“The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.” ~Mike Murdock
There’s nothing routine about routine. Having a plan, and sticking to it, may be the secret to success. I’m not suggesting that you hide from innovation and creativity. I am all about trying new things and reaping fruits of inspiration. Yet, I have also learned that having a routine can significantly increase your chances for triumph. Now, I get that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing you have always done the way you have always done it, and expecting different results. So again, I am not suggesting that you stick to a routine that is not creating benefit. I am suggesting, however, that sticking to a routine can help you realize benefit.
I just got back from a wonderful vacation, and there was not one of the 23 of us who stuck to a routine. Vacation is the perfect time to deviate from routine, right? Well, it depends on what your goals are… There are so many tools available to us these days which we can use to keep up with our routines that I wonder if deviation is really the answer, or if it just causes more stress. For me, not sticking to my work routine, especially when I can automate things like sending tweets and posting Facebook updates, had me going through social media withdrawal and actually feeling guilty for not engaging online. Not staying on top of emails and at least spending a few minutes each morning and afternoon reading and responding to messages had me in a panic by last night. Not sleeping normally and eating normally and…well my body certainly has had more physical stress, but I totally understand the phrase, “I need a vacation to recover from my vacation”. Vacation may be an extreme example… how about in everyday living?
How about in job search? What if you created a weekly routine which ensured that you spent the right amount of time on each part of a full career campaign? It is my belief that if you followed said routine, at least most of the time, you would feel more productive and in fact actually accomplish more.
So let’s break it down. I believe that a full career campaign consists of research, communication and networking. Research includes things like identifying resources, networking opportunities, target companies, and people inside those target companies, as well as finding job postings to which you can apply. Communication includes phone, email and snail mail, and includes reaching out, responding, saying thank you, and following up. Networking includes professional industry and function specific events and conferences, job search specific networking, online networking and one-on-one meetings and conversations. Yes, that’s a lot. Yes, that’s a huge time commitment. People aren’t joking around when they say that looking for a job is a full time job. So, wouldn’t having (and following) a routine make fitting all this in a whole lot easier?
What if you committed to 10 hours a week of research, 10 hours a week of communication in various forms, and 20 hours a week networking? Do you think it’s worth giving that a try? How will you set up your weekly routine? Let me know what your plan is, and how you feel at the end of a few weeks. I look forward to your reports back. And as always, let me know how I can help.
Showing posts with label winning combination. Show all posts
Showing posts with label winning combination. Show all posts
Monday, July 25, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Where Priority Meets Focus
“I think in terms of the day's resolutions, not the years'.” ~~Henry Moore~~
It’s not always easy to determine priorities. Sometimes you need to make tough decisions about what you’re NOT going to do. I was part of an interesting conversation recently about planning and focus that centered on people being prepared for the wrong thing or planning for something that never ended up happening. These were being presented as negative; as people wasting time or effort. I agreed to an extent at the time, but then I started to think about when it had happened to me. I’ve certainly had times that I prepared for something diligently that never came to pass. I’ve certainly experienced focusing a lot of energy and effort on what turned out to be less important than other things on which I could have focused. But each of those things helps make up who I am, what I know, and how I go into my next action. While I certainly could have been better served doing something else, I don’t believe that time was wasted. I believe there is a reason for everything even when we don’t know or see what that reason is.
On the other hand, when you make those tough decisions, when you examine your goals carefully and plan specific action steps to achieve those goals, and then focus intently on those action steps, you are certain to succeed. When you can focus on the positive and not allow self-doubt or negativity creep in; when you can focus on the priorities and not let yourself get sidetracked; when you can focus on what you’re doing right now and not on what you need to do later, you’ve got a winning combination.
On what will you choose to focus today?
