Do you spend your days juggling numerous unrelated tasks while working at a job, as well as managing life on the home front? This hectic business and personal schedule can cause a teeter totter effect, with some days more family, and others more business. The question becomes how to keep all the plates spinning without shorting anyone of your efforts or time.
We have become a society of professional multitaskers, managing a wide umbrella of duties within a small frame of time. With so much going on, how is it possible to do it all without sacrificing family or self-care for the career or job? In order to get more quality out of the quantity of your time, you need to have a plan to help guide your choices. Without planning it is easy to mismanage the time you have. Using this five step plan and a sheet of paper can help you map a more productive day..
1. Create a "What Matters Most" list.
You start by focusing your thinking, targeting your efforts and prioritizing your tasks. To determine your priorities, the first step is to create your "What Matters Most to Me" list. Choose the top five things that are important to you and write them at the top of a page.
2. Create a "Time Demands" list. Categories include:
1. Outside of the home: Duties, Tasks, Responsibilities,
2. Inside of the home: Duties, Tasks, Responsibilities
3. Recreation/Relaxation
4. Family
5. Self-Care
6. Spiritual/Volunteer or Helping Others
Below your "What Matters Most to Me" list, begin to list of all the things that compete for your time. Group them in categories, so they will be easier to manage. By mapping your time demands this way, you will be able to visualize the relevance of each task and how it fits into your schedule. Highlight the non-negotiable tasks that must be done and then underline those that would be considered high need. Everything else would fall into the, "When I have time" category.
3. Align activities with what matters most.
To streamline your schedule you must make choices from a point of perspective. Most people discover that they are not spending their time in alignment with what is important to them. This happens for many reasons but often it is due to a lack of perspective.
It is difficult to see the big picture while standing within it, much like viewing a city layout from street level. It limits your planning options when flush is the only view you have, but climb to the top of a tall building and you will find a sharper perspective to plan from.
That is what time mapping can do for you. It raises your perspective allowing you to make more informed and consistent choices about how to spend your time. When done consistently it eliminates confusion and allows you to spend your time in ways that further your goals.
4. Discover your blocks of time.
Each activity or task represents a block of time. White space is also a block. To keep a productive schedule, you need to purposefully decide which blocks get priority for the day. This helps you avoid situations where you spend too much time on low priority tasks, leaving no room for more goal-focused ones.
5. Create your personal time map.
Below your "Time Demands" list, begin placing blocks into your schedule. Start with the highlighted tasks, and then add in the underlined ones. Take a good look at what this leaves you with. It is only now that you might consider sprinkling in the rest where you have open blocks.
Consider white space as a gift, protect it and manage it well. White space is not an invitation to keep adding more activity. You need open time, just as children need recess. Back to back, or overlapped activity tasks without margin in between, results in burnout and is an inefficient use of time.
Studies show that the more you attempt to do in the same time block, the less efficient each task is handled. You owe it to yourself to put your best foot forward by planning and executing a productive day. The time you save by mapping, far exceeds the time spent to create it. This results in a more purposeful use of your time and helps you accomplish what you determine is truly valuable to you.
Seeing the ways you spend time unproductively, on things that don't matter in the big picture, can be an eye-opening experience. This happens subconsciously. Time mapping brings it into your awareness and forces you to either make changes or realize that what matters most to you is not what you originally thought. Either way, you will be more informed and aware about how you choose to spend your valuable blocks of time.
"Wellness Matters" Article Series by Lisa Schilling RN, CPT
Speaker, Writer, Wellness Coach & Consultant
Lisa Schilling is the author of "The Get REAL Guide to Health and Fitness-FIVE STEPS to Create Your Own Personal Wellness Plan" She is juggles life as a doting wife and the mother of three boys, who keep her feet firmly planted on the ground!
Lisa is a Registered Nurse, author and recovering pageant queen, who spreads hope with her Get REAL approach to wellness. She empowers women, caregivers and groups to unleash their fullest potential by helping them to see their true beauty and discover their REAL value.
She feels passionate about spreading this message of hope and acceptance to help others be PROactive about their health and not simply REactive. Lisa uses her enthusiasm to inspire people to value and appreciate who they are. She helps people build a bridge from where they are, to where they want to be.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Time Management Through Quantifying Self With Technology
Most folks are quite alarmed at being tracked, followed, and everything about their life being recorded. Their cell phones track them, their computers track them, and companies, governments, and even hackers collect the data. Indeed, they know more about people than those individuals know about themselves. Personal Privacy is thus, a myth. And yet, all this data that they have about people is perhaps much more useful to the person themselves.
In fact, a print out of your own data, such as what you ate, how much you slept, where you traveled too, is very important. What could you do with this information? Well, you could trim some pounds, save money, and save a lot of time. It's all about efficiency of motion and action. Okay so, let's discuss how some folks are already doing this, and how they are optimizing their lives in the process, thus, giving them the advantage over all of us.
There was an interesting blog post on The Technium Update on June 26, 2011 titled; "The Quntifiable Self" which was very interesting, and the article stated;
"400 people interested in serious self-tracking meet for the inaugural Quantified Self conference in May this year. Self-tracking means monitoring quantities like your weight, sleep, location, messages, genes, body chemistry, performance, productivity, or any other of a thousand metrics. Self-trackers arrived from all over the world to share and explore the 'whys and hows' of self-tracking. Self knowledge through numbers we call it."
Now then, this might be bothersome to you, but consider this; all this data is already available, you are already being tracked, and so why wouldn't you simply find out how you can harness all this information so you can become more efficient in your life? What I am saying to you is that all the tools now exist. So, if you could optimize your sleep exactly, you might be able to save 3 hours per week, and you wouldn't be more tired, just have more hours.
