Work productivity, time management, organization, tools and tips

When you quote Tracy, I believe his comments touch on something that a lot of people trying to succeed miss.

We of course must have a passion for what we do, but once that is decided, we must focus, with discipline, on the execution of that which we want to accomplish.

Not paying attention to our emotions, or letting them rule us as far as the actions we need to take to "get it done," is one of the great disciplines that all successful people have.

Gary,
Yes, I agree that passion for something won't carry you all the way through to success. As Thomas Edison said, "Genius [success] is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration."

Claire, I actually took out a post it and copied that Brian Tracey quote because it is so powerful. Thank you.

But...I also wonder if there isn't another side--- and I would love to hear how you weigh in on this, because I respect your viewpoint--- what about balance in your life?

Right now, for the last few months, I have been going through a deep transition and I have not been attending to some of the administrivia that I "should". My goal is to see what life would be like if I took the pressure off myself---how much creativity will I be freeing up? How much energy will I have each day to spend on making real human connections and nurturing myself, two things that have fallen by the wayside lately.

Burnout. It's not good.

What are your thoughts?

warmly,

Jessica Duquette

Jessica,
Whenever I’ve experienced too many things happening at once or changing too fast, my strategy is to cut way back. I ask myself, “what’s the worst that could happen if I don’t do this?” and “what’s the least I can do to get by until things loosen up a little?” If you are used to being organized and on top of things, as I am, it can be a surprise to discover that there’s a lot of stuff you’re doing that you can actually get along without just fine.

In fact, this is a good time to take a look at all that you do and make sure it’s worth your time and effort. Creativity, human connections and nurturing are all things that fall into Stephen Covey’s “important but not urgent” quadrant. Very worth your time and effort, however, no one but you is going to make you do them.

The most effective solution I've discovered is to make dates with yourself for those activities that create balance in your life. Unless it’s written there in black and white in your date book, you will be tempted to fit it in around other “more important” activities. In this post I wrote about the indispensability of self care.

Finally, things don’t stay in balance. Stuff will always happen. It’s good to reassess the balance point once in a while. It won't always be in the same spot. We need to use whatever techniques we have at hand to step back, assess and rebalance.
Thanks for your inspiring questions, Jessica!

I agree - the term "self management" is very nice. I first heard it in "The New Faculty Member: Supporting and Fostering
Professional Development" by Robert Boice where he defines it as "learning to solve the right problem."