Enjoy the Journey

It is easy to focus on the destination and not pay attention to the journey. In fact, the journey can be perceived as a drudgery. Have you ever thought something like, "I can't wait until the kids get older." or "When I get promoted to management, things will be easier." When I get a new car, when I get a bigger house, when I have more money, when I finish school, when I accomplish this goal...pretty soon, we have wished our life away. Why not be satisfied with the here and now and enjoy the ride?

"Are we there yet?", "Are we there yet?", "Are we there yet?"... the four words that every adult is very familiar with if they have ever taken children on a long drive. As a kid, my family would take vacations that usually required a fair amount of time packed into our Buick. My Father did a lot of driving for his work and as a result he was aware of some of the best places to eat, visit, take a rest, etc. He seemed to know just the right time to make a stop, get a snack or engage us in an activity. He would even pack us individualized "treasure sacks" that had things to entertain us on the trip. He made the journey, not just the destination, fun and enjoyable.

What can you do to enjoy the journey? Maybe it is not all about the dinner but enjoying the time with others as you prepare the meal together. If you are working on a big project at work, take time to celebrate the milestones throughout the process. If you have a small child, enjoy the time rocking them to sleep or telling them stories because before you know it, they won't want you to read them a story and/or they will be off to college. Every day, multiple times each day, say to yourself, "Enjoy the journey.", "Enjoy the journey.", "Enjoy the journey."

Time To Go Home

You look at the clock and realize that you should have left work 20 minutes ago. "Where has this day gone?", you say out loud to yourself. You quickly pile everything into a stack , throw some stuff into your bag and rush out the door. On the drive home and throughout the evening you think about what you have left undone and what you are going to do tomorrow. If the above description is a typical "end of your day routine", consider an alternative strategy.

Set an alarm to ring 15 minutes before it is time to go home. When the alarm goes off, STOP! Quickly finish what you are doing and E.N.D. your day:

1. Evaluate: Consider what went right and what went wrong with your day. Review your meetings and the tasks you accomplished. What was successful and is worth repeating tomorrow? What wasn't so successful and can be improved upon? Make some notes. Schedule some tasks. Self reflection and learning is a powerful and lifelong tool. Too often we rush and fail to learn from our successes and failures.


2. Neatness: Organize and/or clean off your desk/work area. File the papers that you were working on. Put away and organize your clutter. When you return to work in the morning and find your work area clean, you get a good start on your day and hit the ground running.


3. Diagram: Diagram and plan what you are going to do tomorrow. First, review your calendar. What meetings do you have? How much time will you have to work on other tasks/projects. Based on the amount of time available, what will you get done? Make a list. Prioritize it. Delegate, Delete and Delay what isn't going to fit in tomorrow's schedule. Leave some time for interruptions and emergencies.

15 minutes have past and you can go home with peace of mind - not to mention that you are leaving "on time". As you turn the lights off, mentally signal to yourself that you have earned the right to step out of your "work ring" and now it is time to step into your "self ring" and/or "relationship ring".

Go Scoop Some Poop!!!

Ever had one of those days when you wish all you had to do was scoop the poop of the elephants from the circus? Think about the virtues of the job. Very little need for mental engagement (no disrespect to those who do the job) and you never take your work home with you (well, maybe some on your boots or your work clothes.) No mental stress, no long meetings... just you, a shovel, and the smell of poop.

I have days where I would love to be a pooper scooper. I need the mental release and the physical activity. Since I don't have a circus close by I normally chop wood, pick up sticks in the yard, rake leaves, work in the garden or flower bed or any number of other things. If I am in the office I might stand up and rearrange the books in my bookcase or just take a quick walk. The requirement is that the activity can not require a large amount of mental focus. What I am actually doing in those moments is taking a "mental intermission." Today's knowledge workers need these types of intermissions more than ever. Failure to have some "poop scooping" moments just adds to the stress overload.

What's on your "poop scooping" list that helps you recharge your mental energy?

The Show Must Go On

A new year begins. Time to once again put together "the greatest show on earth," or in other words, create a work environment and personal life that gets a standing ovation from everyone-including yourself.

You will have set backs and times when you are overwhelmed. You will be faced with failure and challenges this year. It is during these times that you will be tempted to "check out," "go with the flow" or give up on your dream. But don't!

It is the daily planning, the art of pushing yourself and continual execution that will make you successful this year. Call it the routine of success. Your circus is only as good as your next performance-so get dressed, it is time to make 2011 a year to remember!

Slow Down

Sometimes to be more effective and productive you have to slow down. "Experts" recommend strategies like multitasking and systems that will allow you to do more stuff in a day. Yes, there are ideas that when implemented will make you more effective and efficient (we train on them all the time) but the notion of slowing down might be one that will help you the most.

Consider some of the benefits of slowing down:

• Your thoughts and ideas are more deliberate and you are less scattered


• You make fewer mistakes


• You are present in the moment rather than doing one thing and thinking about 5 other things that you need to do next (multi-tasking is bad)


• With your slower pace you are more strategic with what you are working on because you have to say "no" to the trivial and less important


• By slowing down you will be less apt to burnout and ruining your health

Sure you might not get as much done in the day. But by slowing down, the quality of what you do accomplish will increase, you will feel better physically and mentally and you might even find some time to stop and smell the roses.