It’s not always easy to determine priorities. Sometimes you need to make tough decisions about what you’re NOT going to do. I was part of an interesting conversation recently about planning and focus that centered on people being prepared for the wrong thing or planning for something that never ended up happening. These were being presented as negative; as people wasting time or effort. I agreed to an extent at the time, but then I started to think about when it had happened to me. I’ve certainly had times that I prepared for something diligently that never came to pass. I’ve certainly experienced focusing a lot of energy and effort on what turned out to be less important than other things on which I could have focused. But each of those things helps make up who I am, what I know, and how I go into my next action. While I certainly could have been better served doing something else, I don’t believe that time was wasted. I believe there is a reason for everything even when we don’t know or see what that reason is.
On the other hand, when you make those tough decisions, when you examine your goals carefully and plan specific action steps to achieve those goals, and then focus intently on those action steps, you are certain to succeed. When you can focus on the positive and not allow self-doubt or negativity creep in; when you can focus on the priorities and not let yourself get sidetracked; when you can focus on what you’re doing right now and not on what you need to do later, you’ve got a winning combination.
On what will you choose to focus today?
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Attitude: Lessons From My Kitten
“I am not judged by the number of times I fail, but by the number of times I succeed: and the number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I fail and keep trying.” ~~Tom Hopkins~~
Do you have pets? How about children? I think we could all learn something from them… Have you ever noticed how many times they will attempt something before giving up? It’s almost unbelievable.
We got kittens in January. The scenario goes something like this: He jumps up on the counter. I put him down. He jumps up on the counter. I put him down. He jumps up on the counter. I put him down. He follows me in to my office. He jumps up on my desk. I put him down. He jumps up on my desk. I put him down. He jumps up on my desk. I put him down. He goes to lie down on his cat bed next to my desk. It’s comical, but think about it. If we all had the perseverance of a kitten, we’d all be exactly where we want to be in our lives. Because believe me… as soon as I walk out of the room, that kitten is on my desk! Determination, persistence, and a positive attitude… a winning combination! Know you can, and you will.
Another thing I think we could all learn from our pets and/or our kids: it’s all about playing; everything’s a game, so you may as well have some fun.
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race” ~~Calvin Coolidge
Do you have pets? How about children? I think we could all learn something from them… Have you ever noticed how many times they will attempt something before giving up? It’s almost unbelievable.
We got kittens in January. The scenario goes something like this: He jumps up on the counter. I put him down. He jumps up on the counter. I put him down. He jumps up on the counter. I put him down. He follows me in to my office. He jumps up on my desk. I put him down. He jumps up on my desk. I put him down. He jumps up on my desk. I put him down. He goes to lie down on his cat bed next to my desk. It’s comical, but think about it. If we all had the perseverance of a kitten, we’d all be exactly where we want to be in our lives. Because believe me… as soon as I walk out of the room, that kitten is on my desk! Determination, persistence, and a positive attitude… a winning combination! Know you can, and you will.
Another thing I think we could all learn from our pets and/or our kids: it’s all about playing; everything’s a game, so you may as well have some fun.
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race” ~~Calvin Coolidge
Monday, August 30, 2010
Preparation AND Focus
“Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow.” ~~Aesop~~
This quote may best sum up the discussion from last week. Focus and knowing your desired outcome may be the most critical components of actually achieving your goals. I guess I’ve come full circle. Preparation is critical to knowing what your desired outcomes are and actually achieving that focus. Preparation may include research, due diligence, having conversations, networking… and it also may include mental training such as mediation, affirmations and other exercises to help you get and stay focused. Zeroing in on the substance is only really possible when you can successfully “weed out” excessive information.
I am reading Blink by Malcolm Gladwell right now, and he actually talks about this quite extensively. It‘s in a different context, but it’s gotten me thinking… Gladwell gives several examples when having too much information in fact causes incorrect action. He says, “…truly successful decision making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking.” Deliberate thinking comes from preparation. Instinctive thinking comes from focus. Put them together, and you have a winning combination.
This quote may best sum up the discussion from last week. Focus and knowing your desired outcome may be the most critical components of actually achieving your goals. I guess I’ve come full circle. Preparation is critical to knowing what your desired outcomes are and actually achieving that focus. Preparation may include research, due diligence, having conversations, networking… and it also may include mental training such as mediation, affirmations and other exercises to help you get and stay focused. Zeroing in on the substance is only really possible when you can successfully “weed out” excessive information.
