Begin with the end in mind
Posted this piece at Manpower’s Experis page to help remind you of the importance of managing your busy life, controlling your time, making more effective decisions, and becoming more proactive, productive, efficient and balanced in the way you live your life. Please add your comments!
Happy Summer!
Today is officially the first day of summer. For some, it may have felt that summer started weeks ago when your kids ended their school year or when the days were longer and hotter. With temperatures peaking in the 90’s today and bright sunshine, it will definitely feel like summer here in NJ, although the kids don’t finish their school year until Wednesday!
As each new season comes and goes, many of my clients use it as a time for self-reflection and renewal. They check-in with their goals to see if they are on track. They commit to achieving new goals for the second half of the year.
- Are you on track with your goals?
- What are your priorities this summer?
- How will you be sure to stay focused on achieving what’s most important?
- What obstacles may prevent you from achieving what you what you want to?
- How can you plan on avoiding them?
- What will you do to gain some enjoyment from this more relaxed time of the year?
As a professionally trained and internationally certified coach, I work with business leaders to help insure their personal and professional success. I offer training, keynote presentations, and seminars to support each individual and the organization as a whole to achieve your goals. Contact me at natalie@theprioritypro.com or 908-281-7098 to discuss your needs!
Savor the Long Days of Summer
Summer is coming!!! With summer comes longer days, more outdoor activities and more opportunities to do things together with your family. Now is the opportune time to put in a new habit of spending some quality time as a family after dinner to go for a walk, pedal through the neighborhood, do some extra reading, play ball, go out for ice cream, or whatever you and your family would enjoy doing together. It takes about 21 days to get a new habit in place. Once you’ve developed this time as a normal part of your daily routine, it will be easier to adapt your activities to other times of the year while still focusing on spending time together.
You could also take this opportunity to create some activities just for you, for you and your spouse, or together with a friend or neighbor. Use this time consciously and create it to be what you want. It would be helpful to have a handful of activities you enjoy. Time is too easily frittered away when the effort is not taken to use it wisely.
Select things that are fun and enjoyable that you’ll look forward to doing. Get in the rhythm of “being” the kind of person you want to be rather than being too SuperBusy to enjoy your life and loved ones!
Rejuvenate and Relax!
There is an art to taking vacation and getting the rest and rejuvenation you need. Here are some important tips posted in my blog at MyPath that will help you prevent work from spilling over into your personal time.
Tips for Working from a Home-Based Office
The current issue of Treasure Coast Parenting features an article I wrote about the “Top 10 Tips for Working from a Home-Based Office” . Read this article on page 36-37 of the magazine to learn how you can be productive and effective when working at home.
http://www.tcparenting.com/0611%20-%20June%20Webzine/index.html
Spring Cleaning
It’s time for spring cleaning. While you’re doing that, see what clutter you can remove from your life so that you can create more space for the things that bring you joy and success.
Read my latest article in March’s Treasure Coast Parenting magazine, “Spring Clean the Clutter from Every Facet of Your Life” on page 34-35 (http://www.tcparenting.com/0311%20-%20March%20Webzine/index.html)
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If the Job Fits…
If you’ve been unemployed, under-employed or just plain dissatisfied with your job, don’t let the feeling of desparation cloud your judgment or impair you from making a wise career decision.
Pay is by far not the only factor in landing a new position! As the economy begins to recover and companies start hiring, those that feel fortunate to have a new job opportunity may ignore the warning signs that the job doesn’t fit their needs.
Don’t let this be you! Before accepting a new position that seems like a dream job, dig deeper to learn more about the company to help you fully assess the fit. Be sure you understand the job. Know yourself as far as your strengths, interests, needs, etc.
Often, by turning down a job offer, you allow yourself the space for the right position to come along. It’s more difficult to leave a new job once you’ve begun working with the company.
Build Community
This past Sunday I finally made it to another one of my son’s motocross races. With cheerleading every weekend since September, unfortunately I wasn’t able to be there. I regretted this but was happy that my husband was able to take him and support him in his racing endeavors. The one thing I noticed as soon as I got there was the motocross community they’ve created. There were riders at every experience level and age group, as well as parents of the younger riders who have become a supportive force to each other. When riders get hurt, bikes break, parts are needed or someone is hungry, the community comes together somewhat like a family to help each other out.
This week was no different! When I arrived, my husband had one of my son’s dirt bikes apart because the brakes weren’t functioning properly. Another father of a rider was already helping him with parts and advice. When he couldn’t get the bike fixed prior to the start of the race, my son was able to borrow a similar dirt bike from another rider so that he didn’t miss his race. They had met this rider and her father last Wednesday at the practice track for the first time. When she completed her race (two races before my son’s group was lining up at the starting gate) her dad gassed up her bike and wished my son good luck in his race. My son stopped by the race officials’ tower and received permission to ride a borrowed bike in the race.
Following the race, that father came by where we were parked and offered his help. Together, he and my husband figured out the problem with the brakes and were able to get them working in time for the next race. Of course, this meant another visit to the race official’s tower to notify them of the change in bike again. The rule in motocross racing is that you have to race both motos on the same bike you start out on. With the borrowed bike not properly adjusted for his height, weight and ability we took the chance of having someone else protest his change back to his dirt bike and having my son disqualified. Yet no one complained! (He really was much safer riding his own dirt bike!)
