Tag: productivity

Prioritize and Make Better Decisions With The Eisenhower Box

“What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States

I have been remiss.  I know about a really great tool for prioritizing tasks and I have never written about it.  Sorry about that.  I learned it from Steven Covey’s books on productivity years ago, but it’s actually credited to Dwight D. Eisenhower and appropriately named The Eisenhower Box.

 (Not this kind of box…)

Seriously, I’ve never written about this?  Unbelievable.

Upon googling the term just moment’s ago, I learned the tool is also called the Eisenhower Decision Matrix or the Urgent / Important Matrix and these names begin to explain how and why this tool works.

Eisenhower drew this box, with the two axes of Important and Urgent.  His theory was that any and every task is either Important or Not Important, and either Urgent or Not Urgent.   Of course, there is some in-between, but those are the basics.  Here is the blank box.

(from theorderexpert.com)

Important tasks fuel your mission and vision, improve your bottom line, help you reach your goals.  (And Non-Important tasks do not.)

Urgent tasks have a time component that demands your attention, with a deadline attached. (And Non-Urgent tasks do not.)

What Eisenhower’s quote, “What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important”  also tells us is that we risk getting so distracted by urgent tasks all the time that we fail to take care of our important tasks.

These two axes together give us the option of 4 different distinctions for any given task or duty we have.

  • (Quadrant 1) Important and Urgent
  • (Q2) Non-Important and Urgent
  • (Q3) Important and Non-Urgent
  • (Q4) Non-Important and Non-Urgent

So, if we can agree that almost any task can either be Important or Non-Important, and Urgent or Non-Urgent, then we can use this tool to sort and prioritize our tasks.  If we can determine what is both important and urgent for our goals and productivity, we will get our important work done with more ease and focus and less stress and confusion.

If we take this tool one step further, we can designate a quadrant for all of our tasks, and take the next step – DO, DECIDE, DELEGATE or DELETE, required on those as well.

from luxafor.com

What would each type of task look like:

  • Important and Urgent:  Today’s work.  For me, go and work with client, give presentation, write article.   Working on these tasks is the best and most productive use of my time.  Their completion moves me towards my goals.
  • Non-Important but Urgent (time related):  Order routine office supplies, respond to today’s texts and emails, drop off donations from a client to a charitable organization, post to Facebook business page, publish newsletter.  Many of these tasks are important to do, but it isn’t important WHO completes the task.  I can ask myself, am I the only person who can do these tasks, or could I delegate them to others?
  • Important and Non-Urgent: design a new presentation, start a fitness plan, visit a financial advisor, re-imagine my website.  Make a Plan and a Date (though not today) for getting these tasks done. 
  • Non-Important and Non-Urgent: scrolling social media, binge watching ANYTHING, eating cookies, over-organizing the minutiae in your desk drawer.
    You could let any all of these tasks go. 

Let’s use the Eisenhower Box to prioritize your organizing projects.

At my classes, I give 4 possible projects and then walk folks through the decision process to pick the first project.  The four projects are organizing your

  1. Kitchen,
  2. Linen Closet,
  3. Garage or
  4. Attic.

Let’s imagine these are your 4 projects and you want to decide which has the highest priority, and is therefore your starting point.

All are important, so let’s consider urgent.

Attics are rarely urgent projects.  The stuff in the attic has been there for years, and it will still be there once the other projects are complete.

Garages are sometimes urgent, depending on the time of year.  Let’s say the goal is to organize your garage so you can park your car indoors this winter, but it’s June.  Important yes, but not too urgent.

Kitchen or linen closet?

Did your doctor give you a new diagnosis that requires a special diet?  Are you having a party soon, or you just really need to go to the grocery?  Then, your kitchen organizing project is both important and time sensitive (urgent).

What if there is a drive at a local animal shelter this weekend, though, collecting used towels and bedding for the animals?  That creates a deadline and therefore urgency for your linen closet project.

So, in order, we would tackle either the kitchen or linen closet first, then the other second, then the garage and finally the attic.

Make sense?

Look at your day and week this week and imagine where else you can use this great decision making tool!

Yesterday Was a 5 Bag Day (Whew!)

