Goal-Setting

Oct 24 2016

There’s no Compromise to Prioritise…

A new client recently explained to me how he was at a stage where he wasn’t sleeping well, his lack of focus was affecting his work and with so many things that all needed to be done, seemingly at the same time, that he was at his wit’s end.

Now with the best will in the world, there are only 24 hours in the day and if you have 26 hours’ worth of tasks, physics simply states that “it ain’t gonna fit!” So how did we go about dealing with this situation? How was he able to regain a peaceful night’s sleep, becoming the less irritable and more pleasant guy that colleagues and family had missed?

Everyone will have their own criteria or needs, no two people will be the same and although there were specific requirements for the aforementioned, there are certain things that we can all adopt to help us gain some clarity. The simplest of all is to Prioritise your workload.

Get it written down – Our thoughts are all vying for the #1 slot. It’s tricky to ascertain which is more important than others when there are so many. First thing to do is get them out of your head and written down.
Time-frame – Now they are out, give each task a simple recognisable title and write a realistic amount of time you envisage spending on it.
Urgent vs Important – What needs the immediate attention? What has a deadline that has to be met (eg Applying for a job that has a closed deadline). What will have a seriously negative outcome if not met?
Scheduled To-Do – Go back to #2 and plan your day(s) according to the amount of time each will take. Write a START time and END time and block this out in your diary. Remember to add time between tasks for all those inevitable unexpected things!
Log – Regardless if a new task or a repetitive one, we can so easily assume they should take less time than expected so don’t ‘assume’, know and log the amount of time you ‘actually’ spend on each to help you plan for future similar tasks.
Order of effort – Look at the tasks that will take you the most effort. Deal with these when you are most productive. If you’re an early morning person, crack on with it then but if you don’t get into your flow until later in the day, take on board the smaller jobs and clear the decks of them.
Manage distractions – know what your distractions are and manage them. I’ve found that one of the biggest is Messenger and/or Emails. TURN THEM OFF!!! Unless you are a business that relies entirely from email orders, you don’t need them. Be brave! Difficult though it may appear, turn them off and only visit them at ‘scheduled’ If it is urgent, people will soon learn you don’t immediately respond unless they call you.
Multi-tasking – It’s a lie! Yep, multi-tasking isn’t time saving, it’s time draining. You start numerous jobs and keep going back to them spending time familiarising yourself with them. Start a job, give it your undivided attention and as far as you can go with it, complete and then move to the next. Refrain from jumping from one to another. From your To-Do list, you’ll have plenty of jobs but you’ll do them more efficiently by concentrating on them one at a time… trust me, it works!
Cut it out! – Literally, cut tasks out if they don’t fit into the priority listing. Delegate what you can and what’s left, leave to one side and concentrate on the priorities you know are critical to the business and/or you. You can’t do everything so if there are areas to be sacrificed, this way you can be honest with yourself as to what are the least important.
Review – Check your task list and see what can be delegated. Trust others to do it. If, as a sole trader or entrepreneur, you have to manage many aspects of the business, ie admin, then set a time (we refer to this as a ‘default diary’ entry, same time every day, week, fortnight etc depending on required frequency) and then don’t add this to the worry pile as it has its allocated slot. Also, keep assessing the priorities as later, those tasks that initially appeared high on the list may not necessarily be that important so keep revising.

Well there are ten areas to help start the process. An author who I totally admired was Stephen Covey and he once quoted “The key is not to prioritise what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities”. A great mantra to take on board.

Coaching to success understand the headaches that a busy career or life can bring and we have the expertise, much as the client mentioned earlier, to help you through those harrowing times. To help you set clear parameters and offer the motivation to see you through to the end with positive and profitable outcomes.

Take the first step to gaining this clarity and contact Neil on 07761 187238 or email neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk who, with tools and techniques, can assure you of a smoother, quicker transition from despondency to joyful completion.

Jul 04 2016

Do you associate with these business struggles…

I am no different than any other company in areas of a coaching/mentoring that I offer to that of other businesses when it comes to struggling. However, I recognise what they are and do something about it and would like to share some with you.

