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.

The Value of Treating Your Performers Fairly

USA Today had a recent article that highlighted a study about the effects of a manager treating their employees fairly. The findings? The practice boosted the financial bottom line of the organization.

In our training programs on Juggling Elephants, we consistently emphasize the need to build trust with those who you are depending on to help you get things done. When people know they will be treated with the same respect as others in the organization, they tend to give a stronger effort toward accomplishing the goals of the organization.

Using a circus analogy, if you are the leader of the trapeze act, don't make the mistake of treating one performer differently than another. The person doing the flips may get the "ooohs" and "aaaahhhs," but if the person putting up the net feels underappreciated.... well, let's just say the act could be in trouble.

Who Will Save You?

Here's a question for you that we already know your answer. Don't believe us? Here goes...

In a trapeze act, who is the most important member of the team?

We would be willing to wager that you thought of one of the following answers:

• The catcher
• The person who puts up the net or rigging

How did we do? For over 6 years we have been doing Juggling Elephants training programs, and those are always the top two answers. Why? Because on some level you are putting yourself into the act and thinking-"This is who is important to me to keep me from failing!"

What if you applied that same reasoning to how you manage your time with others on a regular basis. Are you spending it with the people who have the strongest possibility of insuring that your acts are a success, or are you hanging out with certain team members because it is convenient or less threatening?

Always trying to hang out with the "star" of the show might get you in the spotlight for a moment, but unless you are absolutely positive you can perform the act on your own, you might want to build some strong relationships with those lesser known by the general audience.

How Would You Like Your Elephants?

In recent weeks there has been much debate about an article entitled, "Why Women Still Can't Have It All." One interesting blog post at the WSJ looks at the article a little differently.

Basically, they suggest that the choice is having it all or having enough, which in Juggling Elephants terms means, do you want the elephants super-sized or regular size? Regardless of ambition, goals or purpose, everyone has elephants-those tasks, issues, goals or even dreams that weigh on you physically, mentally, emotionally or physically. And they will keep coming throughout your life in both work and your personal endeavors.

We do have to decide how big of an elephant we are willing to try and juggle-and what the consequences are of juggling one elephant over another.

To Be Happy Be In The Right Ring-Right Now!

A study undertaken by two Harvard researchers found that 47% of the time, people are thinking about something else other than what they are doing-and that this wandering of the mind makes them unhappy. That's probably not news to you with all the distractions that infiltrate every moment of our day, but the source of the biggest distraction might surprise you-it's our emotions.

Frustration about something that happened yesterday with a co-worker or family member or simply worrying about the task in front of you was found to be the most significant reason for this wandering of the mind.

The "aha" for all of us should be that if we feel the emotional drain pulling at us, we should find the source, and when the opportunity is created to address it, we should do everything possible to work through it. Failing to do so is like trying to be in two rings of your circus at once-and we know that doesn't create stellar results in either one.

You can read more about the study discussed in the USA Today by clicking here.