When you are leading a business, it is easy to join the ranks of the overwhelmed. You start the day with good intentions to grow the business and attend to your personal obligations, but at day's end, you may find you have accomplished very little. Growing up, I always remember my father telling me to work smarter, not harder. I am consistently trying to find ways to streamline my days in order to work smarter and not harder. To stop becoming overwhelmed, first congratulate yourself on your achievements. Then forgive yourself for what you haven't finished. Balance comes from not letting the magnitude of the work get the best of you. To achieve success, planning is the ultimate tool for increasing productivity and reducing stress. Move forward positively by working smart with these steps:
1. Remember happiness is your end game. Of all the people I've met, the happiest are those who have treated their lives and businesses like a journey of discovery. Instead of stopping when you become frustrated, simply decide on the best action you can take, and take it. Your willingness to deal with all obstacles, no matter what, gives you the confidence and strength you need to achieve success.
2. Create specific short-term goals. So much changes so quickly in today's world that your long-term goals will have to be modified as you learn what works and what doesn't. Break your larger goals into realistic short-term goals. If you want to get a book published, for instance, start by writing articles on your area of expertise.
3. Develop a nightly to-do list. Keep yourself on track by breaking short-term goals into realistic steps you can take immediately. In a to-do notebook, focus your intentions by writing down the tasks you want to achieve the next day. Don't set yourself up for failure by putting too many items on your list. Break major tasks into even smaller components that are easy to accomplish. I don’t know about you, but nothing satisfies me more than when I can check off items on my to-do list. As you take action, your frequent successes will motivate you to push forward.
4. Evaluate and learn from your actions. At the end of the day, congratulate yourself for what you've accomplished, and let go of what you have not. Review what you have learned, and decide on the next best action to take to reach your short-term goals. Develop a new to-do list every night by transferring your unfinished items and prioritizing the new list.
5. Realize you don't have to do this alone. As you grow the business, many tasks become routine and can be accomplished by someone else. Develop a list of these tasks, and delegate them. When you mentor and train your staff to help carry the responsibilities of the business, you will be amazed at what they can do.
Working smarter and not harder is part of the intimate dance of balancing work and personal life. That work-life balance is the ever elusive search for that middle ground where we will be pleasantly busy and challenged and yet able to enjoy life as it comes. It is a constant work in progress and I find that there is not just one way of achieving it. What three things can you do in order to achieve more balance for the next 30 days?
About the Author:As Senior Vice President of a national “Top 500 Company” ~Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, Founder and CEO of a leading professional development organization, and an owner of a thriving franchise business, Christina Parker firmly believes that the key to success in business and in life is the conscious development of, and investment in others. She calls this the “Good, Better, Best” approach to leadership. She has made it her mission to equip individuals and organizations with the tools needed to move well beyond “good,” or “better,” and to experience the fulfillment and rewards that come with being the “BEST!” She is a member of Vistage (CEO Leadership group), and the National Speakers Association, founder of http://www.theleadershipmovement.com , founder of http://www.fhfproject.com and a certified franchise executive. You can contact her at http://www.christinaparker.org.
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