So in this feature we cover recognisable areas whether you head an organisation or work within one and come up with methods by which to address them.

On the Verge – All too often we work, work, work all hours possible. Warning! We are NOT robots and you will burn out. Do not be a martyr to the cause, look to see what can seriously be delegated. Learn to let go.

Using your head – Oh I have been there. I know best and it will take too long to explain to others as it’s all in my head. As well as this, tasks get done when you remember them (poor time management). Look to create your own protocols and procedures for consistency in what you do. If you have a team, insure they too follow the procedures which helps keep track of any element through its life cycle.

Fear of failure – Things seem alright, why rock the boat? Why take unnecessary chances for fear of potential failure as opposed to moving with your desire for success. This is a mind-set area not based on fact. Work with a positive ‘I chose to make the best of an un known rather than fearing it’. Try it a few times and see what positive affirmations can give you and your business.

Marketing ROI – What IS your Return On Investment? Be honest with yourself. Don’t know! Well I would strongly recommend assessing the time and money outlaid on marketing. Too many organisations rely on you simply throwing money at them without really giving what you expect. Look, monitor, re-evaluate.

Research – Do you really know the market you are aiming at? If your target market seems unclear, rather than attempting to sell to all, look at the Psychographics (personality, values, opinions, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles) of the Demographics (quantifiable characteristics of a given population) of your target market.

Constantly doing the same task – Look to see how repetitive tasks can be formalised with little input to create the overall masterpiece. This can be anything from quoting to copying and pasting messages. Look to formalise it. Use Mail Merge for creating a standard letter or quote with information extracted from a spread sheet. Copying and pasting cannot only be time consuming but is inherently open to mistakes (as I have found out to my cost historically!). Think Time Management.

Go it alone – Politically this is a bit of a hot subject at the moment, however, in business, I look to Aristotle’s wise words, “The sum of the total is greater than the sum of its parts”. Look to share your knowledge base and gain knowledge from others. Networking or Mind dump groups are great to accomplish this.

Stationary Skill-Set – To be blunt, it is a vicious market out there. If you stand still, not only will you miss the train but others will catch it! Never stop learning or looking forward to new ways. For those of you old enough to remember, look at Encyclopaedia Britannica or Kodak for examples of companies who thought the modern digital era would not affect them. Keep up with or ahead of the game. Look at every aspect from software enhanced presentations to innovative ways of pushing forward using time saving elements that will have a positive effect on everyone within the organisation.

Although some may appear obvious, we can easily get caught in the day-to-day running of the business. Step back occasionally, view what is going on. Treat yourself to regular reviews and learn to develop ways to get around what sometimes appear insurmountable problems that when broken down, can be manageable chunks.

Coaching to Success specialise in addressing ‘clarity’, you could say we demystify the foggy screen of your business’ windscreen. Should you or members of your team be looking to gain some direction in the organisation, first contact Neil either by mail at neil.nutburn@coachingtosuccess.co.uk or direct via phone 07761 187238. Our business is Your success, let us help you move on to turn Struggles into challenges and challenges into positive rewards.

Feb 15 2016

Let me just do this job first, then I’ll start on that big one…

How many times do we have a task/project to work on only to complete all those little jobs first? All of which eat up time and often used as a means to put off That job, then suddenly we have little time to complete the main item!

As a business coach, I have this under control and don’t have that problem … hmm, okay, maybe not exactly true, after all, when last checked I was still human with all the foibles this race of ours has and yes, I too have to keep a check on myself, specially when I make important decisions like remodeling my home, that’s when I call the experts from https://www.palmbeachroofingexpert.com/.