I am reading Blink by Malcolm Gladwell right now, and he actually talks about this quite extensively. It‘s in a different context, but it’s gotten me thinking… Gladwell gives several examples when having too much information in fact causes incorrect action. He says, “…truly successful decision making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking.” Deliberate thinking comes from preparation. Instinctive thinking comes from focus. Put them together, and you have a winning combination.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Attitude
“Positive attitude without positive action equals positively nothing.” ~~Brad Sugars at the Business Is Booming Event last night~~
Thanks to the invite from Action Coach, Tom Maier I had the privilege of participating in Brad Sugars’ Business Is Booming event in Bridgeport, CT last night. What a success! Not only was it a fantastic networking opportunity, but I took home pages of notes on ways I can help make my business, and my life, more of what I want them to be!
In addition to the quote above, which I found very powerful, there are some tips I’d like to share, that I feel apply to life, not just business.
1. GRATITUDE is so important! SHOWING GRATITUDE is even more important. Who can you thank today? HOW can you thank them?
2. DREAMS are critical to success. You have to have a dream, and you have to write it down. You don’t have to know how achieve the dream. If you knew how to get there, or knew how to do it, it would be a TO DO.
3. PLAN! A sad, but all-too-true fact: Most people spend more time planning their wedding than they do their life. (or their job search, or their career track…)
4. You have to BE more and DO more to HAVE more.
5. It’s all about RELATIONSHIPS!
As I process all my thoughts, I may have more to write on these topics… but in the meantime, for more information about Brad Sugars and Action Coach, please visit http://www.actioncoach.com/ and http://bradsugars.com/.
Thanks to the invite from Action Coach, Tom Maier I had the privilege of participating in Brad Sugars’ Business Is Booming event in Bridgeport, CT last night. What a success! Not only was it a fantastic networking opportunity, but I took home pages of notes on ways I can help make my business, and my life, more of what I want them to be!
In addition to the quote above, which I found very powerful, there are some tips I’d like to share, that I feel apply to life, not just business.
1. GRATITUDE is so important! SHOWING GRATITUDE is even more important. Who can you thank today? HOW can you thank them?
2. DREAMS are critical to success. You have to have a dream, and you have to write it down. You don’t have to know how achieve the dream. If you knew how to get there, or knew how to do it, it would be a TO DO.
3. PLAN! A sad, but all-too-true fact: Most people spend more time planning their wedding than they do their life. (or their job search, or their career track…)
4. You have to BE more and DO more to HAVE more.
5. It’s all about RELATIONSHIPS!
As I process all my thoughts, I may have more to write on these topics… but in the meantime, for more information about Brad Sugars and Action Coach, please visit http://www.actioncoach.com/ and http://bradsugars.com/.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Preparation
"Life is like a combination lock; your job is to find the right numbers, in the right order, so you can have anything you want." ~~Brian Tracy~~
Have you figured out your winning combination? If you have, consider yourself extremely lucky. Most of us are still working on ours. Even when I think I have determined mine, something changes and I need to figure out a new one. That’s life. I have often heard the sentiment that the only thing that is constant is change. (I would love to give credit so if you can figure out who said that first, please let me know…) In light of that, here’s my next attempt at my winning combination. It’s a lot less specific than others have been in the past. Maybe that’s the answer… Prepare. Plan. Stay flexible. Bend. Prepare. Might that work for you?
Have you figured out your winning combination? If you have, consider yourself extremely lucky. Most of us are still working on ours. Even when I think I have determined mine, something changes and I need to figure out a new one. That’s life. I have often heard the sentiment that the only thing that is constant is change. (I would love to give credit so if you can figure out who said that first, please let me know…) In light of that, here’s my next attempt at my winning combination. It’s a lot less specific than others have been in the past. Maybe that’s the answer… Prepare. Plan. Stay flexible. Bend. Prepare. Might that work for you?
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