Knocking on the door of 2019

 

Well, we’ve reached the doorstep, all that remains is for us to begin knocking on the door of 2019.

How we actually undertake the annual task of seeing in the New Year is one for each of us to do in our own desired way. Knocking on the door of 2019 is, of course, a personal matter.

But however you decide to go about knocking on the door of 2019, let me wish you all the best, for today, tomorrow and each day of 2019.

Enjoy!

Brian.

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, Coach, Trainer and Author, supplies professional and personal development to a portfolio of corporate and individual clients.

As an Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian taught a postgraduate course, using four characters taken from dramatic texts as coaching clients, to examine various work-related performance matters.

Brian’s goal is to support through coaching, training and writing all who wish to live their potential, in education, work or life in general.

You can contact Brian via e-mail (brian@bgdtcoaching.com), by clicking on the icons or leaving a comment below.

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Do we want to wait?

With the traditional summer holiday period in full swing in the northern hemisphere, perhaps we have time to ponder the question ‘Do we want to wait?’

It might be the inquiry itself is linked to a particular event or activity requiring some time before it commences. Alternatively, we could be considering a new venture and need to be clear about when we should begin.

Asking ourselves ‘Do we want to wait?’, puts us on the spot. In all likelihood, we know the response in our heart yet may have shied away from it. The timing for certain specific matters is determined by factors beyond our control – Bank Holidays, annual festivities, for example, occur regardless of our priorities.

However, when responsibility for something is ours to carry, there should be an assessment of the likely success or otherwise of holding back from initiating actions or events. Our interests deserve attention. ‘Do we want to wait?’ thus transforms into ‘What are the costs and the gains associated with waiting?’

Clarifying these details is a crucial part of being in a position to answer with conviction the inquiry ‘Do we want to wait?’ And once we have decided our strategy we are in the position to move swiftly or enjoy a moment of leisure if we have given a resounding ‘Yes’ to the query ‘Do we want to wait?’

Brian.

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, Coach, Trainer and Author, supplies professional and personal development to a portfolio of corporate and individual clients.

As an Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian teaches a postgraduate course, using four characters taken from dramatic texts as coaching clients, to examine various work-related performance matters.

Brian’s goal is to support through coaching, training and writing all who wish to live their potential, in education, work or life in general.

You can contact Brian via e-mail (brian@bgdtcoaching.com), by clicking on the icons or leaving a comment below.

Viewing the future in the present

Without indulging in the theoretical question of time being relative and so forth, it could be interesting to spend a few moments pondering the value of viewing the future in the present.

Many people set aside a period of time on a Sunday to prepare the coming week. Goals are assessed, strategies clarified and the agenda reviewed to ensure at least part of the week is going to be dedicated to our core objective – be it as a minor or major step based on the time likely to be available to us.

Within this process of viewing the future in the present, certain items may need to be given a greater or lesser priority to accommodate pressing issues, ideally without overlooking our professional and personal interests.

Viewing the future in the present in this manner is a way to anticipate challenges and schedule in periods of the week to handle them should they arise. Building flexibility into our timetable also reduces stress in the event we are obliged to modify our programme to deal with the unexpected.

Once the week is structured, it can be good to give ourselves time daily, possibly before getting out of bed, to mentally run through the tasks of the day. By viewing the future in the present in this way, we have the chance to rehearse and tweak, if required, our actions with a winning mindset.

To share your input on the issue of viewing the future in the present, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below.

Brian.

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, Coach, Trainer and Author, supplies professional and personal development to a portfolio of corporate and individual clients.

As an Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian teaches a postgraduate course, using four characters taken from dramatic texts as coaching clients, to examine various work-related performance matters.

Brian’s goal is to support through coaching, training and writing all who wish to live their potential, in education, work or life in general.

You can contact Brian via e-mail (brian@bgdtcoaching.com), by clicking on the icons or leaving a comment below.

How can we increase our effectiveness?

 

Although giving our best is surely a hallmark of who we are, answering the question ‘How can we increase our effectiveness?’ might produce some interesting insights.

Whether managing better priorities at work, maximising free time, or keeping goals in mind as we undertake our daily routine, something more may be done.

How can we increase our effectiveness? Pondering this, we open ourselves to the idea of harnessing our resources of time, energy, and mental capacity. Taking responsibility for these elements is itself a positive approach to life.

And, if for any reason we have neglected this in the past, it now becomes a valid response to the inquiry ‘How can we increase our effectiveness?’

To share your input on the issue of ‘How can we increase our effectiveness?’, please leave a comment below.

Brian.

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, Coach, Trainer and Author, supplies professional and personal development to a portfolio of corporate and individual clients.

As an Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian teaches a postgraduate course, using four characters taken from dramatic texts as coaching clients, to examine various work-related performance matters.