So what are some of the areas we avoid? What of…

Writing that report you know will be a massive task
Needing immediate gratification – Finding an excuse to do something more interesting.
Wanting help – Waiting for somebody to offer or take over.
Wait on something else – “I can’t complete this report until John gives me the figures”
Changing your job/career

Okay, so we’re all guilty of these, or similar, in one way or another but how do we get around it?? Here are some ideas to consider that I find useful:

EMAILS – Turn off incoming warnings. Helping to avoid the temptation to continually check each new arrival.
STOP JUGGLING – You will inevitably be drawn back into to quagmire of multitasking and when you do, take a short break from everything! Allow your mind to re-focus. Does your roof have a leak? Call up the pros to get it addressed, so you don’t have to stress out over it and focus on your real tasks. Hiring a local roofing company with high reviews on Angies List or Porch will usually be a wise idea.
PRIORITISE – Evaluate and if it’s important enough for you to do, you’ll find a way. If we don’t care, we’ll keep putting it off. Go through your tasks and prioritise them, starting with the most important.
CLEAR WORK SPACE – A cluttered desk is a cluttered mind. Piles of paper, post it notes etc. distract and stop you from focusing on the job in hand. Only keep what you’re working on in front of you, file the rest or create to-do trays.
TIME-MATRIX – Steven Covey’s matrix is a 2×2 square. Along the top is ‘Urgent’ (Left) and ‘Not Urgent’ (Right). Down the side is ‘Important’ (Top) and ‘Not Important’ (Bottom). In each quadrant , asses what is Important/Urgent (Manage), Important/Not Urgent (Focus), Not Important/Urgent (Avoid) or Not Important/Not Urgent (Avoid)
CARTESIAN QUADRANT – Similar to above, this time, along the top (a) If you do make that change & (b) if you don’t make that change. Along the side, (c) will happen & (d) won’t Once drawn, this will help give a much clearer picture of importance to focus on this or any other area where a decision needs to be made.
ACCOUNTABILITY – Chose a person, a supervisor, a junior, a spouse or friend. Tell them you’ve committed to a task with a specific time-frame and ask them to hold you accountable. Human nature compels us to act if we know others are watching!
REWARD – I once had a client who bought himself an iPad when he achieved his overall goal. I like to treat myself to a really nice cup of coffee and chill for half hour to enjoy both it and my accomplishment. Doesn’t need to be big but reward yourself. Scale it according to the level of success.

Procrastination is but one element of Time-Management, if there are other areas that you or your team are concerned with around finalising projects or managing workloads, take the first step by contacting Neil on 07761 187238 or email neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk where you’ll be assured a warm welcome to discuss how we can help. If you’re online, have a look at his interview video at https://youtu.be/RvCwOL4hPco

Jan 04 2016

New Start, New You … So let’s help you G.R.O.W.

Whether it be the beginning of a New Year, a new job or the determination of a new You! The focus is on development and this only comes about by planning and taking steps to realise it. The following tool comes into its own to help give you that focus you need.

As a Coach, we use the following frequently. You can start helping yourself by addressing some of the points disclosed. I use this on myself when looking to break a particular objective into achievable segments but still refer to my Coach as even I won’t ask some questions of myself that need to be asked! Or, sometimes, didn’t realise need to be asked and that’s where I can help you get to the core, then set realistic but challenging goals to reach.

So what is this tool? We refer to it as the GROW model. An acronym meaning Goal, Reality, Options and Will (or the Way forward). Now let’s break it down Further:

GOAL– What needs to be achieved? What behaviours need to be modified? Use SMART (another acronym meaning Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time bound). Know the measure by which you know you have reached the goal.

REALITY– How real is it? This is a critical step allowing you to establish what is happening now and what are the likely outcomes by remaining unchanged? How does the new goal interact with the objective? Have any steps already been taken, if so, what happened? Is it really achievable in the given time frame? Goals need to be at a stretch but still within grasp with effort put in.

OPTIONS– This is my favourite area. No ‘idea’ is stupid! It may not fit with the goal at this time but who’s to say it won’t work later? Let ideas fly, brainstorm allowing free flowing thoughts without fear of ridicule. Try using Spider diagrams where one idea shoots off into other elements. Write every thought. Use exploratory questions that start ‘What, Who, How’. Where there may be blockage, ask yourself a favourite of mine “… and what else could I do?” and keep repeating that same question.