If you optimized your diet, you'd have more energy, and less extra weight to lug around, reduced stress and, fatigue, and you'd be healthier so you wouldn't get sick, saving more time, more productivity, and perhaps making more money and enjoying life more in the process. And just consider the new SmartGrid home energy usage systems - it can help you optimize your energy use, saving energy, and saving you money. Well, it's kind of like that, only this is all about you. See that point?
In fact, a print out of your own data, such as what you ate, how much you slept, where you traveled too, is very important. What could you do with this information? Well, you could trim some pounds, save money, and save a lot of time. It's all about efficiency of motion and action. Okay so, let's discuss how some folks are already doing this, and how they are optimizing their lives in the process, thus, giving them the advantage over all of us.
There was an interesting blog post on The Technium Update on June 26, 2011 titled; "The Quntifiable Self" which was very interesting, and the article stated;
"400 people interested in serious self-tracking meet for the inaugural Quantified Self conference in May this year. Self-tracking means monitoring quantities like your weight, sleep, location, messages, genes, body chemistry, performance, productivity, or any other of a thousand metrics. Self-trackers arrived from all over the world to share and explore the 'whys and hows' of self-tracking. Self knowledge through numbers we call it."
Now then, this might be bothersome to you, but consider this; all this data is already available, you are already being tracked, and so why wouldn't you simply find out how you can harness all this information so you can become more efficient in your life? What I am saying to you is that all the tools now exist. So, if you could optimize your sleep exactly, you might be able to save 3 hours per week, and you wouldn't be more tired, just have more hours.
If you optimized your diet, you'd have more energy, and less extra weight to lug around, reduced stress and, fatigue, and you'd be healthier so you wouldn't get sick, saving more time, more productivity, and perhaps making more money and enjoying life more in the process. And just consider the new SmartGrid home energy usage systems - it can help you optimize your energy use, saving energy, and saving you money. Well, it's kind of like that, only this is all about you. See that point?
Do You Find It Hard To Focus?
The more I've shared my problem with other people -- whether friends, clients or colleagues -- the more I've realized just how prevalent this problem is. So if you are also struggling with keeping focus in a world brimming with distractions, read on...before your phone rings and your attention is pulled elsewhere.
Between our BlackBerries (dubbed "CrackBerries" for a good reason), Twitter, Facebook, texting and a zillion other sources of potential distraction, it's becoming harder and harder to stay focused on one thing for very long. Ask most Gen Y'ers about this and they will tell you they can easily finish an essay while texting friends and engaging in 5 simultaneous online chat discussions. But studies by leading universities, from MIT to Stanford, are finding that our brain simply cannot do multiple things at once. As our attention becomes spread across multiple tasks, it grows weaker, our focus poorer and our productivity lower. A recent study by Workplace Options found that American businesses lost $650 billion dollars a year in lost productivity through workplace distractions. Yes, that was Billion, not million.
It would be convenient to blame all our distractions for undermining our ability to finish tasks efficiently, to perform at the level we know we are capable of, or even to focus on what we need to be prioritized in any given busy day. But more often, our productivity levels (measured in terms of what we accomplish in any set period of time) are impacted more by the fact that we have simply not gotten really clear about what we really want to focus our attention on, rather than the distractions themselves.
In a recent coaching session with a client, what emerged as her core challenge was her lack of clarity about what job she really wants. What I said to her applies to all of us - only once you are clear about what you really want to do, will you be able to focus your time, energy and resources into accomplishing it. But you need to put aside time daily (sometimes hourly) to get really clear about what you are going to focus your time on in the day ahead. If you don't, you become a bit like a rudderless sailboat in the middle of the ocean, at the mercy of the prevailing winds, tides and currents and unlikely to end up anywhere you'd really want to be.
So when you have no clear focus, it's all too easy to become an unwitting victim of those distractions that, in the bigger scheme of things, aren't taking you in a direction you truly want to go. Not that there's anything inherently wrong or sinister with all the activities you distract yourself with -- from chatting with friends by the water cooler or on the phone, rummaging through the department store sales racks, watching re-runs of "The Office," updating your Facebook status or browsing YouTube. But beyond the initial restorative benefits gained by disengaging your brain for a little while, if those time-consuming activities aren't adding to your long-term sense of fulfillment or well-being, then they are doing yourself more of a disservice more than anything else.
While the world has changed dramatically in even just the last 20 years, the value of focused effort has not. To combat my ADD and improve my focus, I recently downloaded software that limits my access to Facebook (and in case you're wondering, yes, this IS humiliating for me to admit). I switch my phone to silent when I'm writing. Like right now. Often I head to a cafe where I can't access the Internet, removing all temptation. And I have time scheduled in my calendar every weekday morning at 8am to prioritize what I will focus on in the day ahead. Does my new system work perfectly? No. But it certainly counters that ADD, making me far more productive than I would be otherwise. As for when my kids get out of school for summer, well, I guess I will be heading to that cafe even more! What I've learned over the years though, is that I can get more done in 2 hours of focused attention, than in 8 hours while suffering with Attention Distraction Disorder.
4 Steps to Harnessing the Productivity Power of Focus:
1. Write down the specific goals you have for yourself in the next 3 months. The more specific the better! (E.g., for Terri, it is to get a job in the food industry that utilizes her skills and experience in product development and resourcing in cross-cultural settings.)
2. Schedule time into your calendar for the week ahead (at least -- a month is better still!) that will be dedicated solely to moving you toward this goal. Be realistic but be very specific about exactly when you are going to focus. No multi-tasking! It simply doesn't work for anything more than the simplest of tasks. (And this multi-tasking "wannabee" would know.)
