Run the day

-
One of my all time favorite quotes comes from Jim Rohn, the famous entrepreneur and motivational speaker: "Either you run the day or the day runs you". This quote has become something of a mantra for me during this time, a phrase I find myself repeating when I need to get my mind back on track.

In the time management workshops last week, I shared strategies, tools, and techniques to help you stay focused. I ran across another one today that might be worth looking into. It's called having a "Zero-based" calendar.

This strategy means that you essentially schedule all of the activities in your day and leave yourself with as little open space as possible. This prevents you from putting off the tasks you don't particularly love doing and helps keep you from getting distracted. By adding specific time blocks to your calendar, you can also get an idea of how long things actually take. It can also help you reduce the wasted "in-between" time that you may find between Zoom meetings and phone calls.

A Zero-based calendar might look like the picture below. This is my actual calendar for the week, and I will let you know how it works for me!

Let me know if you think you might try this technique in the comments below.

Comments

  1. Carla CApril 30, 2020 at 9:44 AM

    Jim Rohn quote will become my mantra too! Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gimme a break!

-
Image
And give yourself one too! Dan Pink is a well-known author who wrote a book entitled  When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing . When  examines research about how we make our decisions about when to do things. It focuses specifically on the timing of our work day.  Pink says that we make the erroneous assumption that our energy levels are static throughout the day. The science says otherwise: our energy levels wax and wane depending on our morning/night person orientation and the tasks we need to do. He encourages us to pay attention to how the "flow" of our day moves depending on whether we are morning people, what he calls "larks" or evening people, what he calls "owls", and to choose the right tasks to do based on our energy levels. He also discusses the science behind taking breaks. He discusses his formula for a great break in this video , but here's the short version. Breaks taken with other people are more restorative. Research sho...
Read more

Conquer loneliness!

-
Image
Working from home, or #WFH to those utilizing hashtags, has presented several unforeseen opportunities and challenges for all of us. While I, personally, have learned to love this new telework situation, there have still been moments of debilitating loneliness in which I have found myself. Turns out, I am not alone. Last year, online brand development agency Buffer conducted a study of 2,500 remote workers, and found that loneliness was the second-most reported challenge , one experienced by 19% of respondents. Loneliness can make people feel less motivated and less productive .  How can we combat this? Be creative in your social connection! Due to this current pandemic, it is not clear how long people will be at home; however, think outside the box on ways to connect to your office mates and colleagues. Try a virtual pizza party, or even a video happy hour (outside of your designated working hours, of course). Trying social gatherings virtually will feel weird at first, but...
Read more

Find your gratitude anchors

-
Image
It's raining outside...again. We are entering day 486 of the stay at home order and I know I am not the only one whose attitude could be better. I know there are many factors and many layers to why I feel this way and why my disposition is less than rosy!  Several years ago, I created a workshop called "Attitude of Gratitude" which was based around the idea of finding ways to be grateful. I occasionally go back to the material from that workshop and use it to help me find the good in situations. So, if you are struggling with the state of the world, the weather, or fear of the unknown, here are a few lists you can make to anchor yourself in gratitude.  1) Make a list of the things that make you happy right now. Nothing is off limits.  2) List the things that you are good at.  3) Reflect on the best choices you've made in your life.  4) List the things you like to do that don't involve technology.  5) List the things in your life that you actually ARE in con...
Read more