The PMA Blog

There is no Q5!  I saw this headline on something this morning and I almost spit out my coffee.  It's obviously true but I know many people who keep waiting for that magical time.  You know the time that they finally jump on the work necessary to achieve their 2018 goals.  And the thought of this year quickly fading into the past will come as a real surprise and painful reality.  So, if this rings true, don't let the last 3 weeks slip away on you.  Here are 5 ways you can not only end 2018 on a high note, but also start 2019 with some amazing momentum:

It's not always easy for managers to know what their role is during changes.  Here are two big ones.

Focus on Results, Not Tasks

In order to change results, you have to focus on the right things. Thinking about your day as a bunch of to-do's will get you nowhere fast. Instead, drive your day by the objectives. What are the results you are trying to accomplish and is there a direct correlation to the way you are spending your time? If your tasks don't roll up to a specific objective, seriously question their value.  And if they do, prioritize and work the most important one first.  

This morning I didn't follow my own rules and here's what happened:

7:00 Start pc

7:01 Dive right into email

7:03 Open email with fun blog title for website company

7:05 Peruse their website

So the 1^st quarter is almost over and your motivation for the new year’s resolutions and healthy changes is wearing a little thin.  The stresses of winter and normalcy have crept back into your life.  Ok well that’s what’s happening to me anyway and I’m hoping I’m not the only one.

The vast majority of resolutions have gone by the wayside for everyone else, but not for us my friends!  It’s time to double down with a few strategies to re-energize and re-motivate:

I keep this quote on my office wall.

"When learning about life and people, make no more assumptions than are absolutely necessary.  Ask and observe."  William of Ockham, 1324

 Over the years it reminded me time and time again, that no matter how prepared I can be to teach a specific topic, the most important component of that training is unknown until the class begins:  the audience.  

It's too easy to forget this when trainers and facilitators have been teaching a topic for a long time or leaders have become expert in their presentation material.  Once we forget this simple rule, the lecture begins.  Or, we roll out the same tired questions, expecting the same answers and we are fully prepared to respond to them, even before the question is complete.  It is the stuff of deteriorating results in the classroom, and it can be deadly for our most seasoned trainers (myself included). 

So, here are three tactics for keeping it fresh and different every time, based on who's in the room.

I've seen a multitude of blogs and articles citing this statistic “the average duration of a New Year’s resolution is 19 days.”  The gist of most of these articles is that we should take the stat as a sign that resolutions are a waste of our time.  I disagree.  I think if you make a list of the most successful people you know and compared them to everyone else, you would find one critical difference.  Follow-through.

We all have great ideas.  We all have things that get us excited and make us feel a passion that we don't feel about other topics.  But most of us stop short for a handful of key reasons:

• We lack confidence.
• We fear failure. 
• We get overwhelmed. 
• We lack focus.
• We are shooting for balance.
• We feel incompetent.

So what's the answer?

In last year's Forbes article, "How To Get Even More From Your Technology:  Turn It Off", Kevin Ready makes the case that in order to overcome the evils of our technology, we should walk away or turn it off.  

He's not wrong about the evils, and occasionally walking away or turning it off creates a much needed techno-break. However, I believe there's a far more valuable answer:  Get control of your technology!

Don't let it overwhelm and distract you.  With a few rules for wrestling it under control and modifying your behavior, your tools can be useful and productive, not your enemy.

At Priority Management Associates, we teach people to take the following approach:

Assess it - Learn it - Control it - Work it