1. Hard not easy — We have a tendency to drift towards the easiest thing. Lead with the hard activities as you know you will find or make the time for the rest.
2. Be the strength. Know the cracks that trip us up but lead with your strengths. The things we are good at (and tend to enjoy). They can guide us through.
3. Find a cause. Be clear on what fuels your passion. Whether an opinion, north star or compass that guides you. This will ground you when the pressure is on.
4. Seek the change. Be clear of the change you are seeking to have. Your decisions will be richer and clearer.
5. Activities not time. Activity watching not time watching will allow you to gain and get better. Be clear on the activities rather than the rush to the end of the day. Activities add up to outcomes and balance elsewhere.
6. Progress as it is. Progress to each of us means different things. Gain a less stressful balance by being clear on what progress means to you. Not what you think it should be or what you believe others may think.
7. Action with no action. Concurrent activity can be effective when you can have more than one thing going on at a time. However if you are trying to do lots of things or start lots of things. You can in fact end up doing nothing. Create balance with limiting the number of actions you are taking.
8. Enough not closed off. Do what allows things to progress and others to input for you to iterate. Things are never closed off as there is always room for better and or different. Be ready to be better by shipping when enough.
9. Contentment is the new success. Be clear on what success means to you. Following a dream doesn’t mean it supports your strengths or allows you to manage your stress levels effectively. Managing your contentment connects you with what matters, your priorities and needs. Make time to connect with contentment.
10. Patience is the best lever. Patience when it serves you to allow things to progress step by step is a lever that builds a solid foundation. Patience is only lazy when you allow it to be an excuse for not doing.
11. Checker board your actions. We all have things that are heavier on our brains and bodies than others. When we mix them up in our diary we seem to be able to concentrate and focus for longer.
12. One not many. Deliver one thing great and be known and deliver to that. Learning and better will become more focused too.
13. Know where to start. Starting is the most critical point. So rather than procrastinate over where that starting point should be. Start with what ever is at the front of you mind. The momentum will begin. You can then come back and find where the true starting point should be.
14. Time cubes for stopping. Constraints are a gift. Time constraints mean we have to cut everything out of our mind and focus. Time cubes help them to keep you on the job in hand get it finished. Half the time you think you need and see what happens.
15. Share the load. Balance the workload by sharing out what you don’t ‘need’ to do. You help others develop and create more balance in your life.
16. Keep changing location. When we move location our brains see things differently. In so doing it can change our perspective and our thought processes. Balance comes to our decisions and our choice to do the best thing.
17. Silence with music. Music can take away the other background noise. Music that you play day in day out becomes a silence wall. Create your list. Play and allow productivity to begin as you stay focused behind your wall.
18. Test and adjust. Nothing is full proof. Constantly test and adjust so you see and feel you have the right balance whether life and work, choices at work and the activities you do to maintain your health
19. Limitations. What are the limits that I am going to have so I can balance with what I should or shouldn’t be doing? These are gold for focus. Knowing the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ piles just get a whole lot easier. And you know what that means.
20. Boundaries. Give yourself and your teams the boundaries to work in so they have the freedom to be creative and use their strengths for what they have been hired for. Boundaries create the right balance of knowing the space to work in yet not too much that its just overwhelming.
21. Tools, techniques and systems. What are the things that you can use that give you the edge? Identify the smallest number of tools, techniques and processes that you can use. Work out when and how to use them. This creates your systems for peak performance. Learn and tweak.
22. Time of day. When is your best time of day to focus? Communicate this. Establish a routine that allows you to have deep work and deliver.
23. Presence. We have different roles throughout our day. Nudge yourself to check which role you are in, in that moment of time, and be sure you are as present as you can be in that role.
24. Exposure v comfort zone. Keep the best balance. We gain the most when we are between exposure and comfort zone. Give yourself permission to always be working in that space.
25. Start at the end and work back wards. Knowing what will be happening when you reach your destination can make it feel more possible. Balance comes from then walking back to where you are today and consider what each step you can take to get there.
Image by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash
Originally published at https://www.lizzierhodesjames.co.uk on February 26, 2021.
