Values
When we think of values, we begin to think broadly. I value God, Earth, Sun, Moon and/or Family. All of these are great values but when we want to see how our values are impacting our current lives, we need to look a little closer to the heart. Our goal is to make choices in our lives that will help you to live with values at the top of mind. It doesn’t matter what your values are, the question we need to answer is ~ Are we living our lives honoring our values?
Taking what we now know about ourselves and what is important to us, we need to put our thoughts on paper. As you re-read blog entries, notes you have made and tests you have taken; think about what resonates with you in each of these settings. It may be relationships, knowledge, innovation, appreciation, friendship, love or something completely different. You may find words or phrases that continually come up, just make a note of these. They may lead to some of your value words. We will all have values unique to us and that is perfectly normal. Once you have identified your value statements or words, spend a month noticing what values “show up” in your life and what values are missing. This will give you the foundation for improving your life.
When you think about identifying your values, remember they don’t have to be the big guns. For instance some of my value words are connection, innovation and appreciation. Taking innovation for me this means constantly improving things. I feel satisfied when there are improvements, both large and small. This is an important value for me. Our goal with this exercise is to find out what is important for you.
Go after your discovery process and if you need help, work with someone that can give you clarity and organization around your values and how you use them in your life.
Additionally, we have recorded our working session for this blog entry. You may listen at:
Monday, July 27, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Transitions (from one task to another)
Transitions – the ability to stop one task and start another task
If you think transitions are a challenge for you, then it’s time to put on the detective hat and ask some deep and specific questions to achieve resolution.
Are you having trouble stopping the task you are currently working?
Are you having trouble putting away the items in an organized fashion?
Can you find the items you were recently working with when called to do so?
Is your desk cleared and organized enough to work effectively?
Do you notice the time that has elapsed while working on a project? Can you break away if needed?
Have you decided when to stop the project (before beginning each work session)?
Is it that you have trouble starting the next task? Is this unique or always a challenge to start the next task?
Are you overwhelmed with starting the next task, after clearing your desk from the original task?
Do you have trouble transitioning from one project to another of the same type, or is it to projects of a different type?
Planning will help to execute your projects and maintain transitions. You may notice that you don’t decide before starting a project the duration of time you will commit to working on the project. One solution may be a timer to help to queue the brain that the time allotment for this phase of the project is coming to an end. You can set the timer for 15 minutes prior to ending the project for the day; this will allow the brain to start winding down. You can begin to clear your head, make notes on where you are in the project and put it away for another day. Next you can allow yourself 15 – 20 minutes to move, walk around, go get the mail, grab something to eat and get ready for the next task at hand. Often the brain requires some time between one task to another. This time can also be spent with some quick movement of the body…pushups, sit-ups, jumping, skipping… Sometimes music helps or some breath exercises or just a few examples.
Here is a story that illustrates some points: This weekend, one of my “Life Make – Over Clients go together. We cleaned her garage. This was a large task that she and I undertook in the summer heat. We decided before going out to the garage that we would spend one hour on the project before transitioning into a break. We decided our total time today would be two hours of work and then we were done. We set the alarm on her cell phone for 60 minutes and started in one corner. When the alarm went off, we transitioned into break and lunch. After cooling down for two hours, we were able to transition back into work mode and spend another hour cleaning and organizing. At the end of this time, the project was completed and we worked within our time constraints. We were able to start the project with specific time set, we took breaks to clear our minds and nourish our bodies, we cleaned up the tools we used and completed the projected within the specified time frame. If we hadn’t completed the project after our time limit of two hours, we would have put away the tools and set another date to complete the project. The key here wasn’t to complete the project, it was to get started, transition to a break, stop at the allotted time and know that progress was made.
Your first line of detective work is to notice where the problem begins, realizing it could be at more than one point in a project. When thinking about transitions it’s finding out about your work habits and where the bottlenecks in the processes lie. Once you find the bottleneck, you will be on your way to discovering strategies and solutions.
If you think transitions are a challenge for you, then it’s time to put on the detective hat and ask some deep and specific questions to achieve resolution.
Are you having trouble stopping the task you are currently working?
Are you having trouble putting away the items in an organized fashion?
Can you find the items you were recently working with when called to do so?
Is your desk cleared and organized enough to work effectively?
Do you notice the time that has elapsed while working on a project? Can you break away if needed?
Have you decided when to stop the project (before beginning each work session)?
Is it that you have trouble starting the next task? Is this unique or always a challenge to start the next task?
Are you overwhelmed with starting the next task, after clearing your desk from the original task?
Do you have trouble transitioning from one project to another of the same type, or is it to projects of a different type?
Planning will help to execute your projects and maintain transitions. You may notice that you don’t decide before starting a project the duration of time you will commit to working on the project. One solution may be a timer to help to queue the brain that the time allotment for this phase of the project is coming to an end. You can set the timer for 15 minutes prior to ending the project for the day; this will allow the brain to start winding down. You can begin to clear your head, make notes on where you are in the project and put it away for another day. Next you can allow yourself 15 – 20 minutes to move, walk around, go get the mail, grab something to eat and get ready for the next task at hand. Often the brain requires some time between one task to another. This time can also be spent with some quick movement of the body…pushups, sit-ups, jumping, skipping… Sometimes music helps or some breath exercises or just a few examples.