Yesterday was complicated.   I left home knowing full well that I would probably be gone over 12 hours.  That is not noteworthy, lots of folks are gone for that long.
However, I had 2 presentations scheduled at a learning center in Indiana from 10-noon and 3-5 with a short break between, and then a school board meeting from 4 to 8:30 (yes, I know, those times overlap).  I needed different supplies, paperwork and outfits for these different responsibilities with no opportunity to stop at home between.  I recognized that I needed to prep really well for my day.
And that meant BAGS.
Lots of bags.
As I gathered my thoughts for the day, I also gathered my belongings.  I packed:
  • A professional looking bag for my presentation materials like my notes for the presentation, my handout copies, promotional pens to share, water bottle and a few visuals.  That was easy to put together and then set by the door.
  • Another professional looking bag for the school board meeting, with my notes and materials for that meeting.  Also then set by the door.
  • A third bag for a back up shirt and light sweater, because I knew with 12 hours gone and the need for options.  I would only grab this out of the car if I needed it.
  • The 4th and 5th bags, my daily go bag (discussed below) and my handbag backpack.
What do I want you to know about bags and how to make them work for you?
  • Mentally Walk Through Your Day. We’ve got a lot coming at us most days.  Take a few moments in the morning (or the night before!) to mentally walk through your day so you’re sure to bring along what you need!
  • Bigger is not always better.  Some days I wonder if I just need one REALLY BIG bag, perhaps with wheels or its own filing system. But that would be super heavy and probably not a good choice logistically!  Stick with a manageable size, even if you need to sub- sort.
  • Keep Essentials Always Packed.  One bag is always packed.  A friend / client observed that I carry a go-bag with me every day.  (OK, she called it a diaper bag though I don’t have a small child).  But I do always care it with me and it is indeed always packed.  It contains my small charger bag with all my cords plus a power bank and a multi port charging station.  I also carry a back up shirt in there in case I get grubby at a client appt, a small bag of snacks for just in case, a small bag of toiletries like a toothbrush and toothpaste, and the keyboard for my IPad.  These is plenty of room left over, too, in case I want to toss in my Ipad, bullet journal, book, etc.
At my classes, I mention our family’s Swim Bag.  We have a bag packed all the time with anything you would need to go to the beach or the pool:  beach sheet, frisbee, swim goggles, sunscreen and bug spray, diving toys, etc.  That bag is always packed and ready to go.
What are your essentials (just a few, not a million)?  Keep those items in your bag every day to save time and trouble later!
  • Review the Essentials Once in A While:  Clean out and review the contents of your go-bag / briefcase / handbag regularly.  Don’t let rubbish or reading materials or heavy pocket change pile up, or your shoulders will start to protest with the extra weight!  And be ready to re-stock things like snacks or tissue packs.
  • Unpack the rest of the bags EVERY DAY.  When that many bags leave the house with me in the mornings, the same or more return with me.  And the optional bags need to be unpacked EVERY DAY.   The first chance I had, I unpacked all of the bags but my go bag, and put all the stuff away.  I DO NOT have room in my office / family room for days and weeks-old partially packed bags of random belongings.
    I also don’t have the mental energy to remember if a personal item like my dressy black sandals are in a bag or actually in my closet where they belong when I’m not wearing them.  Seriously, my items have homes already!  Who has the time to look everywhere?  No thanks!

Get your thoughts and stuff and bags in order!

An Organized Person… Doesn’t Procrastinate (much…)

This week is National Procrastination Week.  Or not. I could be wrong.

You see, it moves around from year to year just because.  It’s usually in March, but has been slowly moving later and later in the month.    Oh, those funny procrastinators…

Per Merriam Webster, of course, to Procrastinate is:

: to put off intentionally and habitually     (or) 
: to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done.
It means to delay the doing of something that needs done for no particular reason, or at least not a particularly good reason.  Here are some of the reasons WHY we procrastinate, and what to do about them!
Sometimes we procrastinate because we’re not sure just how long a project will take.
  • Put your project on your own terms.  Instead of believing we need to start and finish a project in one sitting, start believing that progress towards a goal is often enough.   We may never be able to finish our big projects in one session, but that shouldn’t keep us from starting!
  • Set a timer and make some progress, even if you can’t finish.
  • Progress towards a goal is plenty for today!

