How many times a day do you feel like your time is being
wasted?
Is this you? You're sitting in a meeting and while someone
else is talking about a problem that they feel needs to be
solved, you're wondering why they don't get on with it, or
whether anyone else thinks this is the forum for such a
small issue, or why they think everyone needs to know about
it.
Then when the next person leaps in with a great idea
they've thought of, your mind chatters away with "Oh, that
idea, again!" or "Jeez, everyone knows that'll never work!"
or "That's got nothing to do with what needs doing here!"
One of the most overlooked reasons for breakdowns in
personal and business productivity is "right behind your
eyes!"
Your mind's in a fog because of all the assumptions and
convictions that are chattering away, having their own
conversation. They're blocking your ability to listen with
an open mind, think analytically about the information you
have or need to get, and develop targeted solutions.
And you're not the only one operating that way! Situations
in business and life have become so complex that a simple
answer isn't always apparent. And all of our personalities
are so diverse that we're all frankly lousy at mindreading.
All that brain power and experience is being regularly
flushed down the time drain instead of being used to
actually identify what needs solving and solve it!
So where does that leave us? You need to learn techniques
that help you focus and identify the real issues buried
behind the chaos, and get your attention back on what it
takes to Achieve Your Vision.
Here is a taste of the first of the 7 Essential Techniques
I use with my clients to recover their 'brain power' and
increase their productivity: They're not taught in schools
or get rich manuals, but they create productivity increases
of 60% to 300% in as little as 10 minutes.
Technique 1 - "Lather. Rinse. Repeat" - Vent the 'Story'
Are you finding no one has any attention for actually
solving things! Do you feel like a lot of finger pointing
and blaming is going on, instead of work? Do you find
people on your team have their reason why the other is
creating complications and problems? And what about you?
Let's start using the technique with you.
Take a lesson from shampoo manufacturers. You can't make
headway when everyone is fixated on the events leading up
to the meeting to solve them. Get the entire story told, in
the utmost detail, until you've said it all. Not in
discussion, not in dialogue. Here are the steps to use
1 - Identify some issue you're not making any headway on
2 - find a partner to do this exercise with
3 - Print out this page or forward it to them so they can
read it
4 - Ask your partner to listen, just listen and ask
yourself "Is there anything else?" every time you pause
5 - When you get to the end of the story, if your answer to
that question is even to pause to check, go right back to
the top and start the story from the beginning and repeat
the steps.
Notice that there's no problem-solving. Just stir up the
lather in the situation thoroughly, then rinse and repeat.
Repeat the process until you cannot add a single thing, and
then tell it again - at some point you'll get fed up with
the story on your own and be ready to move on to actually
solving the real issue.
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© 2008 Linda Feinholz Management expert, consultant,
and coach Linda Feinholz is "Your High Payoff Catalyst" If
you're ready to focus on your High Payoff activities, boost
your professional and personal results and have more fun,
get her FREE audio mini-course "7 Quick & Simple Steps to
Increase Your Focus, Ease Your Effort & Accelerate Your
Results" and the free weekly newsletter The Spark! Visit
http://www.YourHighPayoffCatalyst.com
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