3. Get whatever resources and materials you will need to make sure that you have everything you need to use that time well (e.g., If you need more information to get started, get it now so you don't find yourself distractedly surfing the Internet!)
4. Think ahead about possible distractions and plan around them. Turn your phone off. Let others know you will not be available. Unplug your modem. It doesn't matter that it seems pathetic. If you need that to help you focus, then just do it. Speaking of which, I guess I can turn my phone back on. Article written. Mission accomplished. Distraction awaits.
Between our BlackBerries (dubbed "CrackBerries" for a good reason), Twitter, Facebook, texting and a zillion other sources of potential distraction, it's becoming harder and harder to stay focused on one thing for very long. Ask most Gen Y'ers about this and they will tell you they can easily finish an essay while texting friends and engaging in 5 simultaneous online chat discussions. But studies by leading universities, from MIT to Stanford, are finding that our brain simply cannot do multiple things at once. As our attention becomes spread across multiple tasks, it grows weaker, our focus poorer and our productivity lower. A recent study by Workplace Options found that American businesses lost $650 billion dollars a year in lost productivity through workplace distractions. Yes, that was Billion, not million.
It would be convenient to blame all our distractions for undermining our ability to finish tasks efficiently, to perform at the level we know we are capable of, or even to focus on what we need to be prioritized in any given busy day. But more often, our productivity levels (measured in terms of what we accomplish in any set period of time) are impacted more by the fact that we have simply not gotten really clear about what we really want to focus our attention on, rather than the distractions themselves.
In a recent coaching session with a client, what emerged as her core challenge was her lack of clarity about what job she really wants. What I said to her applies to all of us - only once you are clear about what you really want to do, will you be able to focus your time, energy and resources into accomplishing it. But you need to put aside time daily (sometimes hourly) to get really clear about what you are going to focus your time on in the day ahead. If you don't, you become a bit like a rudderless sailboat in the middle of the ocean, at the mercy of the prevailing winds, tides and currents and unlikely to end up anywhere you'd really want to be.
So when you have no clear focus, it's all too easy to become an unwitting victim of those distractions that, in the bigger scheme of things, aren't taking you in a direction you truly want to go. Not that there's anything inherently wrong or sinister with all the activities you distract yourself with -- from chatting with friends by the water cooler or on the phone, rummaging through the department store sales racks, watching re-runs of "The Office," updating your Facebook status or browsing YouTube. But beyond the initial restorative benefits gained by disengaging your brain for a little while, if those time-consuming activities aren't adding to your long-term sense of fulfillment or well-being, then they are doing yourself more of a disservice more than anything else.
While the world has changed dramatically in even just the last 20 years, the value of focused effort has not. To combat my ADD and improve my focus, I recently downloaded software that limits my access to Facebook (and in case you're wondering, yes, this IS humiliating for me to admit). I switch my phone to silent when I'm writing. Like right now. Often I head to a cafe where I can't access the Internet, removing all temptation. And I have time scheduled in my calendar every weekday morning at 8am to prioritize what I will focus on in the day ahead. Does my new system work perfectly? No. But it certainly counters that ADD, making me far more productive than I would be otherwise. As for when my kids get out of school for summer, well, I guess I will be heading to that cafe even more! What I've learned over the years though, is that I can get more done in 2 hours of focused attention, than in 8 hours while suffering with Attention Distraction Disorder.
4 Steps to Harnessing the Productivity Power of Focus:
1. Write down the specific goals you have for yourself in the next 3 months. The more specific the better! (E.g., for Terri, it is to get a job in the food industry that utilizes her skills and experience in product development and resourcing in cross-cultural settings.)
2. Schedule time into your calendar for the week ahead (at least -- a month is better still!) that will be dedicated solely to moving you toward this goal. Be realistic but be very specific about exactly when you are going to focus. No multi-tasking! It simply doesn't work for anything more than the simplest of tasks. (And this multi-tasking "wannabee" would know.)
3. Get whatever resources and materials you will need to make sure that you have everything you need to use that time well (e.g., If you need more information to get started, get it now so you don't find yourself distractedly surfing the Internet!)
4. Think ahead about possible distractions and plan around them. Turn your phone off. Let others know you will not be available. Unplug your modem. It doesn't matter that it seems pathetic. If you need that to help you focus, then just do it. Speaking of which, I guess I can turn my phone back on. Article written. Mission accomplished. Distraction awaits.
The Push/Pull of the Race Against Time
Reducing tensions between personality types leads to better workplace productivity
IN TODAY'S fast-moving workplace, once you fall behind it can feel like you'll never catch up. Welive in a cyberhuman society where the requirement for speed, productivity and efficiency can trigger a race against time. Our lives are spinning out of control as we continue to be wired for business and information overload through our pagers, e-mails, faxes, and cell phones. We have no time for our children, our aging parents, our health and well-being. "How can we take control of our lives so that we can enjoy it?" is the question many are asking as they struggle to walk their professional tightrope.
Yo Katagiri, head of Pioneer Electronic Corp., said, "People can't work properly when they're tense." A good life is, however, worth working hard for - but we can reduce the struggle and tension by understanding our own inner process and how to manage it effectively.
Personal differences
To understand personal differences and how the race against time affects us, we can view ourselves through the eyes of type and temperament theory. For instance, the MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) deals with four scales of opposite preferences which are:
1. Extraversion versus introversion- where do we prefer to go for our stimulation and energy?
2. Intuition versus Sensing- how do we prefer to take in information?
3. Thinking versus Feeling- how do we prefer to make decisions about the information we take in?
4. Perceiving versus Judging-how do we prefer to structure our world?
The MBTI indicates specific differences in how we would like to behave. The world and people in it, however, impose their own game plan on us and often have counter expectations for our behaviours. These opposite expectations have inherent tensions in them.
