What About You?

Your spouse, children, boss, co-workers, direct reports, customers, vendors, in-laws, parents, siblings, neighbors,  community, church, charities…the list goes on and on of the people, organizations and outside things that are calling out for your time.  But what about you? 

It is important to look outside of yourself and be available for the groups listed above but how can you be available if you are not available.  What if you are sick, have no energy, are mentally exhausted and are constantly distracted that you can’t help others let alone yourself?

Consider right now what you can do to better take care of yourself.  Not just that one time spa trip that you know would make a difference but something ongoing and long term that will enable you to do something that you enjoy, improve your health and cause you to be refreshed. 

Block your activity regularly in your calendar and in your budget.  If the spa day is what you are in need of, schedule and budget to do it regularly.  Exercise regularly.  Take up a hobby.  Go golfing a couple of times each week.  Eat better.  Connect socially with your friends and family.  But, remember that you have to make time for it.  Protect that time.    It is your “me” time.

If you don’t actively plan to take time out for yourself, it will be either hit and miss (mostly miss) or it won’t happen at all. It is not being selfish (unless it turns to excess).  It is making sure that you are mentally and physically available to accomplish those other things that are also important.

Your Plan For Your Intermission

You've finally heeded our frequent directives about the need to step back from your lineup and take a more objective look at your circus. You're enjoying the moment of solitude and chance to reflect on what you ARE getting done. Before you jump back in to tackle those elephants, do these 3 things:

• Schedule your next intermission. If it's of value, plan for it. Give yourself something to look forward to.
• Acknowledge your limits and the need to perpetually prioritize. Any moment spent engaging in just a good task is pushing aside the opportunity to engage in the best task for the moment.
• Resolve to do one thing different in your "next half." Don't leave this time without the chance to initiate a new routine, attitude or behavior that can help you better handle those elephants.

Now get back to work-the elephants are already headed your way!

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!