So what kind of resolutions have I been inclined to make? Well, these have tended to be the Quantum sort – Loose XX pounds/stone in weight and have a flat stomach by the June holiday, exercise regularly, meditate daily, re-read all my Text books, give up all alcohol and grow all my own vegetables. There is the range of business goals as well.
Mostly, if I attempt these in January they are fairly doomed to failure and in February are subject to my feeling already behind in the race, sinking rapidly under all the backlog and very much reliant on the weather (Oh well its cold so I won’t exercise/I will allow myself a drink to thaw myself out).....
What brought me out of this was a casual conversation with girlfriends about the merits of retaining that old piano and persevering with their daughters’ musical education. One friend even took up piano lessons to keep her child company. I commented that if I could have my time again, I would like to learn the cello. But I didn’t have the time and money to take up such a demanding hobby with small children and a full time job. This came back to haunt me when I was running a training session on goal setting. It occurred to me that here I was, some years after this discussion had taken place and still no nearer to playing a Cello.
I had just been talking to a group about the issue of decisions being QUANTUM LEAP versus 3 FEET TO THE RIGHT. I related the story of a particular MD who came on my course and during this same discussion commented that, as he had expanded the business he had moved into a glamorous office upstairs and had failed to move a filing cabinet, which had originally been outside his office door and which was still downstairs. He inevitably needed files from it 6 or 8 times a day. On returning to work he moved the files into his office! Nothing earth shattering, but significantly improving his productivity, his concentration levels and freeing up space in the office downstairs for more relevant files.
It occurred to me that although I could not manage to learn the cello in the accepted manner, I could have rented or borrowed an instrument, I could have had a half-hour lesson once a fortnight, instead of an hour a week and I would have become, with time an adequate player; instead of dreaming about it still, some 18 years later.
I now set QUANTUM because they are fun, thrilling and great to talk about (BHAG's ) and I also do some moving things 3 feet to the right because that improves flow, get’s me started, gives me some small but instant gratification to motivate me to push onwards and upwards.
DON’T DREAM THE DREAM, BE THE DREAM.
So, consider making or renewing your resolutions for 2011 now.
Consider that you can do QUANTUM (with my blessing!) or 3 FEET TO THE RIGHT (with my blessing!) Progress is progress.
Three quirky questions:
· Is your telephone on the right or left hand side of your desk? If you are right handed try it on the left (and vice versa) put the pen and note pad for note taking during in calls on the other side. Try it for a month.
· Are your appointments scattered around your working week, at the whim of your clients and if you colour coded your time according to client time, office time, marketing/networking, family/rest time; would this make it easier for you to: make good use of your time, be productive, plan ahead, manage commitments, feel less run ragged....
· Do you have to sit in your ‘office’, to do paperwork? Could you talk and talk, sit in the garden, or be somewhere that reduced distrations? I know that if I had gone to my local ‘coffee shop’ to write this blog, I would have avoided about a dozen conversations with builders, two sales calls and another dozen website distractions enjoyed the comfort of someone elses leather chair and of course, finished it sooner!
