Getting Your Family's "Acts" Together

In today's Wall Street Journal there is an interesting article entitled The 7 Minute Sprint. The focus of the article is about hiring a family coach to help tame the tornado-like atmosphere in many homes. The article identifies several simple strategies families can use to create a more organized and pleasant home environment. The biggest tip-teamwork.

As we say in Juggling Elephants, Every performer must be fully engaged if the act is to be successful. That's true whether it's an organization, work team or family.

How could you work differently with the members of your family today to minimize the Juggling Elephants routine around your home?

Tips On Handling E Mail

One research firm has estimated that in approximately 5 years, 41% of an employee's time will be spent reading and responding to e mail. To me, that's scary!

In it's October 5 edition, USA Today had a great article entitled Fridays go from casual to e-mail-free. Marsha Egan, an executive coach gives some superb advice on taming that inbox. Among her suggestions:

• Don't use e mail to avoid unpleasant tasks. Talk to people face to face whenever possible.
• Don't constantly check for new messages.
• Respond to important messages first-even if they're difficult.

One of the most telling comments by Egan was that when you check e-mail, it can take up to 4 minutes to refocus. Multiply that by the number of times you check it per day, and you have wasted alot of time in your lineup that could have been used for a much better act-or even an intermission.

A Pause In The Performance

While listening to the news on TV this morning, a Public Service Announcement caught my attention. The narrator said:

When you take a moment to think, you give yourself the chance to make a better decision.

That is so true! As we say in Juggling Elephants, "The Ringmaster always reviews the next act before bringing it into the ring." Too often we make our task lists and then move quickly through them, rarely pausing to see if a better order or choice of acts might be needed.

Today, try something different. Before you start the next item on your list, ask yourself:
-Is this the most important task for me to undertake at this moment?
-Would a better act be in order?

That momentary pause might be the difference between getting a standing ovation today and just having another busy day.

Another Ringmaster Accepts Their Top Hat

Last week I was working with a statewide education group in Ohio. Prior to my training session, I was privileged to attend their annual awards session. One individual received several honors and I admired her commitment to the profession. "She really has her act together," I surmised.

Later that day I was surprised to see her arrive at my workshop. "What a pleasant surprise," I said. "Congratulations on your awards. What brings you here?" Her response was quite telling. "Oh I need to learn how to get other things done besides work." Bravo!

Another Ringmaster steps in the ring. She knew that while she had quality acts going on in her work ring, she needed to work on the acts in other areas of her life. I'm sure she will be getting standing ovations in those other areas soon.