As I reflected about the day, I realized how lucky we are to have a strong community around us and how important having a community is.
Look around you at the activities you and your family are involved in including sports, church, professional associations, work and your neighborhood. Actively build communities in all these areas for fun, support, sharing and connecting with other people in your profession, in your neighborhood, people with whom you share a special common goal or interest, (such as in your place of worship or a special hobby), or, people with similar challenges (like other working parents or unemployed professionals). Having community will help provide you with support and help even when you least expect it! Having multiple communities in your life will contribute to making you feel more whole.
Communities come together in times of need to help each other out. Community creates the structure for belonging. Having a supportive community is an integral part of a high quality life.
Have MORE Fun!
Seems like the busier life gets, the less fun we have and that’s realy too bad!
So, here’s some ways to have more fun each and every day!
Define what’s fun for you: We’re all different and experience what we call fun quite differently! I have fun going to amusement parks, the beach, hanging out with my kids, going shopping (sometimes!), writing, floating in my pool, visiting with friends, going out dancing, connecting with old friends, baking, walking the dog, learning something new, relaxing, taking an exercise class (ZUMBA!!), hiking with a friend, going for a bike ride, working, teaching, coaching and so much more! It’s important that you know what brings you relaxation, lightness, humor so that you can partake in more of these types of activities.
Do work you love: It’s been proven that you can actually have more fun at work. By doing work you love, most people tend to enjoy their work. If you’re working more, enjoying it less and dreading the time you spend at work, you may also want to start exploring your career options. Perhaps, changing your workplace, career choice or your supervisor can help you enjoy your work more. If you do work that is personally and professionally rewarding and fulfilling, you’re much more likely to have fun during the hours your spending doing your work.
Surround yourself with more fun people: If you’re hanging around with a bunch of negative people at work or away from work, consider changing out some of your friends. Positive upbeat people are more fun to be around!
Do fun things: Explore hobbies, sports, and other interests and activities to expand what you do in your free time. Who knows, maybe you’ll have fun hiking, creating scrapbooks, playing music, reading books, joining groups, etc. Open your mind up to the possibility of trying out new things and gaining new experiences. You really don’t know if you’ll like something until you do it! Have some fun adventures as you meet new people and try out new things.
Look for the fun or funny in everything you do: From household chores, to errands, to carpooling, and everything in-between, find something funny or have fun doing it! For example, I love dancing…so, when it’s time to vacuum or dust, you’re likely to find me blasting the music while I cdance through my cleaning. Make a game or a race out of basic activities such as picking up toys or shopping for groceries. This is easier than you think!
Enjoy “me” Time: Cherished time alone is a perfect time to have some uninterrupted time to yourself. Use this time to delight in catching up on something you’ve fallen behind on; connecting with nature; watch a movie or favorite TV show; leaf through your pictures; pamper yourself; reorganize; play with your pet; call an old friend; surf the internet; experiment with a new recipe; or do whatever you love!
Here’s some other resources you can check out:
Top Ways to have fun for Stress Relief: http://stress.about.com/u/ua/readerresponses/have_fun.htm
Have More Fun: http://www.livestrong.com/article/14721-having-fun/#ixzz0yZw3diPi
Dissatisfied at work?
Everyone seems stressed out these days! Now that the economy appears to be coming back, employers are becoming increasingly concerned about retaining their talented workforce. Those that survived downsizings, pay reductions, increased workloads, and other cutbacks may be leaving in droves once things settle down. Many employees have waited out the down-turn and have been holding out for the right opportunity to leave their current employer. In fact, 28% of workers in a CareerBuilder survey said they expected to switch fields in the next two years, looking for more interesting work, pay, and chances for advancement or stability.
With employee satisfaction at a low, as job creation begins, many will seek other opportunities. There may be a mass exodus!
As some companies take this opportunity to review their workplace culture and how to recognize employee contributions, they are challenged to do it on a budget. Restoring pay and benefits may prove difficult. Therefore, they’ll have to seek out other ways to keep employees engaged. Demonstrating respect, acknowledging contributions and keeping an open line of communication are critical at this juncture. Offering low or no cost benefits such as flexibility and telecommuting is also important. Incentive-laden compensation packages that recognize high levels of productivity or customer satisfaction will incent employees to contribute their best, too.
Employers are now in the engagement era. As the economy improves, companies will continue to look for ways to boost employee satisfaction. Bosses need to step up to keep workers happy on a limited budget! And, employees need to realize that they are not indispensible. With an abundance of discontented employees and the unemployed, employees not performing effectively or exhibiting morale issues, could more easily be replaced.
Do you enjoy your work? Do you have a career strategy?
Working with The Priority Pro as your career coach can help you gain clarity, focus and direction. Imagine knowing your skills and developmental areas; utilizing your transferable skills to help land a new job; enhancing your leadership skills; establishing a career direction in 90 days! Contact us to discuss your needs and schedule an introductory coaching session. This month it’s just $49.95!!