WILL– Now you have the pieces from the ‘O’, let’s put them into a plan! establish which are relevant now. What will have the greatest benefit. Who else do you need to involve? And most critically WHEN are you going to START, not complete, this comes once you know when you will begin and how long each component will take.

Another trick to help you achieve your set objectives is to create awards along the way. Generate rewards for hitting set targets. This will help with positive motivation along the journey. For example, I love coffee so my reward will be to make a tasty brew once this article has been written. Rewards don’t need to be large or expensive, make them proportional to the task in hand.

As a coach, we know how to delve that bit deeper to understand obstacles that may not be revealed by yourself due to subconscious barriers being formed. We’re trained how to listen intently and ask incisive questions to find those little diamonds often missed.

Have a go. See how you get on with this and once you’ve seen the success this will bring and would like to explore what other benefits coaching can bring, contact us by calling Neil Nutburn on 07761 187238 or send an email to info@coachingtosuccess.co.uk to arrange a free, no obligation consultation.

Our business is about your success and your future successes are in your hands so give us a call so we can help you turn the ideas into reality.

Aug 03 2015

‘Procrastination’ – Why do today what you can put it off until tomorrow?

How often do you find that you are about to start something with the best intentions only to find … sorry, hang on a minute, let me just read this email, oh, I better have a look into this… and sometime later we’re back to writing this feature!

There are several reasons we (and I include myself in this!) let procrastination get a grip. These may include:

Waning interest – This is sooooo boring!
Motivation – The Mojo has taken a holiday!
Skill factor – Umm, how do I do this?
Rebel – Don’t want to do it and I’ll prove I don’t have the time!
Failure – What if I can’t do this?
Success – If I do well, will they expect more?

There will be more but I have found that these 6 normally top the bill, so let’s look at them individually.

Waning interest – If, like me, when doing something that’s not that interesting, the ping of an email or something irrelevant but enjoyable suddenly seems to take precedence … STOP! Find somewhere without the distractions and concentrate.
Motivation – Do you believe you need motivation to begin a task? How about this for a radical idea, start the task and then find it! Even the initial steps to beginning a task can promote the somewhat lacking motivation. Set yourself up with a reward once complete, after this feature, a nice inexpensive filter coffee and half hour read of a book will be mine!
Skill factor –Sometimes it’s our own beliefs that hold us back. As a coach, many of my clients hold unfounded beliefs until we establish exactly where the problems lie and look at ways to overcome them. Consider breaking tasks into manageable parts. What is the starting point and the desired end goal? See what areas you are competent at, others may require some additional training or even delegating.
Rebel – Predominantly another ‘subconscious’ level barrier generated from power struggles. I was amazed how when someone gave me a task I didn’t wish to carry out I managed to find every reason for not accomplishing it on time, whereas, jobs I did enjoy, would be cleared straight away! Remove the ‘Emotional’ attachment to the task and look at it from a practical sense. How much trouble would I be in if I don’t complete it? How will this benefit my business by completing on time? Only you can know the truth of this and letting the emotional attachment go will give a much clearer picture.
Failure – None of us set out to fail, nonetheless, it is something that we learn from. Each step we take we learn something new or to persevere can win out in the end. Take J.K.Rowling for example, she got rejected by numerous publishers while working as a waitress. Her break came from the publisher’s 8yr old daughter begging him to publish it! Sometimes it’s simply down to timing!.
Success – “Now if I do this right, they’ll expect me to continue or even improve!” Maybe expectations of you will be increased? And with each successful outcome, you raise your standards once again. Consider each and every task on its own merits WITHOUT considering where it may lead.

There are many tools that can help with procrastination, however, the biggest obstacle is ourselves! Until we start to realise what our own barriers are, procrastination will let its tentacles stretch out and feed on our daily distractions.

Coaching to success work towards breaking down barriers, opening up confidence levels, assessing what’s ahead and planning to succeed in whatever goal their clients wish to attain. To improve your own levels of procrastination or focus, take the first step by contacting Neil on 07761 187238 or email neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk and if you’re online, have a look at his interview video at https://youtu.be/RvCwOL4hPco where you’ll be assured a warm welcome to discuss how we can help.