Brian’s goal is to support through coaching, training and writing all who wish to live their potential, in education, work or life in general.

You can contact Brian via e-mail (brian@bgdtcoaching.com), by clicking on the icons or leaving a comment below.

What will you do differently this time around?

The goals are set, plans are in place and intentions are good. Yet we can imagine this was the case last year too. So, what will you do differently this time around?

Is extra effort going to be given to ‘completing more’ instead of ‘starting lots’?

Perhaps attention is now on our strategic long-term objective rather than concentrating on tactical day-to-day actions.

Pondering the question ‘What will you do differently this time around?’ might be, in itself, a major shift in our mindset. Linking action to priorities will additionally add value to later efforts.

If past goals were regularly achieved then there may be no reason to do anything differently this time around. “What will you do differently this time around?” “Nothing at all.”

Changing for the sake of changing seems a waste of time and energy. That said, to take into account new input, modified circumstances and an enhanced vision of how we wish to live our potential this year, tweaking and adjusting could be called for.

Being clear about our strengths and weaknesses gives us a base to work from over the coming months. For now, it is enough to listen to your answer as you go about answering the inquiry ‘What will you do differently this time around?’

Kindest regards.

Brian.

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, Coach, Trainer and Author, supplies professional and personal development to a portfolio of corporate and individual clients.

As an Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian teaches a postgraduate course, using four characters taken from dramatic texts as coaching clients, to examine various work-related performance matters.

Brian’s goal is to support through coaching, training and writing all who wish to reach their full potential, in education, work or life in general.

You can contact Brian via e-mail (brian@bgdtcoaching.com), by clicking on the icons or leaving a comment below.

A new day

No matter how yesterday went, today is a new day. It offers twenty-four hours to make amends, push forward towards desired goals, enjoy the moment as it is, or a combination of these options, and more besides.

A new day provides the opportunity for us to indulge in the making of decisions concerning how we live it. Asking ourselves the question “How would we really like to embrace this new day?” could produce a host of ideas. Listening to our heart might offer even more input.

Our actual usage of the new day will be individual as we all are. Just as no two people are alike, a new day lived according to your personal wants, needs or design will differ from that experienced by another person. Intentions put into action add to the outcome of how the day is lived.

Yet when folk say they have no time for personal and/or professional development over the course of a new day, what do they mean? Are they suggesting they are too busy with the routine of life to squeeze an activity – one with the potential to enhance their existence – into the day?

Maybe they are engaged with an overarching endeavour right now. If so, then yes, stepping back from taking on additional commitments is probably wise.

However, in many instances they are possibly indicating they prefer to give priority to other things as part of a new day. Such a decision is theirs, rightly so, to make. We all get to choose whether, and in many instances how, to live or not our potential day after day.

For now, let me just thank you for reading this post at the start, middle or end of a new day.

Brian.

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About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, CTI-trained co-active coach and freelance trainer, supplies professional and personal development through coaching, coaching workshops, marketing development training and English language training.

As an adjunct professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian teaches a postgraduate course based on dramatic texts and elements of coaching to examine various work-related performance matters.

Publications

Performance skills at work (2015), Personal performance potential at work (2014), Coaching, performing and thinking at work (2013), Reflections on performance at work (2012), Elements of theatre at work (2010) and Training through drama for work (2009).

 

Reflections

Expressing Priorities

I love the simplicity and directness of the Gandhi quotation “action expresses priorities.”

We can talk about what we want to do, we can even list the items and ponder them for ages. Yet nothing gets done until we do it. If asked, we could state what our priorities are for today. Could we however claim to have undertaken those of yesterday, or the day before? Hopefully yes.

Keeping priorities in mind helps focus attention on our objectives. Yet fighting the temptation to open e-mails as soon as they arrive, ignore a ringing telephone or leave interesting but not important requests from colleagues until a more appropriate time takes discipline and will-power.

Saying no to certain matters may seem like hard work. An alternative strategy is to deal with things as they crop up, swimming our way through the sea of urgent demands on our time by those around us. If we opt for this strategy, however, we can’t complain when we reach the end of the day and discover we haven’t achieved everything we had intended to do. The choice is ours, as always.

Breaking the day down into blocks of time and allocating certain moments for specific items or actions might be a step forward for some in the ‘battle’ to maximize our time. Likewise, remembering the purpose of our priorities could provide the determination to complete our chosen tasks, as, when and how we decide.

Time management, or time leadership as it is known in certain circles, involves many ideas, tips, suggestions and hints. If you have any particular methods you’d like to share here, or indeed any thoughts concerning this subject, I’d love to hear from you.

Happy implementation of your objectives!

Brian
http://www.bgdtcoaching.com