It’s the end of the second quarter … Did your stress level just jump 5 notches? You are not alone!
My email inbox is crammed with frantic people trying to get their message out before I escape for the Summer! There’s celebration banquets, graduation ceremonies, TONS of birthdays … June seems to come earlier and earlier ever year.
So much to do, so little time. The minutia of things that do not matter is a sexy, slippery slope to zero – Zero progress, zero accountability, zero job and life satisfaction.
How do you know what to ignore and what distractions, invitations and interruptions are true opportunities? How do you know when to file that info for future reference or process it right now?
Here’s a quick tip to help you let go of the minutia that disguises itself as “Priority” and get the greatest results every day.
Set your intentions!
Obvious? Maybe. Easy? Not at all. If you have practiced setting intentions, you know the power! Whatever you set, your mind will begin to work on… and a war begins…
Inside your brain is an “auto-pilot” that makes up to 97% of your daily decisions for you. If it wasn’t operating, you’d never get anything done. When you set specific intentions, your auto-pilot will resist, causing stress. When you are stressed you’ll move back to old patterns to feel safe … as the saying goes, “The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over, expecting different results.”
Want to win the war in your brain? Here’s a quick solution I teach in the first course of “Transform Your Leadership“.
Reme
mber the saying “Three years from now this won’t matter”? Decide where you want to be three years from today. Look back at your life from that future date. What did you accomplish? What are you celebrating? Be “future YOU” for a moment … right now … future YOU that has to live with all the decisions you make in the next 10 minutes. What would future YOU tell you to do?
This is your inner CEO, the visionary that you need to answer to at performance review time.
Pick your 1/3 mark. What do you need to have accomplished by this day next year to be 1/3 of the way to your 3 year vision of your life? Be specific. These are your main priorities. Anything outside these priorities is not in your box. Email messages, coffee dates, other distractions that pull you from these priorities are a waste of your precious time.
List all projects that will help you hit your 1 year target. List any and all things you can do to make that 1 year mark happen.
CHOOSE … as your inner CEO. This is your time to help you focus on what’s best for you. You must choose three (ONLY three) projects to tackle in the next 90 days. Once you complete each, you can choose other projects from the list. Choose wisely!!!! What 3 projects are going to make the greatest impact on you reaching your 1 year targets? Any information or opportunities outside these 3 projects can be filed in the “nice to know” box or “for future reference box”. Move them out of your inbox or … for the very brave … delete them altogether. They do not matter. More information will be available by the time you decide they are new priorities.
Focusing on three major projects that lead to a clear picture of the future you want, will help you cut through the millions of distractions this month and seize the right opportunities.
Want more help with this lesson? Register here for this Friday’s FREE Webinar “Distraction or Opportunity? An Easy Way to Know What to Ignore and What to Pursue”
Comments? Thoughts? I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below. Don’t know your 3 year or 1 year plan yet? Get your intentions on track before the 4th quarter with a fun but powerful Summer Self-Improvement Adventure, the first course from Transform Your Leadership => “Getting Your Inner Game On Track”
