 |
Is the Goal to Reach the Goal?
In this fast and crazy world, we want to multi-task at every given moment. After all, how else can we accomplish all that needs to be done in only 24 hours? We've been taught that if we reach all of our goals in a day, week, month, or year, we are successful. What we haven't been taught when achieving goals is that quality counts and so does the amount of effort exerted. Our tendency is to set many goals especially at work for any given day or week, and then we feel discouraged or disappointed when we don't achieve all of them. In fact, we usually have to carry them over to the next day or the next week. The first step in feeling a sense of accomplishment and completion is to set only 3 goals for a day, for a week, for a month that HAVE to be accomplished. Why only 3? In an average day, we can't anticipate all of the other things that will snag our attention. We get called into a meeting, we get a time-consuming phone call, we get a request that requires some searching, we notice an article of interest that we want to read, etc. If we don't allow for these other time-consuming things, then we're not being realistic about what we can accomplish in a day. Same goes for a month - unexpected family situations, travel, illness, new projects, etc. So, how do we accomplish 3 goals in a day and accomplish them well with little effort? It's better known as focus and undivided attention. The keyword is undivided - our attention remains TOTALLY on the task at hand. The distractions, the pulls, the unimportant but more interesting, don't take us away from what needs to be done at that moment. If you attend to the task in front of you and don't allow the distractions to interfere, you will notice how effortlessly the task is accomplished. Even if it's something you have been putting off and dreading - just simply setting aside the time and concentrating on it, will result in one less thing on your plate. Ironically, the more attention you give it and the more focused you are on the task at hand, the less you will feel any effort in its completion. If you allow any of the distractions to interfere and you believe you are multi-tasking, what you are really doing is flitting between many different things and not giving any one thing your undivided attention. The result: a little of this and a little of that gets done with mediocre quality and it feels as though a lot of effort is needed. Invitation to Experiment:
Set 3 or more goals for any given day, for a week, for a month of which 3 HAVE to be accomplished. That may mean letting the answering machine pick up, turning off the cell phone and Instant Messaging, going to another desk or conference room. Totally focus your attention on one thing at a time and notice how they are accomplished - and see if it feels any different than it usually does. Marion Franklin - is a Professional Certified Life Coach who coaches individuals and groups regarding personal and professional change, focus, human relations, and conflict management. Marion has coached managers at major corporations including PepsiCo, Toys'R'Us, and Reader's Digest. She conducts and help clients design workshops and presentations, has been a featured presenter at meetings, retreats, and an ongoing Women's Workshop Series, has been cited in The Journal News and The Wall Street Journal, and has appeared on local Cable Television.
http://www.lifecoachinggroup.com
MORE RESOURCES:
|
Born and bredTexas A&M The Battalion“Time management.” Those two words were preached by senior midfielder Rachel Shipley when asked how she juggles her successful athletic career and her ...and more » |
Google News
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Winning The Fight Between You And The Clock
"Slaves to the clock" was the cover story in the March issue of CEO magazine."You can never out work a problem, you have to out think it.
Too Much to Do? Too Little Time?
Hey - Did someone press the FFW button?Have you ever felt like someone just pressed the Fast-forward button on your day and before you know it the day is over and you are sitting there wondering what you've accomplished?I love to organize and with working Part Time outside of the home and FULL-TIME at home with my business, 4 children and Husband I really rely on a schedule and many time management tips to keep my sanity (ok, so some of you think I am already insane, I won't argue with that) but at least I am organized ;)Here are a few of my favorite Time management Tips:1. Meal Planning: Try planning 1 - 2 weeks worth of meals at a time and write them down on a calendar.
Schedule Time for Interruption
One of the most challenging situations people face when planning their day is how to stick to their schedule when they are constantly being interrupted. Just when your activities are organized, someone else's emergency seems to get in the way.
Effective Time Management Techniques
TIME MANAGEMENTWith the creation of the universe, God gave humankind a miraculous gift. A wonderful gift which cannot be seen or touched but without which there will be no meaning in life.
Time Is Everything
Time is wealth;Time is health;
Time is power;
Time is strength.Time is the essence of lifeTime is everythingBut time is nothing,
without proper planning.
The Rule of Three
It's amazing how many sayings there are in our culture about the number three. Think about it: "Good things (or bad) come in threes;" "Third time's the charm.
Sharpen The Saw
Sometime ago, my lovely wife woke me up in the middle of the night and said, 'Dayo, you know what? I feel neglected.' I was speechless.
House Cleaning - Three Ways To Finding The Time
It's always a challenge finding time to clean my house.
Seems the hours, days and weeks just fly by, so much to
do, so little time.
Achieve More With Less Through Proper Planning
One question a lot of people ask me recently is: "how do I manage my own personal time and get so much done in the same 24 hours everyone else have? They wonder how I have time for my family, being a Motivational Speaker, Business/Life Coach, Writer, Publisher, and Toastmaster."One day, I was in the gym with my very good friend, Joe De Souza, a highly
skilled Speaker who has impacted me immensely, when he asked me the same
question.
Creating A Not-To-Do List
When I sit down with a client to work on prioritizing and delegating, the biggest challenge we face is deciding what kinds of activities and responsibilities to give up. Quite often, we get so entrenched in what we think we SHOULD be doing, that we forget to pay attention to what we ENJOY doing.
TIME, The Undervalued Resource
We are all born equal! We all have the same 24 hours in a day as Oprah Winfrey has the difference is how we choose to spend our time. No matter how you dissect this concept, there could only be 1440 minutes or 86,400 seconds at any given 24.
Priorities: Dont Dry Your Dishes
Do your dishes really need to be dried, or could you just let the water evaporate? If you spend just 5 minutes per meal drying dishes, that equals a quarter of an hour per day, or 91 hours each year.Imagine spending almost four days in a row standing at the sink drying dishes.
Seven Ways to Say, No!
A common remedy for improving your time management is to develop the ability of saying, "NO." Since it is easier to recommend than to do, here are some tips on how to do it.
Coping with the Time Crunch
"There is never enough time, unless you're serving it."
-Malcolm Forbes (1919 - 1990)My son is 17 months old.
Time Management: Eliminate Time Killers to Gain More Hours Every Day
There are two types of time killers in everyone's life. Unless you deal with both, you'll lose productive time every single day and be a lot less effective than you could be.
Taking Time Off For Your Business
As a business owner, wouldn't it be great if you could take time off whenever you needed to? Unfortunately, most small business owners worry that the business will fall apart if they're not there to mind the store. Too often, they simply lack the appropriate resources for their business to keep going in their absence.
Perfekt!
Are you obsessed with getting everything just right? Do you do everything yourself because no one else can do it as well as you can? Do you believe that everything you do has to be absolutely perfect? Although striving for excellence is a good thing to do, demanding perfection in everything you do is not.Often, perfectionism is a way to delay taking action.
Todays Overload: Tommorrow
Whatever providence has in store for us tomorrow is not meant for us until tomorrow. It is foolish to burden ourselves today with cares and concerns that belong to another day.
Benefits of Speed Reading
In this digital age, the importance of being able to absorb information quickly and efficiently is more pronounced than ever. For me, I get tonnes of information every single day.
The Keepers of Time
I give presentations on organizational skill building as it relates to paper, time, and computer file management. It seems that we all have too much paper, not enough time, and more than enough information stored in our computers if we could just find it!Part of my job is to help identify the challenges an employee or organization is facing and suggest solutions.
|
