August 2009

 

Dear Subscriber

Summer should be a time for relaxing, so why does it always feel like there is more to do at this time of year? Perhaps it's because when (and if!) the sun comes out we all feel under pressure to make the most of it, and our ‘to-do' lists get pushed to the back of the pile.

That has certainly been the case for me over the last month. My list of jobs seemed to be growing each day. I had to turn to my tried and trusted method of keeping on top of them. I thought I'd share it with you as I know that the school holidays mean a lot of you will have even less time to get things done.

In this issue:

As always, please don't hesitate to get in touch. If you'd like to comment on something you've read or you have a story to share you can email me or call me on 01697 747 821.

Best wishes,


The Positive Part – How Do You Stop Your ‘To-Do List’ Keeping You Awake At Night?

“If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else.” Yogi Berra

Do you ever feel like life is getting on top of you and all you want to do is hide under the duvet or shut out the world and ignore your never ending ‘to-do list'? In our fast paced world, expectations of what we should be able to achieve grow ever higher. It's not surprising that sometimes as the mountain of jobs on our ‘to-do list' just keeps growing, our energy levels and enthusiasm hit rock bottom.

Unfortunately not many of us can afford to drop everything and book a luxury spa break when we're feeling under pressure. We have to soldier on and keep all the balls we're juggling in the air. But ignoring the problem isn't going to make it go away. Those to-do's are still going to go ta-da in the middle of the night and can keep you awake.

That's why it's good to have a ‘master plan' to help you cope when the pressure is getting to you. Knowing that there are simple steps you can take to ease the burden will instantly take the pressure off. Who needs The Priory when you've got Milecastle's Master Plan?!


 
Positive Practice

And here it is. Your 6 step guide to tackling your ‘to-do' list so you can sleep easy every night.

  1. Stop, take a deep breath and grab a notebook and your favourite pen.
  2. Write down everything that needs to be done. Most people try to keep track in their head, but it's a lot easier if you write it down as you don't need to keep remembering it.
  3. Prioritise your list realistically. Give everything a date when it needs to be done by and also consider how important it is. Think about things that need to be done in sequence.
  4. Now make a daily plan so that you are only focusing on what needs to be done TODAY. If you do this the night before then you'll sleep easy knowing you'll be ticking things off tomorrow.
  5. If there are big, hairy things on your list, then break them down into small, manageable chunks and do them one at a time. Take baby steps instead of great leaps.
  6. Keep your list close to hand - that way if another job crops up you can add it to the list and forget about it until its time has come.

This may sound like an obvious solution, but it's easy to lose sight of reality when life gets too busy. Try these practical steps. They'll instantly make life feel a lot more manageable. If you are feeling stressed, then visit my website here to download a worksheet designed to help you tackle your stress head on.

  

The Resource Table

The Now Habit by Neil Fiore - If procrastination is your addiction then get a grip using the tools in this book.

Overcoming Information Overload by Tina Konstant & Morris Taylor - When there is just too much to cope with, this book gives you some great ways to sift through and work out what's important.

Mind Tools Time Management Quiz - Click here to answer these questions to find out how well you are managing your time – apparently I could do better!
 
What Can You Do?

Julie from Barnsley became more organised.

Julie loved her job but every year she was responsible for organising a conference and found it really stressful. She continually forgot stuff and couldn't keep up with everything that needed to be done. She did have a ‘to-do' list, but it didn't work for her. One day she noticed that a friend had been on a Spring Forward course and was using visuals to help her make progress. Julie got Tony Buzan's Mind Mapping book and started to put all her conference information onto a mind map. Her list hadn't been working as things often happened in an unstructured way. Now that she had a mind map she could add to it at any point and instantly get an overall picture of what needed to be done. The conference was a great success and everyone praised how organised she was.

What's Happening?

Well done Cumbria police, who have won a best practice award for our work with Spring Forward – read about it by clicking here and then go here to sign up for our next fantastic value course starting in September.

We are running this for police and emergency services. If you work in a different sector and would like your own course then please just contact me.

Also get in touch now if you want to work on making the rest of your career more fulfilling. Our popular Fresh Steps for Older Workers course in Manchester starts on 22nd September. Sign up now by clicking here to take advantage of our price reduction.

 

 

Next month we're going to look at how to make sure you're actually living your life rather than feeling that it's just passing you by!


  
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