When Will The Intensity Change?

If you're currently juggling elephants and say that your circus is out of control, draw the 3 rings, label them "work," "self," and "relationships" and reflect on the level of intensity in each ring. Then ask yourself this question: When will the level of intensity in this ring (or these rings) change? If you don't have a clear answer, then some major work or life adjustments are probably needed.

If you are like most people, however, you may just be overwhelmed in the moment and need to take a more objective view of your circus. Once you see where things will be less intense in one ring, start brainstorming ways you can use those available resources to increase the quality of your performance in another ring. Remember, the circus, at any given moment, looks unbalanced. Over a period of time, however, balance across all 3 rings does happen. And you can make it happen too-you're the ringmaster of your circus!

An Intermission From Facebook

A recent Pew Internet study found that 61% of Facebook users have taken a voluntary multi-week break from the site. Some of the key reasons they gave include:

•  Too busy/Didn't have time for it
• Just wasn't interested/Didn't like it
• Waste of time/Not relevant content
• Too much drama/gossip/conflict

You can read the full report by clicking here.

While their responses were specific to the social media site, they could probably be transposed to other areas of our life. There are times we tend to lose the passion that fuels our efforts at work. Who hasn't needed a break from the hectic world of parenting? We simply find ourself juggling so many elephants and are in need of a time to rest, replenish our motivation, and determine where our time and energy best needs to be focused.

From what part of your work or life do you need a brief intermission?

Sleeping Your Way To Success

Hopefully none of you got the wrong idea about that title. Sleep is one of the daily requirements most all of us try to cheat. We use caffeine, exercise, cold showers, sugar, slaps to the face, or any number of things to avoid the real issue-we just aren't getting enough sleep or the right type of sleep.

As the ringmaster of a circus you would never want to get caught napping when you were supposed to be leading an act into a ring or making sure the line up was going well. Even a sluggish response would be frowned upon by the audience and your fellow performers.

Daily Infographic has a fantastic resource to better understand the value of sleep and what happens when we don't get enough of it. You can see it by clicking here.

In the meantime, maybe it is time to start thinking in terms of how you can sleep your way to the top!

Moving Your Circus More Efficiently

One of the amazing aspects of the circus is how it can pack up, move to a new location and then reset to perform at a new location so quickly and efficiently. Why? Repetition of action is probably the most obvious reason, but a close second is that everything has its place. Each rail car, storage box and canvas bag has designated contents and a designated location.

Why not try that same tactic to improve your efficiency to stop those juggling elephants moments of not being able to find something? Some items and ideas might include:

• Keys
• Phone when not in use and charging
• Chargers for all electronic devices
• Planner/Tablet
• Bills/Checkbook
• Put instructions for devices you don't frequently use as close to the device as possible

Most importantly, if others will be using the item, communicate the "home" location for this item and make it mandatory that the item be returned to this location. If someone doesn't return it to the designated location, take the time to work through the value of having the item in its proper place. And celebrate success when people make the effort to put things back in their place.

Six Ways To Recognize You Are Juggling Elephants

Unfortunately, most of us don't say, "Wow, I am juggling elephants" until after we have already made some physical, mental or financial mistake. But what if you recognized the early symptoms of the "juggling elephants routine" before they led you astray? Here are some subtle indicators you might need to take an intermission-or at least be more discerning about the additional elephants you try to juggle:

• You haven't taken a moment today to reflect on what you HAVE gotten done
• You hesitate to open emails from certain individuals because you are afraid that a new assignment or task lurks in the words
• You look ahead 30 days and can not see a time when the intensity of your work ring will diminish
• Time at home is not enjoyable because you can't stop thinking about work-or something you are neglecting related to your own personal needs
• You begin reasoning that working hard won't make a difference because you will still have an overwhelming number of tasks awaiting you tomorrow
• Excuses about not meeting deadlines are becoming more frequent

While this list is general, developing one specific to your situation is critical if you don't want to be squashed by the elephants you ignored a few days, weeks or months ago.