Sometimes, we procrastinate because it is what we’re used to doing.   Perhaps, we just have to overcome our inertia.
Today,
Start with the easiest task… or
Start with the hardest task… or
Start with the quickest task… or
Start with the longest task.  Just
Start.
Sometime we procrastinate because a project feels SOOOOO BIG AND OVERWHELMING!!!
  • Once, a client had “buy paper towels”, “call the plumber” and “learn how to play the guitar” all on the same daily to-do list.  Obviously, the scope of the guitar task was far beyond the other two simple tasks.  And not surprisingly, “learn to play the guitar” was too broad and too vague to really allow any progress towards the goal!
  • Break down big projects into smaller, more manageable pieces.  My client’s first step might be to locate the family guitar in the attic, or contact her friend who’s taking guitar lessons for the instructor’s contact information.  Little pieces!
Sometimes we procrastinate because we don’t actually know how to do what needs done. 
  • If the task was assigned by someone else, request clarification.  And if it is our own task, think it through and make a plan!
  • Fortunately, information is at our fingertips all the time, so we can learn how to do something we don’t know how to do.
  • We can also ask our experts, or outsource the task.   Two examples that come to mind are:
    • For months, I researched and internally debated if I should become an LLC or a corporation.  Finally, I asked my attorney who answered my question in 5 minutes and then set everything up for me without breaking a sweat.
    • Same goes for my web design expert!  What would have taken me weeks of fumbling took my expert a week, and I still LOVE my website redesign.
      I should have started with my experts!

So, next time you find yourself procrastinating and you don’t know why, take a look at this list for insight and solutions to the problem!

An Organized Person… Keeps the “Office” in “Home Office”

Today, the second Tuesday in March, is National Organize Your Home Office Day!

When working with clients, I have never heard the complaint that folks are TOO productive in their home offices, or that their home office is TOO much like an office.

Nope.

I am more likely to hear that a home office isn’t set up to actually get work done, that perhaps it has too much “home” and not enough “office”.

So, this week, let’s work on finding the balance between Home and Office in your home office.

 

Let’ get started!

(15 minutes) Set up those monthly Completed Papers files for your receipts, statements, paid bills and other completed paperwork for 2019, if you haven’t already.

(30 minutes) Clean out your in box.  Toss anything that is expired, redundant or just not important anymore.

(30-45 minutes) Using your monthly Completed Papers files, put away those papers that have been floating around your home office work space.  You know the ones.

(30 minutes) Decide once and for all what to do with all that miscellaneous tech floating around your home office.  The bowl on the desk of dead and dying IPods (oh, is that just us?), smart Phones and tablets.  You know, the ones that are too old to even have updates available, or that no longer hold a charge?  Sell, recycle, pass them along.  Just let them go if they have outlived their usefulness.  Same goes for those miscellaneous and unassigned cords cluttering up your drawers.

(As you go along) Set aside all the actual items that require further action, add the actions to your To Do list and make time this week to take those actions.  Items to be returned, books to go back to a friend or the library, forms to be returned to school, cookies to be mailed – ok, those are the items in my action pile for tomorrow!

 

What belongs in your Home Office?

Keep only your current work in your office and on your work space.  The work you need to do today, tomorrow and this week.  If you have files or papers that you need but NOT RIGHT NOW?  Those need to go away so that you can focus on the work that does need your attention right now.  Keep visible only that which serves you.

 

What does not belong in your Home Office?

Remove any unnecessary clutter.  Anything that is too much Home and not enough Office needs to go.  Deliver the non work items to the other places where they belong in your home.

Embrace National Organize Your Home Office Day, and spend a little time this week making your space more productive!

How Long Does It Really Take To … (insert task here)

Have you ever noticed?

We either dread what we don’t need to dread,

or

feel rushed when tasks take longer than expected?

How long does it really take to balance your checkbook?  (If you even do that anymore?)  How long does it really take to unload the dishwasher?  Get your oil changed?  Drop off that return item at the post office?  Get a hair cut? Call the doctor?  Come on… be honest…

Not very long, right?  Sometimes the tasks we dread or just don’t feel like doing get INFLATED in our mind, and we assume these dreaded tasks are going to take FOREVER to complete and so we never get around to completing them.  When we finally DO complete these tasks, we realize that they take no time at all.  We spend far more time dreading some tasks than we do completing them.

On the other hand,

We assume the trip to the grocery will only take 20 minutes (which NEVER happens), or that the “quick chat” with a co-worker, or the trip to your friend’s house or favorite restaurant takes no time at all even though you ALWAYS talk longer than you thought, or get stuck in traffic and it ALWAYS takes longer than you think.  Or we forget that going to the grocery also entails carving out 30 minutes when we get home to put everything away and then make a snack.

Let me introduce the idea of Realistic Time  Estimates.  Answer for yourself the question “How Long Does This Task Take?” and stick with that!  Once you realize how long tasks actually take, you will worry and procrastinate less while getting more done!

