Could You Be Playing Doubles?

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Man Serving Tennis BallNugget: “Success is not forever and failure isn’t fatal.”~ Don Shula

Reflection drill: Seek to double your results and ask, “What else now?”

Whenever possible, look for a task that can be doubled up with other tasks. Do your errands and dictate a letter while traveling. Ride your exercise bike and read your favorite novel. Organize your workspace while you’re on hold on the phone.

Why it matters: Double your results this week by combining tasks whenever possible. Pair’em up and polish’em off! “Piggybacking” pays off!

Thinking drill: 

Which items on your Master List can be tackled simultaneously?

Which small but important daily tasks can you combine with other activities?

Which upcoming tasks lend themselves to simultaneous accomplishment?

What’s your take away?

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Have you made it crystal clear?

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2013-07-16 CommunicationNugget: “One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.”~ Arthur Ashe

Reflection drill: If you’re not getting what you ask for, correct your communication skills first.

Why it matters: Make it easy for others to help.

If people aren’t doing what you want, ask yourself if they clearly understand exactly what you do want. What you get back is directly related to how specifically you ask for it.

Thinking drill:  

How clear are you with others about your objectives for each new project?

Do you always clearly articulate the results you want?

Review today’s requests. Have you left any room for misunderstanding or misinterpretation?

What’s your take away?

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Urgent Vs Important. What’s The Difference?

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Nugget:  “Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.”~ Vince Lombardi

Reflection drill:  Make Time for What You Want

Urgent vs. Important according to Webster: Urgent …  calling for haste, immediate action. Important … meaning a great deal, having much value.

Why it matters: The important, by definition, is what is most valuable. Now, make it more urgent too.

Thinking drill:

Which of your activities today could be defined as urgent?

Which of your activities today could be defined as important?

What can you do to call for immediate action on that which means a great deal and has much value to you?

What’s your take away?

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A-Z Or Z-A?

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Compass Rose WestNugget:  “Ability is of little account without opportunity.”~ Napoleon Bonaparte

Reflection drill: Get More Specific About WHO, WHAT and HOW — Now!

To map future steps, you can think it through starting at the end and working backwards, or from top to bottom, taking it one step at a time.

Why it matters: A successful plan requires you to anchor it in both directions with what comes first and what comes last … and a lot of “What comes next?” in between.

Thinking Drill:

How many different techniques do you use to map your success?

Do you always think it through completely before you begin?

Is it more beneficial to see how many steps you can take in a day, or to see how few it would take to get where you want to go?

What’s your take away?

 

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Need A Break?

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Woman Jogging Outside“Our attitude toward life determines life’s attitude towards us.”~ Earl Nightingale

Reflection drill: Watch Your Posture — Move About Energetically — Listen to Your Body

Deep breathing is the best way to promote mental stimulation. Take a brisk walk, do knee bends — anything to increase your deep breathing and stretch your muscles.

Why it matters: Taking a break and stretching is an excellent way to maintain your energy.

Thinking drill:

Stand up right now and stretch or take a quick walk.

Can’t get away from the desk? Ever try isometrics? Stretching?

Do you have an action plan for the next time your energy starts to fade?

What’s your take away?

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Will This Get You Closer To Your Destination?

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Daily OrganizerNugget: “If you want to make good use of your time, you’ve got to know what’s most important and then give it all you’ve got.”~ Lee Iacocca

Reflection drill: Maintain “To-Be-Done” List — Prioritize it by value

Work smarter today, not harder.

Why it matters: Before you begin something, determine whether or not it will get you closer to accomplishing your desired goals. What good are your efforts when you’re applying yourself to the wrong task?

Thinking drill:

Which of your scheduled tasks today don’t contribute to the bottom line?

Which tasks on today’s list will get you closer to your objective and which ones won’t?

What’s one change that an adviser would recommend to help you work smarter in your day?

What’s your take away?

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Why Do It The Hard Way?

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Folders on shelfNugget:  “The elevator to success is out of order. You’ll have to use the stairs … one step at a time.”~ Joe Girard

Reflection drill: Create a unique place for everything.

Simplify, simplify. If you’re going to need it later, then put it away where it — and everything like it — will be easy to find when you need it. (It’s called a file, a folder, a database, a cubby, a labeled shoe box, a drawer, a room, or a mini-storage locker.)

Why it matters: Take the lazy man’s approach. Create a specific and unique place for everything, and you’ll never have to work very hard to find it.

Thinking drill:

If you’re going to need it later, why not make it quick and easy to find?

Wouldn’t life be sweet if every time you wanted to find something it was exactly where it belonged?

What costs more, your time or a manila folder?

What’s your take away?

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Do You Have Respect For Their Time Too?

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2013-05-28 timeNugget: “Anything that is wasted effort represents wasted time. The best management of our time thus becomes linked inseparably with the best utilization of our efforts.”~ Ted W. Engstrom

Reflection drill: Create systems to maximize time — yours & others.

Be the person everyone counts on to be on-time, on-task and on-target.

Why it matters: You want people to respect your time, so GIVE the respect you expect to GET. Always remember that there are only 1000 Prime Minutes in each day. It’s nuts to waste even 1 of your precious minutes — and “criminal” to waste theirs! (Maybe not a felony — but certainly a misdemeanor!)

Thinking drill:  

How well did you show your respect for the time of others in your last meeting?

How will you show respect for the time of the next person you’re going to meet with?

With whom do you have your next appointment? What will you do to be more respectful of that person’s time?

What’s your take away?

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Is This Going To Be A Problem Or A Challenge For You?

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Businesswoman giving thumbs upNugget:  “Our attitudes control our lives. Attitudes are a secret power working twenty-four hours a day, for good or bad. It is of paramount importance that we know how to harness and control this great force.”~ Tom Blandi

Reflection drill: Speak Enthusiastically — Motivate and Inspire Others.

You will directly influence how other people see a situation depending on what you say and how you say it. Finish every conversation by reviewing the positive points of any situation.

Why it matters: You cannot productively focus on what needs to get done and speak in a negative manner at the same time.

Thinking drill:

Was your last conversation uplifting or demoralizing?

How will you put a more positive perspective on your next conversation?

How’s your current project going? So so or Sensational?

What’s your take away?

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Are You Cooperating Today — Or Are You Still Competing?

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ID-10066406I love the word
co-opetition.

Nugget:  “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, learning from failure.”~ Colin Powell

Reflection drill: Celebrate Diversity — Include EVERYONE on Your Team

Synergy is based on interdependence. To compound your results, let go of your need for independence and control, and learn how to become a valuable member of a team.

Why it matters: Group synergy will blossom and bloom when you coach your team to be both cooperative and supportive.

Thinking drill:

How can you strengthen the interdependence of a team you’re currently working with?

Have you told the people who are indispensable to your team just how important they are?

How could you support any prima donnas or renegades on your team — those who need to be converted to interdependent thinking — without invalidating their strengths?

What’s your take away?

Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
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