Hi, Hope you’ve all had a lovely weekend & taken some time out for yourselves.
Mine was an interesting weekend. So many changes, so many things to think about so I spent a fair amount of my weekend reflecting & making new plans.
In every challenge or issue, there is an opportunity & I have been having fun working through what new things are now available for me.
I’ve had lots of feedback from people that they’ve been impressed with how I have handled the cancellation of my 50th birthday party & wedding for this week. Truth is, it’s not been easy & I’ve been quite selfish really. Being a victim or wallowing in self-pity would have completely ruined my weekend & I was really looking forward to a lovely weekend so I chose to change my own attitude & enjoy the weekend. (PS: There’s a great book called FISH that talks a lot about this if you’re interested? – https://www.fishphilosophy.com/fish-philosophy-story/)
I am grateful though for the support & kind feedback from everyone – I truly appreciate it
As promised, here are the next 3 tips of my 13 tips for surviving & thriving through multiple lockdowns.
5. Use the time wisely
You could see that this is a time of doom & gloom & being forced to not be in the office.
Or you could see it as a time to make time for things that you might not normally make time for. (Wow, that’s a lot of time in that sentence!)
Now I appreciate that not all Business Owners / Leaders can work from home without other distractions (such as kids & wives, husbands, partners etc) however given the unique circumstances, I think it’s ok to ask for ‘time out’ to spend reflecting, learning & equipping yourself for the future through planning & educating.
So, talk to your wife, husband or partner & see if you can work out a way to share the responsibilities that still give each of you some ‘alone’ time to do what is needed.
Reflecting & planning are key right now, so get yourself away to a quiet spot – preferably a place that you feel relaxed in but anywhere will do – could even be your car in your driveway! And use the time to work on the Important things that you never get a chance to you in your normal life.
As I type this, my fiancé, Steve is working on some artistic programming / creative coding. This makes his heart sing & it means that I don’t have to feel guilty about spending an hour writing these tips.
It doesn’t have to be huge chunks of time – but we have 12 days where if we just put aside an hour a day that would be 12 hours of working on the important stuff that we often don’t have the time too – without the distractions of the everyday office environment.
And please do try to make at least half an hour a day available for your own personal stuff – meditation, exercise, gratitude etc.
As a Business Owner / Leader, we need to be in the best mental & physical shape to lead our teams through this.
If you’re struggling to prioritise then try the Eisenhower matrix – it’s one of my favourite tools:
6. Look for opportunities
It’s extremely rare that an issue or a challenge does not offer an opportunity – often there are several opportunities.
Unfortunately when we are anxious or stressed we can’t always easily see these.
I would love to be able to give you a magic pill or silver bullet but I don’t think it’s that easy.
Personally, I find working with a coach or a mentor is a great way to remove the blinkers & think broader & more openly about opportunities.
It really becomes about resilience. This is something I have been working on for years & something I help my clients with too & I could literally talk for hours on this subject however here is a quick read that might help:
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/resilience.htm
7. Access free information online
There is a wealth of information online right now – more than there has ever been.
Some of it is free & a lot of it you will get for a fraction of the cost you would normally pay, which is awesome!
Before you start signing up to every course (& becoming a course junky who is so overwhelmed they are paralysed from information overload – speaking from experience of course!) take some time to do a mini gap analysis. Where are you strengths & weaknesses, where are the opportunities & therefore where are the gaps for you?
Once you know where your gaps are, then go out & look for content that will help you to fill these gaps.
BUYER BEWARE
A lot of people will be using this time to share free information to hook you into programmes & courses that you will pay for. Nothing wrong with this, just please use critical thinking to make your decisions on what is the right thing to do right now. And if in doubt, seek the advice of a professional, a friend or family member.
Ok, that’s my 3 tips for today – Please do come back & view the other tips over the next 2 days.
And if you would like to get ongoing tips around business & life then please subscribe to our newsletter here – https://www.businesstraction.com/
Finally, please don’t do this alone.
If you are struggling or you just want someone to be a sounding board for your ideas, opportunities or challenges then please book a free session with me – I have some free time over the next week now that I don’t have a birthday or wedding to plan https://calendly.com/debra-chantry/15min
Or visit www.bssv.org to get some free advice from one of our many professionals who have a wealth of experience in dealing with adversity.