For example, I used to dread balancing my business’s books at the end of  every month.  I worried it would take hours so I would procrastinate and let my paperwork build up for a month or two.  Ridiculous, I know.  I realized I was self- sabotaging. One month, I spent a couple extra hours and cleaned up my banking and bookkeeping.  I moved everything to Quicken, set my statements  to download automatically from my bank (10 minutes once a month), loaded client info into Paypal to make invoicing easier (10 minutes a month), and streamlined the process for myself.  Now my bookkeeping takes care of itself, I get paid on time and I don’t dread these tasks!

On the other side, I also started setting an alarm in the morning so I didn’t get sidetracked by a pleasant chat with a fellow school parent that could go on too long.

Where else do we need Realistic Time Estimates?  What other time estimates do we skew?  How long will it really take to

  • Get ready for work?  For school? To go out? Drive our usual commute?  And is it ever perfectly smooth?
  • Get dinner on the table?
  • Get the teenager out of bed and functional?
  • Pick up Take-Out?
  • Write my blog article and newsletter this week?
  • Write up that weekly or monthly report?
  • Process our notes and act on our action items from our staff meeting?

This week and this month, take a look at how long your usual tasks ACTUALLY TAKE and determine Realistic Time Estimates.

Set a timer! Set an alarm!  Look around and seek out the tasks you dread for no reason, or the tasks you underestimate and always run over!   Take the steps to create awareness, and adjust your thinking to get your work done!

Managing Transitions: Work? First 5 Things, Last 5 Things

I’ve been talking with folks a lot lately about their Routines.  We often talk about morning or bedtime routines, to make those times run more smoothly.  But we can also create Get To Work or Leaving Work routines, to make those times run more smoothly, too!

We’ve all had those busy days!  Once you start your work day, you may have a hard time stopping.  So, this week, let’s think about how organize the start and of our work day to stress less and get more done!

I know, this may sound counter-intuitive, but focus on Yourself for the first few minutes you’re at work.  And if that means you also need to arrive a few minutes early, that will be time well spent.

First things first,

  • Grab your cup of coffee or tea, and refill your reusable water bottle.
  • Unpack your work from your work bag (if you carried any with you) and chill your lunch.
  • Hang up your work bag, your coat, your umbrella and whatever else you bring with you every day.  Clip your car keys in the proper spot (in your bag, on your purse, in your pocket) so that you can find them again when it’s time to go!
  • Take a couple of deep breaths.
  • Now, and only now, look at your task list, email or workload for the day.  Pick your three most important tasks and make a space on today’s schedule for progress on those tasks.  Then jump in!

Last 5 things:

Conquering these super busy times of your work day will help you work better and feel less stressed throughout your day!

I’m Not a Gardener, But I Know How To Prune

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Recently, I listened to a homily about the Vine and the Branches.

My priest talked about how, these days, we prune mostly for aesthetics – we mow the grass and trim the shrubs so they look even and tidy.  However, in biblical days, pruning was necessary for survival.  Growers would cut away the branches that weren’t producing fruit, so a plant could focus more food and resources on the branches that were productive.

I liked this analogy, and thought about how it pertains to the stuff of our lives.

Look around your home.  What belongings of yours are productive? What items do you use regularly, reliably and with pleasure?  Those are your productive branches.

Conversely, what items of yours are NOT producing fruit?  What items are more trouble than they are worth?  What do you have just too much of, so that your attention and resources are wasted.

Consider the cost of maintenance.

First, we purchase an item.  If it’s an expensive item, perhaps we also purchase a special case for it, a warranty or an insurance policy.

We choose a spot in our home to keep it, and now that chosen space cannot hold other items.

OR… We don’t choose a spot in our home to keep it, and it floats around, getting lost or broken.

Or… We have so many other things that we have also purchased, the new item gets stuffed in the chosen spot with 10 other items, and now we can’t find anything.  And that is just storage.

Perhaps our new special item requires temperature control or lighting, or special cleaning or regular maintenance.

The problem is not with the new item.  If we have just an item or two that requires this special treatment, we can manage.  The problem comes when we have many such items that require care and storage and maintenance and time, and our resources get spread so thin we can’t properly take care of anything!

“I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.”  Bilbo Baggins, Fellowship of the Ring by JR Tolkein

In the interest of pruning, of cutting away the unproductive parts to focus on the productive parts, clear the clutter that isn’t serving you and your life.

