As we enter a period of renewal and change, Your Clear Next Step is committed to helping our customers make their businesses and workdays even better. We will be here to walk beside you, to listen, to connect, and to aid in your search for clarity. In doing so, we are offering a free, daily Zoom call, called Daily Connections, at 1:15pm (CDT) every weekday from 3/19/2020-5/1/2020.
These calls are a chance for us to share tips and discussion about relevant topics (working remotely, maintaining consistency in uncertain times, building relationships across geography, staying motivated, staying connected, etc) and network with each other to provide help and support during this time of change.
Thank you to everyone who was able to join us today! The next call will be Wednesday, April 22nd at 1:15pm (CDT). Click here to join.
On today's call...
Sinikka talked about making a plan.
Picking up where we left off yesterday, let’s say we want to do something differently. We want to apply what we’ve learned from the last four weeks and make the next four even better. How do we do that?
I think we can take a few tips from Project Managers and begin to make a plan. While you are in midst of a project, there are three things you should always know.
- What are you doing, and why?
- Specifically, actionably, what is it that you want to do, and why do you think it’s important? Who else is impacted, and what would their thoughts be? Is it good for everyone?
- It’s important to have a firm grasp on these so that you can keep yourself motivate, but they also help you think about how others will be impacted by your actions.
- How are you going to make that change/do that thing/apply that lesson?
- Who can help? How much time do you need? Is there any cost involved? What kinds of tools or resources do you need, etc.?
- If you aren't naturally a planner, seek help from someone who is!
- What could prevent you from succeeding?
- What could stand in the way of making it better for the next 4 weeks? What could stand in the way of implementing the change?
- One by one, pull apart those challenges and think through how you might respond should they come true. Don’t use them as an excuse or reason not to execute.
- I just submitted one large project yesterday, and I’m ready to start the next one, so I appreciate this outline for thinking about what distractions and other things stand in my way. I’m excited about this next project, but I’m also excited about the next 3 projects after that. I think these three steps will be helpful in helping me sort through that.
- The word “planner” is part of my job. I’m really good at planning, but I’m not as great at #2, and I’m probably my own worst enemy when it comes to #3. I do really need to continue to plan, but also focus on the follow through.
- For the tasks that you find yourself putting off, try to focus on the “why.” It might make prioritizing them easier.
- One other thought about prioritization is that if you’ve got things on the list that continue to not get done, maybe check in with your leader about their importance and if they should remain on your list. I believe is something continue to get pushed to the bottom, sometimes that’s because it really isn't important anymore.
- I just found out today that I will be work from home until June 1st, so I've been thinking a lot today about how I'm going to change what I've been doing to make these next couple months better than the last. I’m not sure I have an answer yet.
- Unless I'm really pushed, I'm a procrastinator. The current environment has me feeling more relaxed with things, so I want to try and push myself a bit more to really try and get things done.
- If you’ve identified your “why” but feel stuck on the “how” try talking it through with someone else. I often feel like I need to sit down and come up with a plan all for myself, but that can be really difficult and sometimes a quick conversation with someone else will help me come up with a really effective plan.
- When you think about the things that could get in your way (#3), consider what you can do to make it easier to want to do this new thing. Any time we want to do something new, it comes with change, which many of us don’t enjoy. Consider your why to help you overcome any difficulty that can come with change.
