Is this you? You have customers to satisfy, professional
goals to deliver on and your personal goals shoved to the
back burner... and you and your friends, colleagues,
clients and vendors are already talking about 'this' year.
Decisions aren't getting made because too many of them feel
like they're all the top priority... and you find yourself
with a task list that is incomplete, messages unreturned,
and lists growing longer.
"HELP ME STAY ON TRACK!"
I had a call from one of my clients this week. She was
overwhelmed and anxious. And she was sitting at her desk
getting nothing done. Her deadlines were looming and her
team was clammering for her attention. As we spoke it
became clear that her stress was triggered by her chewing
on last year's results, her uncertainty of the results
she's targeting, and her frustration over results that have
slipped away. ALL at the same time! It probably sounds
familiar?
The truth is, you will always be bombarded by more
information, more ideas and more opportunity than you can
follow through on - that's success!
I'll admit, I've had a few of those pauses that stretched
to days with my foot jammed down on the break. I found
myself sitting in overwhelm last month, as I was trying to
get my newsletter launched, I got in the same old black
magic state of overwhelm... and pulled out my 3-step
process to bust out of being stalled.
If you cannot get a handle on the tug of war for your
attention, your future is at risk!
I don't want you to spend even one more day sitting at that
red light. So how do you get out of overwhelm and back on
track? Here are 3 steps I use that are guaranteed to work
for you personally, for your team, and for your
organization:
1. List EVERYTHING That's Incomplete
Rather than trying to decide anything, sit down and make a
list. That's all, just make a thorough, complete list.
Scientists have shown that people cannot make decisions
when their heart rate is over 90 beats per minute. So the
first order of business is to get your heart rate down, and
as you focus your attention on a task, your heart rate will
drop. In this instance the task is making a list of every
single thing that is incomplete. You can do this in writing
or on your computer, in a program that will let you list
each item on a separate line. The items may be on other
lists, on Post-It notes, in your PDA, on scraps of paper on
your desktop, on the bottom of meeting agendas, in your
wallet. You might find them on phone messages you've
"saved" in your voicemail, on receipts you put in your
"in-basket" or pinned to your bulletin board. And don't
forget to look on the white board!
2. Sort Them and Tag Them
Your next task is to sort out your list and identify the
key reason each item is incomplete. The question you'll ask
yourself is "What is the single most important reason this
is incomplete?" Some quick and easy sorting criteria to
use include: 1 - I don't have the information I need to
make a decision 2 - I have the information but I don't
like the form the decision will take 3 - I have the
information and I like the form, but not the timing 4 -
This conflicts with another item on the list Create YOUR
list of criteria, and then tag each item on the list with
ONE of those criteria. Once they are tagged regroup the
list so that all the items that need further information
are listed in a single group, and so on.
3. Prioritize Them and Act on the 1st One
Within each group, put a priority on the items in your
list. This is another form of sorting, but this time it's
within a group that already has a common characteristic.
You'll want to use a new set of criteria for sorting this
time. The criteria might be "easiest to get done" or
"easiest to delegate" or "needs to be completed in order to
do other things on this list." Set your criteria and sort
away! Once you've sorted all the groups, select one group
and the top item in that group and take action on just that
one thing. Here's a hint - you might want to start with the
"Delegate This" list if you created one. As you
systematically turn those incomplete items over to others,
they become a list of things you'll follow up on, rather
than things you need to "Do!" and you'll have even more
attention left for the things you've kept on your own list.
As you keep your attention focused, you'll retain control
over your attention and find each item is dealt with much
faster than you had anticipated. In turn, you'll find the
sensation of overwhelm and being 'stuck' will be gone!
----------------------------------------------------
© 2007 Linda Feinholz Management expert, consultant,
and coach Linda Feinholz is "Your High Payoff Catalyst" and
publishes the free weekly newsletter The Spark! and
delivers targeted solutions, practical skills and simple
ways to boost professional and personal results. If you're
ready to focus on your High Payoff activities, accelerate
your results and have more fun, get your FREE tips at her
site http://www.YourHighPayoffCatalyst.com
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