According to Carl Jung, the tension of opposites is the very essence of life. Without tension, there would be no energy and consequently no healthy personality development. An optimum amount of tension is necessary, but too much tension can make us snap and too little can make us lethargic.
All personality types experience tension when dealing with time constraints and, therefore, an understanding of our inner processes when dealing with these constraints can increase our levels of health and happiness. An understanding of our workplace patterns of speed, productivity and efficiency, together with the tools for maintaining optimum levels of health and happiness on the job, can help us deal more effectively with tension when the world doesn't conform to our expectations.
Speed and productivity
When a strong extravert is around a quiet introvert, the tension of opposite preferences in processing information can be experienced quite differently by each. While extroverts process their information by talking and interacting with others, the introverts are producing their results through quiet introspection.
Both people are moving projects along, but the process for speed and productivity looks quite different. Interpretations of differences can affect team synergy: the extravert may interpret the quietness of the introvert as standoffish, while the introvert often sees extroverts as superficial people who fill the air with a lot of talk instead of really producing results.
Similarly, strong Sensing-Judging oriented people want structure and plans when they art involved in implementing activities. Intuitive-Perceiving oriented people, however want to gather additional information to be certain they have covered all the possibilities.
The inherent tension of these opposites can show up in how jobs and tasks get handled. One person is pulling for possibilities while the other is pushing for closure.
Productivity and efficiency
Sensing-dominant people believe that efficiency is centred around the present tense and the specifics of what needs to be done. They sometimes need to be reminded that there's more to productivity than dealing with just the details. Intuitive-dominant people, however, look at productivity and efficiency by focusing on the future and the implications of what else is possible in getting the job done. They sometimes need to be reminded to focus on the details as well as relating activities to the whole picture tn the future.
In order to get the best results, teams need to focus on the forest (intuitive, big picture) as well as the trees (sensing, details). In doing this, we can maintain and build positive feelings about each others' styles. The by-product can be increased levels of trust and team morale.
People differences are often evidenced in decision making processes. The dominant Thinker, who tends to make objective decisions, may view the dominant Feeler, who tends to make subjective decisions, as too touchy-feely. Feeling decision makers may see Thinking decision makers as too cold when they interact and make decisions with others.
Thinker-dominant people tend to get along better with other Thinkers. while Feeler-dominant people have an easier time than Thinkers getting along with both types. This may be because they look for and read others' processes more often in their attempts to get along and create harmony.
Both Thinker-dominant and Feeler-dominant people have a challenge around workplace competency. Thinking-dominant people have ever-increasing expectations about workplace competence and want to be viewed by others as very competent. Feeling types, however, take others into consideration - their growth and personal requirements- when working together. They want to makepeople feel good about their work. Competency, although also important to Feeling types, is secondary because they are able to delay immediate results for long-term personal developmental results.
When we interpret other peoples' expressions based on our own requirements, we can affect team productivity by diminishing trust and morale. But if the tension of opposites is the essence of life, then the quest ion has to he asked: "How can we use this pull of opposites to create a win-win model for dealing with workplace productivity while under time constraints?" Because when time-based constraints step in, relationship management often goes out the window.
Three sources of workplace tension
When tension, due to time constraints, is high in the workplace, we are often intolerant of work styles that are different from our own. The causes of tension in organizations usually come from one of three sources:
1. Differences in how we do things:
Fast or slow - expressions of speed are a source of workplace confusion. Foe example, Intuitive-Thinking people can leap into the future and create a new model without worrying about the details. This can throw Sensing-Judging people off because they want to begin building the job and need the details to do this.
Sensing-Judging people have an innate sense of the amount of time it takes to complete a project since they understand the myriad steps required and the reality of the physical world that slows the work down.
Intuitive-Thinking people often misgauge the time projects take because they've already moved on to the next conceptual challenge, leaving the details to others.
A structured approach to work is best expressed with the Sensing-Judgers' need for a time-based detailed work schedule for bringing the project in on time and within budget. Often taken as the critic who poo-poos ideas, the Sensing-Judging person wants to ensure the job gets done.
Sensing-Perceiver people can stimulate others and inject energy to move problems forward.
Through their ability to respond quickly and meet the immediate needs of the present situation. They can change direction on a dime as they tend to handle emergencies well.
While the Sensing-Perceiving person is busy moving projects forward, the Intuitive-Feeling person is focusing on people and their needs, believing time is used well when looking for and finding life's purpose.
-- I was in the drug store the other day tryiing to get a cold medication. Not easy. There's an entire wall of products that you need. You stand there going, "Well, this one is quick acting but this is long lasting...which is more important, the present or the future? -- Jerry Seinfield
2. Differences in how we view things:
People focus on different things when trying to accomplish tasks. What they focus on reveal what's important to them and are based on personal values.
Intuitive-Thinkers place great value on the systems within the organization. They enjoy analyzing data, predicting outcomes and explaining why things work the way they do.
Intuitive-Feelers, however, focus on the values of the people within the workplace; how to communicate in meaningful ways, and the effects of decisions on others.
Sensing-judging people will focus on the policies and procedures, the "how to's" of the job; they will collect, categorize and store data.
Sensing-Perceivers tend to focus more on solving immediate problems and moving projects forward with the quickest approach at hand and with the variables at that moment.
3. Differences in how we relate to others:
Interactive versus non-interactive approaches can take many shapes. For example, if you work in an extraverted environment but you prefer introversion, expectations that work should be done with others can cause feelings that your own natural tendencies are not appropriate.
