for their home, some people hire a lawn service, and some people order their groceries. Some people even hire someone to pick up their dog’s droppings!
What have I decided to “hire out” to make my life easier? The vacuuming. We purchased a Neato vacuum about a year ago. We even named “him”. I’m telling you-coming home from volunteering at the school or from the grocery store to a freshly vacuumed house is amazing! I normally wouldn’t have time to vacuum every single day. But let’s face it, with 4 kids and a dog it needs it! It was a small investment, but well worth it for my peace of mind and for the sake of a clean house! There are many times in our lives when we have to decide what is worth our investment for something that we might be able to do, we just don’t have time. And even though we don’t have time, it is still very important to us. That’s where I come in. Editing and proofreading. It’s easy for me. I’m good at it. And while a lot of people can do it, they just don’t have time. But like my clean house, having a clean blog or a clean website is something we all desire. It invites people in and makes them want to come back. Enjoy your very own twenty-four hours. My mom tells the story that I was in kindergarten or first grade when a significant event in my life happened. My mom, my teacher (who will remain anonymous for obvious reasons), and I were standing outside of the classroom door one afternoon. We were talking about the school day, the art projects I was working on, the strep throat that was going around, and other generalities. My mom says that when Mrs. So-and-so used the incorrect use of "me and I" far too many times, I finally stepped in. "It's 'Erin and I are going to have a fun day tomorrow!' Not 'Me and Erin!!!'" There. I said it. It bothered me so much! How could my teacher get this so wrong? Here's the funny thing. Back when I was in school (but really, I'm not that old) kids didn't learn to read until the end of kindergarten to the beginning of first grade. So here I was correcting my very own teacher's grammar before I could even read! I know I'm not alone in this. Bad grammar bothers people!
I'm very fortunate in that my mom corrected my grammar from the time I began speaking. That is how I could correct my teacher's grammar before I could even read. My mom gave me such an invaluable gift. The reading/writing portions of tests were a piece of cake for me. I never had to study the sentence and think about parts of speech. I could read the sentence once and know what was wrong. Here's another funny gift that I have. You might even call it an innate ability. I warned you that it's funny. Here it is. I have a gift of being able to find lost jewelry. I'm talking about a tiny earring back that fell off when you were taking off your sweater out at the barn. Or the little gold hoop that fell in the grass during a summer picnic. Gone, right? Nope! I can find it. Those little, tiny things have a way of catching my eye. What does finding lost jewelry have to do with correcting grammar? I can spot typos and grammatical errors with one, quick glance! I'm serious. Not everyone can do that. We live in such a competitive, fast-paced world that having someone that can spot those accidental mistakes can give you the cutting edge. Here's a little food for thought. Do you remember your teacher saying you can't start sentences with "But"? We probably all do. But here's the thing-there is no real rule for beginning a sentence with "But." In fact, experienced writers develop a talent for knowing how to convey their tone and talent. And sometimes that means starting a sentence with "But". The next time you hear someone say that you can't start a sentence with "But", go ahead...correct them. |
AuthorI'm Erin! I'm an MBA graduate with nearly 20 years of experience in career coaching, HR, small business management, and academia. I am an author, wife, mother, marathon runner, tri-athlete, and lover of the outdoors. Archives
July 2023
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