Posts

, ,

Leadership and Coaching | Focus on Getting the Right Things Done

How do I focus on getting the right things done?

Do any of these statements sound familiar to you?

  • Everyone else’s needs hijack my time
  • I am so busy but feel like I am not getting anything important done
  • I am finding myself stretched thin and the only way to get ahead is to spend more hours working daily

I am all about incorporating time management and productivity techniques into your schedule. The first step is to determine what is essential to focus your time on, and the second to eliminate all else to maximise the bottom-line results. 

I have a sticky on my computer to continually remind me of ‘what is the most important thing I need to work on next .’ This helps me commit to working on what is essential in my business, focusing on work quality, not quantity.

What will mean more to you at the end of the day, getting more done or getting the right things done?

I work with busy professionals who often are working at maximum capacity and being pulled in one hundred different directions. Initially, we focus on analyzing what is being worked on and determine the most important things to prioritize for the most significant results. When you are feeling overwhelmed, have too much on your plate, and are struggling with meeting priorities, try these three steps:

  • Determine if what you are working on is the most essential task to make the most significant contribution towards your goal. You do have a choice in how you spend your time and energy, so take control of your schedule.
  • Eliminate activities that are ‘time sucks’ or not essential. I refer to the minutia that individuals spend a lot of time on as ‘noise’ in our schedules. Free up your schedule, cut out what is unnecessary, work on essential things, and be diligent about doing so daily.
  • Focus on execution and implement systems to help you focus daily on executing the required actions to move your goal forward.

WORDS OF WISDOM

I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to connect with brilliant leaders across industries and sectors. This month I asked Yin Lau to share one tip on how she manages multiple projects and remains organized.

Yin Lau - Yin Executive Services - YES

 

‘Make a to do list and prioritize! You are only human and there is only so much time in the day. Be kind to yourself and believe that anything worth completing will happen at exactly the time it was meant to.’

~ Yin Lau ~

YES – Virtual Executive Assistance

 

 

 

 

We are ready for you! Let’s get you the results you deserve. Learning about how professional development or executive coaching can help support your leadership or your leadership team, please reach out to askme@jennyreilly.com to schedule a convenient time for a complimentary strategy session.

Get your leadership strategies and tactics in my monthly newsletter, sign up here to subscribe.

/by
, ,

Positive Intelligence | Are you Achieving Your Full Potential?

The term Positive Intelligence or PQ refers to one’s ability to conquer mental saboteurs.

Saboteurs are mind patterns that we tend to have habitually. When reading the definitions below, take note of those that particularly resonate with you.

Judge – you find fault always with yourself, others, and the situations you find yourself in

Avoider – you focus on the positive and avoid difficult situations or conflict at all costs

Controller – you need to take charge and control of all situations

Hyper-Achiever – you are a consistent and constant high performer

Hyper-Rational – you focus on rationalizing everything

Hyper Vigilant – you are anxious about surrounding dangers and the potential of what could go wrong

Pleaser – you try to gain acceptance by pleasing, helping, and flattering others

Restless – you are in constant search of greater excitement or need to be always busy

Stickler – you need perfection, order, and organization

Victim – you focus on negative feelings and painful situations

Saboteur Solutions

Our saboteurs are exhausting; however, the good news is that you can train yourself to pick up on them as they are occurring. To look at situations differently and with more positivity, to diminish your saboteurs, try:

  • Having an open mind and explore a situation with curiosity
  • Empathizing and focus on bringing compassion and understanding to any situation
  • Being innovative, bring new perspectives and out-of-the-box solutions to solve a problem
  • Choosing a path that is aligned with your values and personal mission
  • Take decisive action without getting caught up in your saboteurs’ idiosyncrasies

When you recognize that your saboteurs are in play, to make the shift, you can simply try one of the three methods below for 10 seconds to help you regain focus:

  • Take three focused breathes, a little more deeply than the other
  • Listen to the sounds around you and focus on the noise that is the furthest away, and then that of which is the closest to you
  • Feel each of your fingertips by rubbing them against one another

Challenge 1

I encourage you to monitor your thoughts for three hours and categorize them into how they make you feel, whether it be neutral, useful, or negative. When you can identify your thoughts and their impact on your performance, you can then implement specific strategies to shift your behaviour.

Challenge 2

Step 1. Think of one recent or current business challenge that is causing you distress.

Step 2. Come up with three scenarios as to how you could turn this situation into a ‘gift’ or opportunity for the company.