For example, purge clothes you no longer need or want to make more breathing room in your closet and life for the clothes that really represent you.

Cull your books so that you can focus on the ones that actually hold an interest for you, and keep a smaller pile so that you might find time to actually read them!

Clear away the clutter from hobbies that you no longer love or participate in.  I have clients with sporting equipment they haven’t used in 20 years, craft supplies they no longer have an interest in using, tools that are still in the box.

Cut away, metaphorically speaking, the unproductive parts so that you can focus your time and attention on the stuff of your life that serves you well!

Change The Habit or Change The House?

Working with a client this morning, I was reminded  of an article I recently read on ApartmentTherapy.com similar to this one (edited and updated, July 2020).

In the comments for an article about creating an entry way in a small space, a reader asked if the solution to the problem was to “Change the habit or the house?”.

This is a powerful and useful question as we get organized!  And… what does that mean?

Let’s say I notice that, when I walk in the door every day, I consistently put my keys on the same side table and toss my coat over the same chair or the back of the sofa.

Leaving my keys and coat exactly there makes the space look cluttered or disorganized, so I could elect to try and change my HABIT and come in a different door, or walk down the hallway and hang things up in a closet, etc.   However, since I am consistent about where these items fall, I can find them in an instant and be out the door efficiently.

So the HABIT is a good one, but the entry way of the HOUSE doesn’t support the HABIT well.   I could change the house to support the habit by adding a decorative bowl in the entry way for keys and phone, setting a chair in the entry way for our coat and bag, or perhaps adding a coat tree or some wall hooks.

Another example.  This morning’s client has 2 school aged daughters, and they both consistently drop their school backpacks and sport bags in the same places in the living room / dining room.  This can drive a parent crazy, let me tell you!

Yes, the piles in these living spaces are unsightly.  However, these students have good and consistent habits that helps them keep track of their school work and team uniforms.  So, the question we asked this morning was “Is it easier to change the habit or the house?”

My client didn’t actually mind the location of the piles, merely the appearance of them.  So, de- cluttering the pile contents and adding attractive large wicker baskets to hold the bags and gear in the habitual drop zones seems a better solution than trying to establish new habits and drop zones elsewhere.

Years ago, I organized with a real estate agent who had a lovely home office, but she didn’t really like to work in there.  She preferred to work in her kitchen – it was warm and cozy, had great light plus coffee!  So, instead of trying to change her preferred habit of working happily in the kitchen, we instead set up a work space in the kitchen and reserved the home office for meetings with clients, and file and supply storage.  We helped her home better fit her good work habit.

Again, the question: Do I need to change my house or change my habit?

Is there is a space in your home or office that regularly causes you frustration?  A place that has just never seemed to “work” right for you?

If your habit is a problem – you drop stuff where it becomes unsafe, you neglect client files, you are inconsistent with your stuff and the habits around it – then consider changing your habits.

If, however, your habits are sound but the space doesn’t support the habit, consider what you can do to Support the Good Habit and Change the house around it!

Thanks for reading!

To:

Receive more ideas and suggestions like these;
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Create Productive Work-From-Home Space: National Clean Off Your Desk Day

Last week, I heard from a newly minted college graduate.  She is very excited to start her first  professional position with a national company, working from home.

Hmmm… “Working From Home”.   A quick glance at wikipedia revealed related terms like “telecommuting”, “remote work” or “teleworking”.  This is a growing trend, with many of us working at least some of the time from non-traditional work space.

According to this recent New York Times article,  “More American employees are working remotely, and they are doing so for longer periods… Last year, 43 percent of employed Americans said they spent at least some time working remotely, according to the survey of more than 15,000 adults.”

With this conversation in mind and National Clean Off Your Desk Day (second Monday of January) here again, let’s talk about Organizing Your Work Space for Working-From-Home.  Let’s look at solutions to common Work-From-Home Challenges!

Be Professional and Productive While Working From Home

There are habits we can create to feel professional and productive, no matter where we work.

  • Create a morning routine – get up, work out, eat a healthy breakfast, get clean, etc. – even if your commute is the 10 feet between your living room and office.

    My Company Wellness Program 🙂

  • We all benefit from the clear definition of a start and end to our work day.  If you need separation in your day between personal time and work, go for a run, for Mass, for coffee, or to drop off the kids at school.  Then, come home and boot up!
  • Dress professionally, even if you don’t see another person all day.  No PJs for productivity!
  • We need to minimize distractions (more on this later) working from home, but the opposite is also true.  Remember to walk around and take breaks!