People with a preference toward Intuitive-Feeling often give others all the time they need while neglecting their own time needs.
Intuitive-Thinking people often have no time for others' priorities and can forget to include the commitments of others in their planning.
Sensing-Perceivers often spread themselves out too far and scatter their efforts, leaving others wondering where they are and if they are still on board.
And Sensing-Judging people often dislike waiting for others and can appear rigid around keeping schedules and being hooked to responsibilities.
Although itis easy to see the mistakes and flaws in other peoples' work, when time pressures force us to get really focused, we may want to remember that after projects are completed, many of us can be left with painful thoughts and feelings about being stepped on or over in the name of productivity.
When deciding what to do in getting the job done while under pressure, remember that getting the job done AND building strong relationships should be viewed as equally important.
When tension in completing our jobs is handled with a win-lose approach, team interactions can become destructive. Tension, as a destructive force, creates communication and problem-solving strategies that take a "positional" stance where decisions get made at the expense of another person.
If perpetuated, this approach leads to increased negative attitudes and disliking of the other person. Soon the negativity leads to wanting to reduce any future contact with that person which, of course, leads to more "win-lose" behaviours.
Tension, as a creative force, promotes healthy communication and problem-solving strategies through constructive "win-win" decision making processes. When constructive approaches are taken, they can lead to positive feelings and a desire to seek out and interact with the other person.
Life is about conscious choices that empower us to stay on purpose, keep going, and stay engaged. By incorporating purpose into our day, we can focus on our goals and directions and check our own inner state of balance, pace, time and rhythms.
"Fast growth is not a one-person show. Other people play a key role in the process. In fact, your speed and overall success in developing yourself will depend heavily on the ability to make quick and last connections with others." Price Pritchett
When others impose their priorities and expectations on us we can choose to accommodate or not because we are listening to our own inner voice. By doing this we can ensure we're on purpose, balanced, and taking control of inner processes.
While developing awareness and conviction in validating our own inner processes, we also need to remember that we share our world with other people. After the game is over, who we are and what we achieve is often determined by our relationships with others. A principle of personal growth is, "We have to do it ourselves and we can't do it alone".
To remain healthy and happy and walk the professional tightrope in this cyberhuman society, have a meaningful life purpose, build good support systems, set interesting goals, and take time out to resource your energies along the way.
IN TODAY'S fast-moving workplace, once you fall behind it can feel like you'll never catch up. Welive in a cyberhuman society where the requirement for speed, productivity and efficiency can trigger a race against time. Our lives are spinning out of control as we continue to be wired for business and information overload through our pagers, e-mails, faxes, and cell phones. We have no time for our children, our aging parents, our health and well-being. "How can we take control of our lives so that we can enjoy it?" is the question many are asking as they struggle to walk their professional tightrope.
Yo Katagiri, head of Pioneer Electronic Corp., said, "People can't work properly when they're tense." A good life is, however, worth working hard for - but we can reduce the struggle and tension by understanding our own inner process and how to manage it effectively.
Personal differences
To understand personal differences and how the race against time affects us, we can view ourselves through the eyes of type and temperament theory. For instance, the MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) deals with four scales of opposite preferences which are:
1. Extraversion versus introversion- where do we prefer to go for our stimulation and energy?
2. Intuition versus Sensing- how do we prefer to take in information?
3. Thinking versus Feeling- how do we prefer to make decisions about the information we take in?
4. Perceiving versus Judging-how do we prefer to structure our world?
The MBTI indicates specific differences in how we would like to behave. The world and people in it, however, impose their own game plan on us and often have counter expectations for our behaviours. These opposite expectations have inherent tensions in them.
According to Carl Jung, the tension of opposites is the very essence of life. Without tension, there would be no energy and consequently no healthy personality development. An optimum amount of tension is necessary, but too much tension can make us snap and too little can make us lethargic.
All personality types experience tension when dealing with time constraints and, therefore, an understanding of our inner processes when dealing with these constraints can increase our levels of health and happiness. An understanding of our workplace patterns of speed, productivity and efficiency, together with the tools for maintaining optimum levels of health and happiness on the job, can help us deal more effectively with tension when the world doesn't conform to our expectations.
Speed and productivity
When a strong extravert is around a quiet introvert, the tension of opposite preferences in processing information can be experienced quite differently by each. While extroverts process their information by talking and interacting with others, the introverts are producing their results through quiet introspection.
Both people are moving projects along, but the process for speed and productivity looks quite different. Interpretations of differences can affect team synergy: the extravert may interpret the quietness of the introvert as standoffish, while the introvert often sees extroverts as superficial people who fill the air with a lot of talk instead of really producing results.
Similarly, strong Sensing-Judging oriented people want structure and plans when they art involved in implementing activities. Intuitive-Perceiving oriented people, however want to gather additional information to be certain they have covered all the possibilities.
The inherent tension of these opposites can show up in how jobs and tasks get handled. One person is pulling for possibilities while the other is pushing for closure.
Productivity and efficiency
Sensing-dominant people believe that efficiency is centred around the present tense and the specifics of what needs to be done. They sometimes need to be reminded that there's more to productivity than dealing with just the details. Intuitive-dominant people, however, look at productivity and efficiency by focusing on the future and the implications of what else is possible in getting the job done. They sometimes need to be reminded to focus on the details as well as relating activities to the whole picture tn the future.
In order to get the best results, teams need to focus on the forest (intuitive, big picture) as well as the trees (sensing, details). In doing this, we can maintain and build positive feelings about each others' styles. The by-product can be increased levels of trust and team morale.