Here is a story that illustrates some points: This weekend, one of my “Life Make – Over Clients go together. We cleaned her garage. This was a large task that she and I undertook in the summer heat. We decided before going out to the garage that we would spend one hour on the project before transitioning into a break. We decided our total time today would be two hours of work and then we were done. We set the alarm on her cell phone for 60 minutes and started in one corner. When the alarm went off, we transitioned into break and lunch. After cooling down for two hours, we were able to transition back into work mode and spend another hour cleaning and organizing. At the end of this time, the project was completed and we worked within our time constraints. We were able to start the project with specific time set, we took breaks to clear our minds and nourish our bodies, we cleaned up the tools we used and completed the projected within the specified time frame. If we hadn’t completed the project after our time limit of two hours, we would have put away the tools and set another date to complete the project. The key here wasn’t to complete the project, it was to get started, transition to a break, stop at the allotted time and know that progress was made.
Your first line of detective work is to notice where the problem begins, realizing it could be at more than one point in a project. When thinking about transitions it’s finding out about your work habits and where the bottlenecks in the processes lie. Once you find the bottleneck, you will be on your way to discovering strategies and solutions.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Getting Started
Getting Started on Projects
Getting started on a project might mean many different things to different people. Pick a simple project and pay attention to the different parts of a project so we can tell what part might be tripping us up or comes easily.
For example, the project has become I’m going to read an hour a day 5 days a week Monday through Friday and I’m going to keep that up until I finish this 6 book series. Already the simple project is decided –a certain amount of time and books until the project is completed. Now to decide when we are going to do that reading; based on my other responsibilities and schedule, I’m going to read from 6:30 – 7:30 pm Monday through Friday, immediately after dinner.
What stopped me from this project before is that I would eat then either to engage in TV or became too tired. It was a wish but never became a goal, never with a plan. When I decided this is really important to me, I also put together a back-up plan. My back-up plan is that I will read from 10:30 – 11:30 before my midnight, so that if anything interferes with the first time frame. On Saturday mornings I will check my daily planner weekly and review. If it’s more than 3 times missed then I will change my reading time to 7:30 – 8:30 am so that I will incur the least amount of interruptions.
It becomes easier to get started on the project with the end result in mind. Also with the back-up and secondary plans already set, if the original project plan becomes cumbersome moving to the alternative plan will be simple. We are also holding ourselves accountable with our Saturday check in. You may find it easier to check in with a trusted friend to ensure completion of the project.
I will know when the project is done when the series is over and I am willing to keep going until it’s finished. Since the project is so well defined I can evaluate weekly and not base it upon pages read. This will keep me on task.
Part of the process is:
1) Define the project, what and time allowed?
2) Obtain the tools necessary for project completion – check out of library or purchase, reading glasses, timer
3) Space to do tasks ~ lights, chairs, background music/noise
4) On calendar so I commit to doing task
5) Assuming I have a day planning system that I use.
6) Do you need to let anyone know that you are busy at this time?
7) Do you need someone to ask you about your goal weekly to stay on task? Is there someone that you would like to meet with and read at the same time? Important to eliminate distractions while you are setting apart time for this task.
Getting started on a project might mean many different things to different people. Pick a simple project and pay attention to the different parts of a project so we can tell what part might be tripping us up or comes easily.
For example, the project has become I’m going to read an hour a day 5 days a week Monday through Friday and I’m going to keep that up until I finish this 6 book series. Already the simple project is decided –a certain amount of time and books until the project is completed. Now to decide when we are going to do that reading; based on my other responsibilities and schedule, I’m going to read from 6:30 – 7:30 pm Monday through Friday, immediately after dinner.
What stopped me from this project before is that I would eat then either to engage in TV or became too tired. It was a wish but never became a goal, never with a plan. When I decided this is really important to me, I also put together a back-up plan. My back-up plan is that I will read from 10:30 – 11:30 before my midnight, so that if anything interferes with the first time frame. On Saturday mornings I will check my daily planner weekly and review. If it’s more than 3 times missed then I will change my reading time to 7:30 – 8:30 am so that I will incur the least amount of interruptions.
It becomes easier to get started on the project with the end result in mind. Also with the back-up and secondary plans already set, if the original project plan becomes cumbersome moving to the alternative plan will be simple. We are also holding ourselves accountable with our Saturday check in. You may find it easier to check in with a trusted friend to ensure completion of the project.
I will know when the project is done when the series is over and I am willing to keep going until it’s finished. Since the project is so well defined I can evaluate weekly and not base it upon pages read. This will keep me on task.
Part of the process is:
1) Define the project, what and time allowed?
2) Obtain the tools necessary for project completion – check out of library or purchase, reading glasses, timer
3) Space to do tasks ~ lights, chairs, background music/noise
4) On calendar so I commit to doing task
5) Assuming I have a day planning system that I use.
6) Do you need to let anyone know that you are busy at this time?
7) Do you need someone to ask you about your goal weekly to stay on task? Is there someone that you would like to meet with and read at the same time? Important to eliminate distractions while you are setting apart time for this task.
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