Ever invest an entire day (week, month or year) answering emails, reading reports and fielding phone calls only to end up feeling you didn’t really accomplish anything.
To make progress on the things that really matter to you—and not just spend all your time managing mindless minutia—you must be:
- clear about your goals,
- skilled at prioritizing the related tasks and
- rigorous about minimizing the many distractions that could divert you from your authentic path.
Here are a few tips to help you in this process.
- Slow down before you start.
Taking 5 minutes (or even ONE) to get centered before starting your workday will improve your productivity by at least 30%. Set a timer, close your eyes and focus on your breath. Once your time is up, dive in.
- Refocus on your TRUE goals.
It is easy to get caught up with all of the expectations placed on you by others. Take a few moments to write down what you would like to accomplish this year, this month, this week, this day, this hour. When you structure your tasks around your core values and priorities, your work will feel more meaningful.
Remove or turn off all the things that will create distractions for you. This could be
your electronic devices, the TV, the dishes or a small child. Either remove the distraction or remove yourself so you can focus on the tasks at hand.
Opening your inbox can feel like stepping into a firefight. You can quickly become deluged with others’ expectations and demands. Many find that taking time to accomplish a few steps toward their own priorities before handling correspondence helps them feel happier and more productive throughout the day. Or conversely, some find that a strict 15 minute perusal of email for true emergencies first thing in the morning allows them to release anxiety about potential calamities, so they can focus on their priorities knowing that disaster is not looming elsewhere.
Many of us are diligent about keeping our commitments to others, but have little or no respect for commitments we make to ourselves. Breaking commitments to yourself sends a message that you and what you value doesn’t really matter. To change this demoralizing and self-sabotaging habit, learn to set small “baby step” goals, complete them, appreciate your progress and give yourself a pat on the back. After a short while, your empowering new habit of baby step/gratitude/celebrate/repeat will help you make real progress toward the life you dream of living.
- Stay tuned to the universal frequency.
A plan uses your current intuition and logic to discern where to go and what to do next. The key is to respect your plan while staying open to the Universe for additional insights. Rigid adherence to your plan can be just as undermining as disrespecting it totally. You will learn over time how to recognize the difference between fear-fueled procrastination and love-fueled percolation. When in doubt, set an intention for greater clarity, then relax and go about your business. Without fail, the Universe will respond.
What will YOU do to clarify, honor and advance your authentic agenda TODAY?
© Copyright 2015 DJW Life Coach LLC. All rights reserved.
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About djwlifecoach
I am retired from 40+ years of helping individuals and teams build lives and organizations they love. One of the great joys of my retirement from professional practice is having greater bandwidth to donate my professional and creative talents to support and promote animal and social welfare charities.
During my 30 years as an organization transformation consultant, I served as a senior partner in four of the world’s largest, most prestigious global professional services firms. In 2005, I took a five-year sabbatical to find healing and peace because non-stop work had taken its toll.
My recovery from burnout led to finding my purpose guiding others on their journeys. As a board-certified coach, author, consultant, radio host, Reiki Master and EFT/tapping practitioner, I share hope, possibilities and empowerment with the world.
111419 DJW Sid CH Pet Corner Photo ShootI help clients achieve rapid, extraordinary, sustainable results by connecting who they are with what they do, a connection often lost through stress and the sheer busy-ness of daily life. Courageous self-awareness and unconditional self-love lead to honest choices based on priorities that nurture you and those around you on a journey to wholeness.
Decades in coaching, consulting, change management, organization development, human resources and mixed media artistic expression honed my business sense, professionalism, creativity, intuition, leadership and communication skills. The result? Practical tools that help you become more insightful, creative, committed, productive and fulfilled.
Even the most dedicated and hard-working individuals can shift from frustration to a sense of futility when their values, passion, work, and lives become disconnected. One of the problems with not taking care of our health is that the effects of ignoring it are often slow to show up. We continue to juggle family responsibilities, work and finances until we lose ourselves, waking up one day 50 pounds heavier in body and soul—no good to ourselves or anyone else.
I love working with people who are ready to take life-changing action to make their dreams a reality. At each moment, you have inside you all the wisdom you seek to choose your life and your way of showing up. Limiting thoughts, beliefs and feelings can block you from moving forward. An absence of love and concern for yourself can result in negative head talk that holds you back with discouraging messages about who you are and what you can do.
By listening and caring deeply, I guide you in connecting with your own inner wisdom. We identify the way you’d like to live. We determine what’s blocking you and release you from the hold those blocks have over you—unleashing the positive energy that will fuel you forward. Together we develop a plan to move you closer to your heart’s desire.
My books, blog, radio show and signature coaching programs help individuals and organizations harness the transformative energy of love to turn unexplored possibilities into fulfilling realities and step into their greatness. What’s love got to do with it? Everything! My book, Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life! (Hay House/ Balboa Press 2013) shares my story and the stories of 10 of my clients along with my signature Discovery Framework.
For fun, I love reading, sewing, knitting, yin yoga, afternoon tea, opera and movies. I live in Williamsburg, Virginia with my spouse, Wilson Abney, and the cat who runs our life, Maisy Jane.
Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life! 