People differences are often evidenced in decision making processes. The dominant Thinker, who tends to make objective decisions, may view the dominant Feeler, who tends to make subjective decisions, as too touchy-feely. Feeling decision makers may see Thinking decision makers as too cold when they interact and make decisions with others.
Thinker-dominant people tend to get along better with other Thinkers. while Feeler-dominant people have an easier time than Thinkers getting along with both types. This may be because they look for and read others' processes more often in their attempts to get along and create harmony.
Both Thinker-dominant and Feeler-dominant people have a challenge around workplace competency. Thinking-dominant people have ever-increasing expectations about workplace competence and want to be viewed by others as very competent. Feeling types, however, take others into consideration - their growth and personal requirements- when working together. They want to makepeople feel good about their work. Competency, although also important to Feeling types, is secondary because they are able to delay immediate results for long-term personal developmental results.
When we interpret other peoples' expressions based on our own requirements, we can affect team productivity by diminishing trust and morale. But if the tension of opposites is the essence of life, then the quest ion has to he asked: "How can we use this pull of opposites to create a win-win model for dealing with workplace productivity while under time constraints?" Because when time-based constraints step in, relationship management often goes out the window.
Three sources of workplace tension
When tension, due to time constraints, is high in the workplace, we are often intolerant of work styles that are different from our own. The causes of tension in organizations usually come from one of three sources:
1. Differences in how we do things:
Fast or slow - expressions of speed are a source of workplace confusion. Foe example, Intuitive-Thinking people can leap into the future and create a new model without worrying about the details. This can throw Sensing-Judging people off because they want to begin building the job and need the details to do this.
Sensing-Judging people have an innate sense of the amount of time it takes to complete a project since they understand the myriad steps required and the reality of the physical world that slows the work down.
Intuitive-Thinking people often misgauge the time projects take because they've already moved on to the next conceptual challenge, leaving the details to others.
A structured approach to work is best expressed with the Sensing-Judgers' need for a time-based detailed work schedule for bringing the project in on time and within budget. Often taken as the critic who poo-poos ideas, the Sensing-Judging person wants to ensure the job gets done.
Sensing-Perceiver people can stimulate others and inject energy to move problems forward.
Through their ability to respond quickly and meet the immediate needs of the present situation. They can change direction on a dime as they tend to handle emergencies well.
While the Sensing-Perceiving person is busy moving projects forward, the Intuitive-Feeling person is focusing on people and their needs, believing time is used well when looking for and finding life's purpose.
-- I was in the drug store the other day tryiing to get a cold medication. Not easy. There's an entire wall of products that you need. You stand there going, "Well, this one is quick acting but this is long lasting...which is more important, the present or the future? -- Jerry Seinfield
2. Differences in how we view things:
People focus on different things when trying to accomplish tasks. What they focus on reveal what's important to them and are based on personal values.
Intuitive-Thinkers place great value on the systems within the organization. They enjoy analyzing data, predicting outcomes and explaining why things work the way they do.
Intuitive-Feelers, however, focus on the values of the people within the workplace; how to communicate in meaningful ways, and the effects of decisions on others.
Sensing-judging people will focus on the policies and procedures, the "how to's" of the job; they will collect, categorize and store data.
Sensing-Perceivers tend to focus more on solving immediate problems and moving projects forward with the quickest approach at hand and with the variables at that moment.
3. Differences in how we relate to others:
Interactive versus non-interactive approaches can take many shapes. For example, if you work in an extraverted environment but you prefer introversion, expectations that work should be done with others can cause feelings that your own natural tendencies are not appropriate.
People with a preference toward Intuitive-Feeling often give others all the time they need while neglecting their own time needs.
Intuitive-Thinking people often have no time for others' priorities and can forget to include the commitments of others in their planning.
Sensing-Perceivers often spread themselves out too far and scatter their efforts, leaving others wondering where they are and if they are still on board.
And Sensing-Judging people often dislike waiting for others and can appear rigid around keeping schedules and being hooked to responsibilities.
Although itis easy to see the mistakes and flaws in other peoples' work, when time pressures force us to get really focused, we may want to remember that after projects are completed, many of us can be left with painful thoughts and feelings about being stepped on or over in the name of productivity.
When deciding what to do in getting the job done while under pressure, remember that getting the job done AND building strong relationships should be viewed as equally important.
When tension in completing our jobs is handled with a win-lose approach, team interactions can become destructive. Tension, as a destructive force, creates communication and problem-solving strategies that take a "positional" stance where decisions get made at the expense of another person.
If perpetuated, this approach leads to increased negative attitudes and disliking of the other person. Soon the negativity leads to wanting to reduce any future contact with that person which, of course, leads to more "win-lose" behaviours.
Tension, as a creative force, promotes healthy communication and problem-solving strategies through constructive "win-win" decision making processes. When constructive approaches are taken, they can lead to positive feelings and a desire to seek out and interact with the other person.
Life is about conscious choices that empower us to stay on purpose, keep going, and stay engaged. By incorporating purpose into our day, we can focus on our goals and directions and check our own inner state of balance, pace, time and rhythms.
"Fast growth is not a one-person show. Other people play a key role in the process. In fact, your speed and overall success in developing yourself will depend heavily on the ability to make quick and last connections with others." Price Pritchett
When others impose their priorities and expectations on us we can choose to accommodate or not because we are listening to our own inner voice. By doing this we can ensure we're on purpose, balanced, and taking control of inner processes.
While developing awareness and conviction in validating our own inner processes, we also need to remember that we share our world with other people. After the game is over, who we are and what we achieve is often determined by our relationships with others. A principle of personal growth is, "We have to do it ourselves and we can't do it alone".
