Welcome to Advantages...

Tools and tips for reaching your NEXT level of Success

By Kate Steinbacher

It seems like I hear more and more often from my coaching clients that they do not have enough hours in a day to accomplish what needs to done.

Here is what they say:
They are being pulled into meetings at the last minute and have to cancel agenda items to accommodate. They are stretched by the needs of family and friends. The wonderful new technologies make them so accessible to the needs of others they barely have time to breath. The phone rings during lunch, so they can%uFFFDt remember with whom they had lunch, never mind what they ate. E-mail systems beep to tell them of a new message breaking their concentration required to complete that important report. Their open door policy allows free access to them by their colleagues and subordinates, but little space in which to accomplish the real work at hand. The result is a frazzled, short tempered, scattered, unhappy, minimally productive, minimally appreciated, person that works long hours and is rewarded with little sleep, no real nourishment of body and spirit and a %uFFFDto do%uFFFD list a mile long and reaching for two. Does any of this sound like you?

If it does, read on, because I have news for you. It does not have to.
Too often we stay on the %uFFFDgerbil wheel%uFFFD of life feeling incapable of making the choice of taking the first jolting step off and instead we are thrown off by an illness or major difficulty.

Have we all forgotten and missed the true meaning of the simple warning given at the beginning of every flight we take: %uFFFDIf the oxygen masks should fall, indicating a change in cabin pressure, put on your own mask first, BEFORE helping your children or others in need.%uFFFD Or, in everyday terms: If your life should get so full that you are losing control of even the most simple of tasks, take care of your health and well-being first so you have the ability and energy required to support the ones you love and accomplish the tasks required.

So what can you do to soften that first step off the %uFFFDgerbil wheel%uFFFD of life? First: stop thinking it is out of your control. You can and do have control, but you have to choose to exercise it. Second: Begin to look at all the areas of your life that are out of control or on the verge of being out of control and choose just one to look at, for the present. Third: Take one small step to gain back some time for you.

Here are some suggestions:
1. Maybe it is closing your door for two hours each day and not answering the phone, so you can concentrate on that important project.
2.Perhaps forwarding your calls or putting a message on your answer service that you will be out of range for an hour and a half and you have a relaxed business lunch or lunch with a friend.
3. You could take the alarm system off your computer e-mail and set 2 to 3 periods a day when you will read and respond to your e-mail. A time of your choosing. If this is a big change, make sure people know this and tell them when they can expect a response.
4. Set a boundary with your family or work staff and colleagues that a certain time each day is off limits time. They are not to disturb you for any reason. Then define emergency very clearly! Kids of a certain age love to be made the guard and reminder. Tell them what time you need and that it is their job to remind you and then be sure no one interrupts it. It will be a game and can be fun!

All of these ideas will help you focus on what is real and necessary and will begin the process of your taking back your time. This is just a beginning, think for yourself where you can make a difference in your life. After all, you didn%uFFFDt give away your time all in one day, it probably happened gradually. Expectations were built, but these too can be modified.

Remodel Expectations: Be sure to explain your changes to all the people that they may effect, this is part of the remodeling of expectations. Also set up stopgaps for problems that may arise. Get someone to cover for you if that is possible. If not, make sure people know when you will be available again to help them.

As you begin to gain some time for clarity and focus, you will notice your energy improves and your productivity will increase. You will gain even more time. Be sure you allocate some of that time for self care of your physical, personal and spiritual being.

Bryan Dyson, the former CEO of Coca-Cola explained that he feels we juggle 5 different balls: a health ball, a family ball, a friends ball, a work ball and a spirituality ball%uFFFDFour of the five are made out of crystal. If we drop them, they are going to shatter. Only one ball is made out of rubber and bounces back: the work ball.

Coaching Challenge: Find one area in your life to which you are willing to apply these principals and go for it!

For some, setting boundaries around time is very challenging, want help?

Consider joining my new affordable coaching groups: Just $59 per month for 3 group coaching calls. Each month we have a new topic around creating the life and career and business you truly want and having time for family friends and helth too!

My next group starts the first full week in August. The program lasts 4 months and allows you to focus on one Big Hairy Audacious Goal, create a strategy to make it happen and perhaps even accomplish it by programs end...

Want more info how you can join? contact me at kate@coachesconsole.com with momentum in the subject line and I'll send you the info.