Recent research suggests that compared to last year Irish people are working an extra 6-10 hours per week with only 32% stopping to take a full lunch. Despite countless articles written each year aimed at helping create balance and quality in life, we are still overworking and expecting to achieve more. We all know that when we burn the candle at both ends, productivity decreases and we are left overwhelmed, overworked, overstressed and overcommitted.
Yes, it’s the holiday season and of course a break from the norm will recharge your energies, however in terms of yielding sustainable improvements in productivity the benefits may only short lived.
In order to enhance productivity in the long term, you need to maintain and develop the greatest asset that you have – yourself. It’s essential that you take time to refresh your skills, enhance your knowledge and develop your mental capabilities. Take time to tap into the potential you always knew you had. Read a book, listen to a great speaker on audio or attend a programme focused on developing your potential.
Ensure that you are sharp enough to deal with all the obstacles that the recession is throwing at you. Invest in yourself so that you are physically charged and mentally alert. You will then be able to step back and work effectively on your business and not in your business. Assess if your fire is burning out and add some spark to it again. Recharge, reignite and reenergise and be the best you can be.
One of the most important factors in determining our success in life is our attitude.
William James an American psychologist and philosopher captured the fundamental significance of attitude in his profound words; "The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind."
Attitude is a mental state relative to what we believe and affect our entire live. We express our attitude in our words and actions. It is an habitual way of thinking that can either lean towards an optimistic or pessimistic viewpoint. Whether your thinking is “full-glass” or “empty-glass” in nature, you have the ability to choose your own attitude.
Attitudes are greatly influenced by association which means they are contagious. The best way to develop a positive mental attitude is to surround yourself with optimists. Positive people have a magnetic influence which attracts help and support that assist them in achieving their goals. They have developed a ‘can do’ attitude and a resilient nature that propels them forward.
Once you begin to condition your thinking, you will develop a positive mental attitude that will greatly accelerate your future success.
Today marks Barack Obama’s 100th day in office with his achievements measuring up to our expectations. He has planted and nourished seeds of optimism and already he is reaping “green shoots of growth” and “glimmers of hope”.
100 days is a good landmark measure for all of us. It’s approximately 3 months. Just as the farmer prepares for each season, so can we. The farmer is preparing to harvests and save his crops for winter. Is there a something that you would love to achieve in a season? What would you do in 100 days if you knew that you would be successful?
Barack Obama has transcended very real constraints in 100 days in an office described as the most powerful in the world. You too can achieve remarkable results in 100 days. Begin today, be specific about what you want to achieve and mark the calendar.
When we find ourselves in difficulty we often get out minds completely caught up in the problem – we think in circles and can’t find answers to any of our questions.
When this happens, more often than not, it’s not because there is no solution to the problem, no way out – it’s because the questions we’re asking are the wrong ones. Don’t ask; “Why didn’t I get that promotion?”, ask; “What do I have to do to get it next time?” Don’t ask; “Why do I always leave work late?”, instead ask; “How can I get enough work done in the day to feel satisfied with what I’ve done when it’s time to go home?”
Ask about the solution, not the problem.
Stephen had always been a hard worker – through school and college he’d put his whole heart and soul into getting what needed to be done exactly when it was needed. His diligent nature meant that he was always on top of his work and had plenty of time to enjoy his social life as well as getting the most out of class-time; always working towards getting the exam results and qualifications he needed as well as making the friends that brought happiness and excitement to his life.
Eventually, college was behind him, he’d stepped onto the career ladder he’d always dreamed of and found the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and married her. It seemed now that he’d achieved what had always been his ambitions through all his years in a classroom.
However, it seemed now that his hard-working character was starting to run away with him. He became tunnel-visioned from one day to the next on his latest project at work, leaving home before his wife was awake and being the first to work in the morning and the last to leave after the dark in the evening.
What’s worse, despite his diligence increasing to the point of disruptiveness it wasn’t getting him anywhere in his career. He was dwelling solely on the problem at hand in any given situation and had completely stagnated.
One day, the first time that week he’d remembered to take his lunch hour, he bumped into Mary at a café. Mary had been in his course at college and they’d been close friends right from the start of their first year. She was also quite a hard worker but never had quite his natural spark for organising his studies and probably wouldn’t have passed without the many grinds he’d given her. Since the end of college they’d slipped out of contact but over the course of lunch it became apparent that she was still friendly with many other old class-mates and, what’s more, was already a senior manager at her firm.
He wondered aloud to her what it was that she was doing (and, he thought to himself, that he wasn’t) that had propelled her so quickly through her career and kept her social life on such an even keel? She seemed surprised that he should ask, for it was exactly what she’d learned from him back in college – set your goals and keep them firmly in your sights.
He went back to work with that advise in his mind. Now, six months later, he manages his department, making sure he gets things done but not forgetting what it is he’s working towards. He arrives at work and leaves at the same time as everyone else and has plenty of time with his wife – where he’s now working towards the vision he has for his life, his home and his family. He’s a popular boss at work and everyday he tries to instill in his team the sense of the bigger picture that got him where he is today.