To remain healthy and happy and walk the professional tightrope in this cyberhuman society, have a meaningful life purpose, build good support systems, set interesting goals, and take time out to resource your energies along the way.
Time Management Tips - A Quick Quiz To Help You Recognize Your Time Gremlins
Time management tips can help you race around countless roadblocks that pop up. One of the trickiest obstacles you will encounter is Time Gremlins. They're very hard to see, so you may collide with them at full speed! They're particularly difficult to sidestep when you question whether they even exist.
In my experience, Time Gremlins are real. What is more, they hide out inside you at all times. You might envision them as voices of your time issues. You know you've encountered one when inner messages tangle your plans, sabotage your priorities, and ruin your pleasure in your time choices. Because they're not visible to you, their voices can often run riot, just below your consciousness. Unless, of course, you intercept them.
To neutralize each one, plan to take many small steps over time. As you become skilled in battling Time Gremlins, you'll be very pleased with the results! So let's begin:
Getting to Know Your Time Gremlins:
Your Time Gremlins occupy your blind spots. Any unexamined idea about time that you've believed since childhood provides a fertile breeding ground. So does wishful thinking. And their effect is universal. They steal your power from you! Worst of all, they feel like they're outside your control (although or course they are not.)
Here's a simple quiz to recognize these enemies of your time:
Quiz: How Do Gremlins Steal Your Time?
Pick the question that resonates most, and fill in the blank:
1. Question: What's blocking your path?
Answer: ________ keeps me from doing what I need to do.
2. Question: What never gets done?
Answer: I never get around to _________________________.
3. Question: What time traits do you judge in yourself?
Answer: I judge myself as being ______________________.
4. Question: What excuses do you fall back on when plans fall apart?
Answer: I would get everything taken care of, if only _______________.
Write down the statement you completed that affects you the most strongly. Then ask yourself the following question:
What can you do to stand in your power and change this statement?
Relax, close your eyes, and envision yourself living a dynamic new life script. Feel it down to your toes. Describe it in one or two sentences. Identify one gain!
Remember, with every loss there is a gain. And with every gain there is a loss. Weigh the price for more power over your time. Accepting this is the key to your freedom!
In my experience, Time Gremlins are real. What is more, they hide out inside you at all times. You might envision them as voices of your time issues. You know you've encountered one when inner messages tangle your plans, sabotage your priorities, and ruin your pleasure in your time choices. Because they're not visible to you, their voices can often run riot, just below your consciousness. Unless, of course, you intercept them.
To neutralize each one, plan to take many small steps over time. As you become skilled in battling Time Gremlins, you'll be very pleased with the results! So let's begin:
Getting to Know Your Time Gremlins:
Your Time Gremlins occupy your blind spots. Any unexamined idea about time that you've believed since childhood provides a fertile breeding ground. So does wishful thinking. And their effect is universal. They steal your power from you! Worst of all, they feel like they're outside your control (although or course they are not.)
Here's a simple quiz to recognize these enemies of your time:
Quiz: How Do Gremlins Steal Your Time?
Pick the question that resonates most, and fill in the blank:
1. Question: What's blocking your path?
Answer: ________ keeps me from doing what I need to do.
2. Question: What never gets done?
Answer: I never get around to _________________________.
3. Question: What time traits do you judge in yourself?
Answer: I judge myself as being ______________________.
4. Question: What excuses do you fall back on when plans fall apart?
Answer: I would get everything taken care of, if only _______________.
Write down the statement you completed that affects you the most strongly. Then ask yourself the following question:
What can you do to stand in your power and change this statement?
Relax, close your eyes, and envision yourself living a dynamic new life script. Feel it down to your toes. Describe it in one or two sentences. Identify one gain!
Remember, with every loss there is a gain. And with every gain there is a loss. Weigh the price for more power over your time. Accepting this is the key to your freedom!
3 Steps to Get Enough Me Time
In the last 6 weeks 90% of the women who have contacted me have said they feel like they have no time for themselves. This is by no means unusual.
We all have many roles in life - if you're a married woman and have children, you're a wife, mother, homemaker, daughter, sister, friend, business owner, employee or boss, etc, etc. What often happens is that you always tend to the more urgent roles and you and your personal time is usually the last thing on the list. As a result, you start feeling resentful but also very soon you may burn out.
That's the point when people usually contact me. Which is great because I love working with people who are ready to take action and make changes in their lives.
So what do you do?
Do you just accept this as your lot in life while you have young kids in the house or what do you do?
Here are my 3 suggestions:
1. Decide that you are also important
I never ever believe that we need to sacrifice the parts of us that make us feel most alive. This is a mindshift change from mothers being the martyrs so take your time and work on this mental adjustment.
2. Identify a couple of activities that will work for you
Everybody is different so this is a personal exercise. Some of my clients like to do pamper-type activities like a manicure, pedicure, hair appointment or massage. Some others like to do creative things like sewing, mosaics, scrapbooking, painting and decorating. Still others just want time, either by themselves to recharge (often the introverts) or with a couple of close girl friends to connect with themselves again.
Are you seeing which group you fit into?
3. Choose the minimum response that will yield results
When my twins were newborns, life was crazy. I felt like I had no time to do anything for myself as I was running around washing bottles, making bottles, feeding, burping, bathing, changing, getting the baby to sleep, and then the other one would wake!
During those crazy times, I was happy if I could have just 5 minutes to sit, drink a hot cup of tea in peace and eat breakfast. Seriously, my expectations were just that low.
That was my minimum response.
Now, I expect hours every day to "do my thing" and I have it because I've set things up that way. But I started very, very small. See?
