Happy Sunday Everyone:
We are half way through 2019, which seems crazy to me. Not just the six months, but the fact we’re talking about 2019.
It might seem obvious for some but many of us won’t take the opportunity to look back at the last six months, evaluate the numbers, evaluate the processes, evaluate the wins, the losses, and determine what needs to happen the next six months. I certainly didn’t come up with this myself but my team and I will be discussing what we need to keep doing, what we need to stop doing, and what we need to start doing. It’s a simple exercise that allows us to take a look at our activities and our processes and determine what’s working and what’s not and make changes accordingly. It’s actually amazing to uncover some of the items that we keep doing that have little to no purpose but simply have been a part of the process for so long. This is even more true at corporate levels. We need to ask “why” a lot more…and the answer has to be better than “because that’s how we’ve always done it”. Change, and challenging the status quo, creates growth and uncovers what is useful and what is not.
I had an epiphany while running this morning on my biggest area of improvement for the next six months (really lifelong), it’s around time management. Not in the sense that I don’t know how to manage my time, I actually think have that down pretty well, and my calendar would suggest it. I came to the realization this morning that you can time block all you want, and you can have the perfect calendar, but if you can’t compartmentalize your focus, it’s not going to work very well. As an example, I have to go from a coaching call, to a client call, to a corporate call, to a. team meeting, to prospecting, to dealing with issues…..we all do, I’m not alone, but to truly be great in those buckets it takes being present in the moment.
Being present is a much bigger topic than time blocking. Being present, or shall I say being present consistently, is something I’m constantly working toward, especially when I’m being the best version of me. Let’s be honest though, If I were say to say “I’m working on being more present”, many of us type A personalities automatically think “here we go, some big spiritual conversation is about to take place”, but the truth is there is a point where this “big spiritual conversation” and daily tactics merge and form the best version of you. My point to myself, and now to you is this; I believe if we elevate the level of importance on focusing on being present, the ability to compartmentalize our day, and to be really good, or even great, at the different hats we all have to wear, increases dramatically. “Being present” is typically some spiritual journey that at times seems unattainable, when I put it to the task of not thinking about the meeting I just had, or the meeting I’m going to have next, and just focus on the meeting I’m in now, it becomes more attainable and I become way more useful to everyone around me, including me.
As it relates to the “big spiritual conversation” on being present, which I find massively liberating, read The Untethered Soul (thank you to whoever recommended this to me). It’s a very helpful tool to help rid yourself of the baggage that comes from thinking of the past and the future vs. being here and now.
Have a great week ahead.