Productivity with Purpose
Posts tagged relationships
Create Your Own Network
Jul 29th
Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want or what you need! Chances are good that you will get it and you might just help someone else out in the process.
My quick story: My regular readers know that my husband is deployed to the Middle East; that’s just background information. Last week I received an email from our local family services coordinator at the base that went out to all of the spouses/partners of the deployed service members. It’s great that we have communication from the base, but what was lacking was a community of support for the wives. No support network existed, so I suggested to the base that we start one, offered my assistance and they agreed. Now we have our own network; a private Facebook group where we can share thoughts, concerns and ask for help from one another. We are growing quickly and are slowly developing a broader reach and a valuable connection. Who knows what may come of this; parenting help, career assistance, sharing of skills, mentoring and of course friendship.
Another result of this project was that I decided that more sharing of information and support was needed by military spouses as a whole and knew that I could fill that need. So, out of this experience came not only a new support network, but a new website – GuardWife.com – and a book on deployment from the family’s perspective is in progress.
Lessons learned:
- Speak up and ask for what you want!
- Chances are good that someone else needs the same resource that you are looking for.
- If the network doesn’t exist; create it yourself.
- If you find a need out there that is not being met; FILL IT!
You may be able to make money from your innovations and ideas or maybe not. You never know where they will lead you. The important thing is that your need will be filled and you will most likely have added to your network and helped others along the way.
If you want to read more on stepping outside your comfort zone, read Key Questions: What Are Your Limitations?
Absolute Minimums are a Must to Improve Productivity
Jul 23rd
If you consistently accomplish your absolute minimum in each of your critical core concentration areas each day you will make significant progress toward you goals over time.
Remember, slow and steady wins the race. You can always do more than the minimum and I hope you will, but even small amounts of advancement add up. Too often we get caught up in the mental trap of believing that if we can’t commit a substantial amount of time and energy then we might as well not bother to take action at all. That is a myth.
Take a look at what you have identified as your current critical areas of focus and determine what your absolute minimums are.
What is the least amount of time, effort or action you need to take to see progress?
Each person will have different answers and only you as an individual can reasonably define what they are. It is also helpful to note which focus area they address. To get you started, here is an example based on my current focus list, of the absolute minimums that I must do with consistency; both to achieve progress towards my goals and also to feel satisfied with my life and work:
- Exercise a minimum of 20 minutes daily – physical health
- Write one hour – career
- Email my husband daily summary & encouragement – family
- Work a minimum of 6 hours each day during the summer – career
- Social media (10 Twitter posts and 1 Facebook post daily, update LinkedIn status weekly) – career
- Connect with at least one child each day (one on one time, phone call or email/text communication) – family
- Take 30 minutes of alone time (crucial to my sanity) – mental health
- Check in with my Facebook community (especially group for spouses of deployed military members) – friends
Your list may be very different and it should be since your life situation is dissimilar to mine. This list will then become a structure for new habits you want to implement. The amount and complexity is up to you, but remember to keep it reasonable or you won’t be able to maintain your momentum.
Productivity is a Valuable Tool in Every Area
Jun 4th
Productivity comes in many forms and manifests itself differently depending on your work, life or focus. It really is just a matter of getting results or accomplishing a goal or task that brings you closer to a desired, meaningful outcome. That may be a new or better job, higher revenue or income, enhanced relationships, improved health or simply a more organized or efficient home of life with less stress. The skill or strategy of being productive is highly transferrable to every aspect of your life and is unquestionably worth the investment of your time and resources to cultivate as often as possible.
Whatever your goal; true personal productivity involves:
- Having a clear outcome
- Defining your purpose
- Timeframe for either completion or progress
- Method of accountability
- Outlined steps or tasks required
- Reward yourself if possible
Let me share with you a simple example from my own personal life to illustrate the concept in very basic terms. My son and I recently began a practice of reading together before school. We both love to read and used to read together at bedtime, but that just doesn’t happen anymore – he prefers to read by himself quietly before bed and my evenings are just so busy much of the time. At any rate, I decided to take my own advice and look at this personal issue from a productivity standpoint – what would I advise someone else to do?
- Outcome – Read The Mysterious Benedict Society with my 11 year old son
- Purpose – Spend quality one-on-one time with my child doing something we enjoy
- Timeframe – One month
- Accountability – Son as partner – he waits for me in our reading place and reminds me
- Steps/tasks – Read for 15 minutes each school morning while waiting for bus
- Reward – Breakfast in the park & a new book for next month
In this case since I was working with a partner, so commitment on both our parts was necessary to make this work. There were obstacles of course – days I had to leave home early or when one of us was ill – but even then we would treat this as a firm commitment and work around those roadblocks by rescheduling for afterschool or a “make-up” session on the weekend.(Yes, I added these sessions to my calendar!)
Simple, easy and remarkably effective!
What project or goal can you apply this too?