So what is the minimum response for you?
Now that you have those questions sorted out, start creating the time for yourself.
Don't settle for less - you are absolutely worth it.
We all have many roles in life - if you're a married woman and have children, you're a wife, mother, homemaker, daughter, sister, friend, business owner, employee or boss, etc, etc. What often happens is that you always tend to the more urgent roles and you and your personal time is usually the last thing on the list. As a result, you start feeling resentful but also very soon you may burn out.
That's the point when people usually contact me. Which is great because I love working with people who are ready to take action and make changes in their lives.
So what do you do?
Do you just accept this as your lot in life while you have young kids in the house or what do you do?
Here are my 3 suggestions:
1. Decide that you are also important
I never ever believe that we need to sacrifice the parts of us that make us feel most alive. This is a mindshift change from mothers being the martyrs so take your time and work on this mental adjustment.
2. Identify a couple of activities that will work for you
Everybody is different so this is a personal exercise. Some of my clients like to do pamper-type activities like a manicure, pedicure, hair appointment or massage. Some others like to do creative things like sewing, mosaics, scrapbooking, painting and decorating. Still others just want time, either by themselves to recharge (often the introverts) or with a couple of close girl friends to connect with themselves again.
Are you seeing which group you fit into?
3. Choose the minimum response that will yield results
When my twins were newborns, life was crazy. I felt like I had no time to do anything for myself as I was running around washing bottles, making bottles, feeding, burping, bathing, changing, getting the baby to sleep, and then the other one would wake!
During those crazy times, I was happy if I could have just 5 minutes to sit, drink a hot cup of tea in peace and eat breakfast. Seriously, my expectations were just that low.
That was my minimum response.
Now, I expect hours every day to "do my thing" and I have it because I've set things up that way. But I started very, very small. See?
So what is the minimum response for you?
Now that you have those questions sorted out, start creating the time for yourself.
Don't settle for less - you are absolutely worth it.
What Are You Waiting for? Tips to Help Manage Time and Fight Procrastination
Do you have something to do on your list that somehow just won't go away? No matter how long you put it off it still needs to be done? Maybe it's going to the gym or calling your insurance company about a recent claim. Each day, we are forced to do things we don't want to do. We all procrastinate for different reasons but our brains have one thing in common. We each have a part of our brain that innately tells us to avoid unpleasant tasks - this is the same part of the brain that tells us to pull away when touching something hot. This part of the brain functions automatically. However, the part of the brain that allows us to be productive (a.k.a. get things done) is not on auto-pilot. How do we turn on our brains to be productive?
We each have different tricks we use throughout the day to help us focus and stay on task. We can use similar tricks to help us tackle the sometimes, unpleasant tasks.
1. Don't do it alone. Call a friend or family member and ask for their support. Hire a professional organizer. For smaller tasks consider hiring a virtual organizer.
2. Do it first. Use tasks that you enjoy (eating dessert or calling your best friend) as a reward for completing the task that you've been procrastinating. Do the unpleasant task first thing in the morning or first thing when you get home from work... then you can give yourself a reward!
3. Be consistent. Do this task consistently for 2 weeks and then it will become second nature. You won't dread it. It will simply be part of your routine. Learning and instilling new habits take time.
4. Tackle the task in small bits. Don't do it all at once. Set a timer for 10 minutes and see what you can accomplish. You may surprise yourself!
5. Achieve satisfaction. Completing a task that you have been putting off is very rewarding. It's a great feeling. Remind yourself of that great feeling before and during the task. It's worth just getting it done!
What is one thing that you've been putting off? Tackle multiple tasks that you've been procrastinating and reward yourself. It will feel so great to finally no longer see those tasks on your to do list. What are you waiting for? Plan your productive day today!
Theresa Finnigin is a professional organizer, speaker, writer and owner of Ready Aim Organize. Theresa is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD). The mission of Ready Aim Organize is to rid homes and offices of clutter and chaos to ensure time is not wasted and each day is more productive and peaceful than the one before! Although currently based out of Northern San Diego County, Ready Aim Organize serves clients all over the country through virtual organizing.
We each have different tricks we use throughout the day to help us focus and stay on task. We can use similar tricks to help us tackle the sometimes, unpleasant tasks.
1. Don't do it alone. Call a friend or family member and ask for their support. Hire a professional organizer. For smaller tasks consider hiring a virtual organizer.
2. Do it first. Use tasks that you enjoy (eating dessert or calling your best friend) as a reward for completing the task that you've been procrastinating. Do the unpleasant task first thing in the morning or first thing when you get home from work... then you can give yourself a reward!
3. Be consistent. Do this task consistently for 2 weeks and then it will become second nature. You won't dread it. It will simply be part of your routine. Learning and instilling new habits take time.
4. Tackle the task in small bits. Don't do it all at once. Set a timer for 10 minutes and see what you can accomplish. You may surprise yourself!
5. Achieve satisfaction. Completing a task that you have been putting off is very rewarding. It's a great feeling. Remind yourself of that great feeling before and during the task. It's worth just getting it done!
What is one thing that you've been putting off? Tackle multiple tasks that you've been procrastinating and reward yourself. It will feel so great to finally no longer see those tasks on your to do list. What are you waiting for? Plan your productive day today!
Theresa Finnigin is a professional organizer, speaker, writer and owner of Ready Aim Organize. Theresa is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD). The mission of Ready Aim Organize is to rid homes and offices of clutter and chaos to ensure time is not wasted and each day is more productive and peaceful than the one before! Although currently based out of Northern San Diego County, Ready Aim Organize serves clients all over the country through virtual organizing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)