7 Ways to Get a Grip on Daily Life
You are the reason your life is like it is.
7 ways to get a grip on daily life:
#1. Pack your schedule. When someone calls for an appointment, don’t look for a block of open time. Look for a busy time. Protect open time. (This one practice transformed my schedule.)
#2. Schedule transition time. End appointments at 10:57 instead of 11:00, for example. I’m terrible at providing enough time between appointments. I end up rushing from one thing to the next.
7 ways to maximize transitions:
- Prepare yourself for relationship with the next person on your schedule. Stop thinking about everything you need to do. Think about them.
- Jot notes about your last appointment.
- Sit back and breath deep for a minute.
- Stretch.
- Reflect on what you did well in the last hour. Improvements?
- Determine the purpose of your next meeting.
- Reconnect with preferred impact. How will you influence people?
#3. Don’t carry so much stuff. I feel lighter when I leave my laptop or cell phone in my truck.
#4. Shorten meetings from 60 to 45 minutes. (Or less, if possible.)
#5. Go on short “Gratitude walk-abouts” in your organization. Express gratitude. Don’t just think it.
#6. Eliminate tasks that don’t make a difference. Keep a time journal for a week. Identify what matters. Stop spending yourself on things that waste your talent. If it isn’t working, try something else.
#7. Engage in service that meets a pressing need and fills your energy cup. (Begin with #6.)
Bonus: Make room for someone who wants to rise up. Give them tasks that frustrate you, but energize them.
How might you get a grip on your daily life?
What practices help leaders get a grip on daily life?
Dear Dan,
You are absolutely right Dan. Making schedule it very important. It makes you to value your own time. It makes you directed. Setting goal with clear cut agenda is very important to grip daily life. People without schedule are without direction. Even though they do not have task, they look busy. They always claim they are busy,but without business.
I strongly feel that making time table can make most of things on track. Many times we are inclined to overlook the importance of our time. We feel that we have enough time and there is no need to make schedule. That is a grave mistake we make.
We need to realise the importance of time. We can manage our activities, aspirations and passion by respecting time. Successful leaders are punctual and respect time.
Thanks Dr. Gupta. Focusing on time makes sense to me. Managing time seems to control the direction of life.
My problem is that I don’t always value time. I need reminders that once it is gone, it can’t be recaptured.
This is really help full specially #2. Schedule transition time and 7 ways mentioned
Thanks Share. I find that taking a few minutes to prepare for the next person makes a huge difference in the quality of connection. Now all we have to do is take the time time to do it.
That first tip is fabulous. Protect open time. Thanks, Dan, I am going to start that practice immediately.
That’s awesome Skip. I hope it works as good for you as it does for me.
#5 is a great one I learned many years ago! MBWA! “Management By Walking Around”! I would take one afternoon a week and pick a department and spend some quality time with each employee looking at what they were dealing with and encouraging them. Did wonders for moral and relationships. Made all the difference in the world when a crunch time would pop up! Never had one person not jump in and do a little above and beyond to get through the crisis.
Excellent.
Dan ,
Even though wen you are having grip on thoughts and schedule though rambling and unexpected processes or flabbergasted schedule come to your way then it would be a difficult situation for those really having tight discipline schedule. In such how leaders should rambling thoughts and decree the degree of unexpected.
Regards
Vinay
Nice. 1 and 2 are big on my list. I batch schedule meetings whenever possible to allow ample time to work on the important things without interruptions. I also don’t schedule meetings back to back, preferring 30 minute gaps for debriefing one meeting and prepping for the next.