*If you are stuck with this challenge and can’t manage to see the situation as a gift, focus on letting it go and putting it behind you.

 

If you are interested in learning about how professional development or executive coaching can help support your leadership or your leadership team, please reach out to askme@jennyreilly.com to schedule a convenient time for a complimentary strategy session.

Get your leadership strategies and tactics in my monthly newsletter, sign up here to subscribe.

/by
, ,

The Life Wheel – Professional and Personal Areas of Focus

The Life Wheel is a tool used in coaching to help you evaluate each area of your life and visualize what areas may require your attention. As we recover from an upending year and refocus on the year ahead, it is a perfect time to do this easy assessment that will take you less than five minutes.

There are numerous variations of this tool, and I have updated the wheel to include the areas that I cover with clients. On a scale of 0 (low) – 10 (high), in each of the dimensions, plot an ‘x’ as to how you feel now (not how you would like to feel) in each area. When you have finished, draw a line between each of the plotted marks, and you will have a visual representation of your life currently.

When you have focused on a particular area for an extended period, it is customary to find yourself feeling off-balance and not paying attention to all areas of importance in your life.

 

The JRC Life Wheel

Does your wheel look balanced?

 

The next step is to consider what areas require your focus and attention, and what compromises or choices you need to make to allow time for improvement.

It is important to note that not every dimension will ever be a perfect ’10’, and leading a balanced life does not mean that it has to be. During periods of your life, more focus and attention will be needed in a specific area, the objective of this visual is to enable you to see where you rate yourself today and help you identify areas that you would like to see improvement in throughout the year.

Define What is Important & Eliminate What is Not

 

Does this sound familiar:

  • ‘I am stretched too thin.’
  • ‘There are not enough hours in the day.’
  • ‘I spend my entire day in meetings.’
  • ‘My stress levels are high, and I am so frustrated at work.’
  • ‘The quality of my work is suffering. I don’t have sufficient time to focus over all the interruptions.’

Focus on determining your highest priorities and getting the most important tasks done daily. Schedule uninterruptible time to work on what is important.

Take back control of your schedule:

  • Eliminate useless meetings
  • Stop participating in purposeless tasks
  • Institute ’email rules’ for what you need, and want to be copied on
  • Say ‘no’ with confidence and discipline to tasks that are not related to your goals
  • Ensure you implement ‘thinking’ and ‘planning’ time in your schedule

Do less, do it better,

and attain more significant results.

 

If you are interested in learning about how professional development or executive coaching can help support your leadership or your leadership team, please reach out to askme@jennyreilly.com to schedule a convenient time for a complimentary strategy session.

Get your leadership strategies and tactics in my monthly newsletter, sign up here to subscribe.

/by
,

Zoom-ify Your Space

What does your desk and work area say about you?

What does your zoom background say about you?

What does your appearance say about you?

 

Zoom-ify! The prouder you are of where you work, how you work, and how you present yourself, the greater confidence you will have when communicating with others.

Open a new zoom meeting (with yourself only) and look at yourself as one of your colleagues or stakeholders would see you. If your camera is angled so a person on the other end of the zoom call can see your desk or work area, what impression would they take away from that? How organized would they think you are? What assumptions may they make about you?

Evaluate Your Appearance.

  • Do you need to put in a little more effort before a call?
  • Look at your Zoom background (whether your space or a zoom background), what does it say about you?
  • Do you need to tidy what is behind you, move your desk, add better lighting, or sit on a better chair?
  • Are you looking eye-to-eye at the person on the other end of the conference call, or are you looking down at your camera showing your double chin?
Zoom-ify Your Space

Zoom-ify Your Space

 

I have seen it all over the last six months: unmade beds in the background, the camera facing onto a bathroom and seeing family members come in and out, TV on in the background, dressing gown / PJs / clothes on the back of doors etc… I have also seen some of the best and worst digital zoom backgrounds. In particular, one made me motion sick as the individual had her child filmed on a bike going around in circles in the background, okay for the first two seconds but not for a 30-minute call.

Take some time and Zoom-ify Your Space!

 

Do you need some time to test out your zoom communication with someone? If you are interested in learning about how professional development or executive coaching can help support your leadership or your leadership team, please reach out to askme@jennyreilly.com to schedule a convenient time for a complimentary zoom strategy session.

Get your leadership strategies and tactics in my monthly newsletter, sign up here to subscribe.

/by