My Company Cafeteria (a.k.a. my kitchen counter!)

Stay Connected:

  • A common challenge of working from home is feeling isolated.  Remember, Community comes in many forms.
  • Check with your company!  If your company has teleworking opportunities, they probably also have strategies in place to help employees stay connected.
  • Find a mentor or accountability partner within your company.   You can also ask the professional association attached to your industry, or even just someone you really respect.
  • Join networking or FB groups within your chosen field or geographical community. My FB and networking groups are amazing resources for me as I navigate my day!

Physical Workspace:

  • If you are clear on the Work of your Work, you can probably work from anywhere!
  • No one needs to know where you work!  Some days saying “working from home” doesn’t feel professional, so I might say I’m working “remotely” or “virtually”, whether I’m at a client’s office, my own home office or Starbucks!
  • Your Actual Work Space:
    • If you skype, or have video conference calls, invest in a back drop or standing screen that looks more professional than your family room or basement!
    • Organize your work space, especially if you need to switch from student focus to work focus, like my young friend.  A clean desk helps you focus.  My accountability partner mentioned just last week how much more creative she feels when her work space is organized and clutter free.
  • Need Professional Space for a change of pace or a group project?  Perhaps your team is coming into town for training?  Many communities have available shared professional spaces or  business centers.  For a fee, these centers may offer work spaces, office services such as copiers or fax machines, conference rooms to rent by the hour or day, and even administrative help.   For example, I am a member of BAPA here on the South Side of Chicago, and their business center offers office equipment and conference room space free to paid members.

The “Home” part of Working-From-Home

  • Be clear with your house-mates what your tele-working will mean.  You may be home but still on the clock!  (The same goes for pets – one client closes the door and curtains to the back yard, to signal to her faithful furry companions that play time is over!)
  • A closed door can be an arranged signal that quiet time is needed, or that a conference call is in progress!

Consider these ideas when creating your productive work-from-home space!

If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes.

(Click here to see / hear me read this article on a Facebook Post.)

I have an article half written for publication this week regarding great questions a client asked about menu planning.  But that is not the point of this post.

Fact is, my thoughts on the menu-planning article were pushed away this morning by the recurring mantra “If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes”.  (I googled this quote, to give it and it’s author proper credit, but it is unclear as to who actually coined the phrase.)

“If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes.”

This phrase has been rolling around in my head since last night when I co-taught a class with my friend Mark at the Oak Lawn Public Library on Bullet Journaling.  Bullet Journaling is a great productivity tool, and I promised some of the class participants that I would publish more about it soon.  But that is not the point of this post.

“If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes.”

People don’t attend classes because they want everything in their lives to stay exactly the same. People choose to learn about new things because they want to think or do things differently.

“If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes.”

So, what do you want to change about your life, and what are you willing to do differently to create that change?  Some times, change happens to us from the outside.  Sometimes we are the catalyst for change from inside.  In this instance, I am asking YOU what YOU want to change or make better.

“If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes.”

Last Fall, I was asked to make a really big change, to take on a responsibility that would help my community.  One of my very wise sons asked me 3 questions:

  • “What will change, from day to day, if you take this on?”
    • The answer was “I will have to make room in my schedule for these new responsibilities, but I can and am willing to do make the necessary modifications, to let go of a few roles and responsibilities to make room for this new one.”
  • “What GOOD can you do?”
    • This was the more important question for me.  Yes, this big responsibility might be time consuming and a little intimidating, but the idea of the GOOD that could come from the change was enough to inspire me to act.
  • And, “What did Dad (my husband) say when you told him?”  That one made us both laugh!

Change is exciting and motivating and energizing.  It can also be occasionally terrifying, uncomfortable and paralyzing.  Change can be difficult.

What if the change is the wrong change?

Yes, but what if it’s the right one?

What if change is awkward or hard or uncomfortable?

Yes, but what if it’s not?

“If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes.”

There is an old adage that I read recently, “There are 7 frogs on a log, and one decided to jump. How many are frogs are on the log?”

The answer, of course, is 7.  Until that one frog actually jumps, there are still 7 frogs on the log.  Decision making is important, of course, but real change only comes from Action.

“If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes.”

So, think your thoughts, dream your dreams and make your plans. Then act.

Take that single small first step towards change on your own terms.  Jump off that log.  Because “If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes.”