“Professional life is like a fire hydrant. You spend all of your time putting out fires and standing your ground against the big dogs.” Dick Enberg
Chaos. The stock market…managing multiple projects that were due “yesterday,” and dealing with difficult people. All these things can stress us out leaving us feeling in the midst of chaos, change, and things beyond our control. The good news? There are some things within our control. And a key to feeling some semblance of order is in learning to manage the part we CAN control. You may not be able to affect the economy, but you can control your thought life, and your environment. Here are six steps to help you go from chaos to calm:
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Get rid of clutter. Even if you spend 20 minutes filing papers, or cleaning out that junk drawer, you’ll be amazed how it can create more serenity in your mind. Just spending 20 minutes a day organizing, putting papers in the shredder, and filing can create a more serene environment and give you a more peaceful outlook.
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Clear off your desk. Before you work on an important project, whether it’s paying bills, or writing a business letter, clear everything else off your desk. This will help clear your mind, keep you focused, and help you work single-mindedly on one task until it’s complete.
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Worry is interest paid on trouble before it is due. Often we spend more time worrying than just getting something done. Studies show hardest part of procrastination is getting started. Write down an exact time frame for when you’re going to work on that task. For example, I often have something like, “Write two business letters 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Wednesday afternoon,” on a dry erase white board in my office. By seeing it all the time, I’m motivated to get it accomplished so I can erase it.
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Hold yourself accountable. Find someone to be your accountability partner. Tell that person to hold your feet to the fire to make sure you accomplish that project by your deadline. Just don’t make it your boss!
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Learn to deal with difficult people. You can quit your job because of a difficult patient, customer, co-worker, or difficult boss. But what will you find on your next job? More difficult people! Take a look at some articles I’ve written on dealing with difficult people at www.ColleenSpeaks.com/freearticles.htm
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Be realistic. Make sure you don’t have higher expectations of yourself than you have for everyone else. This is especially common for women. We’ve been brought up to be the good girls, the people-pleasers, and to tend to everyone’s needs but our own. There’s a fine line between getting a million things done, and knowing when it’s time to say “no.”
There are articles on dealing with difficult people such as whiners, blamers, know-it-alls, exploders, and gossips. And there are articles on how to increase your energy, managing people, overcoming adversity, and more.
Just know that in dealing with difficult people, often, it isn’t about you. It’s what’s going on with them. Incidentally, this blog also features a special category on dealing with difficult people, as well as a section on life balance to help you put everything into perspective.
Lastly, don’t let the past dictate your future. Think about what you’re thinking about! Don’t dwell too long on past mistakes. Let go the mistake but don’t lose the lesson.
Colleen Seward Ryan is available for seminars, keynotes and breakout sessions by calling (623)340-7690 locally in Phoenix, or toll free (800)323-0683.
Sign up for Colleen’s free e-newsletter on leadership, life balance, dealing with difficult people, managing people, presentation skills and more: http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/newsletter.htm
Watch speaker Colleen Seward Ryan’s video clips: http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/kettenhofen_video.htm
For Colleen Seward Ryan’s articles on leadership, life balance, dealing with difficult people, managing people, presentation skills and more: http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/freearticles.htm
