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Leap Day Gifts

leap year february the 29th

As you are probably aware, 2016 is a Leap Year and Monday, February 29th is “Leap Day” (as someone born on February 29th I know this all too well!). So instead of moving through this day like any other, consider it a gift for a multitude of reasons: 1) it gives us extra time (1,440 minutes to be exact) and the opportunity to take time for what matters most; 2) it gives us an opportunity to be unconventional; and 3) it allows us to course-correct. Choose one of these three themes – explored more fully below – to plan your Leap Day.

Take Time for What Matters Most

You have 1,440 extra minutes in 2016. How will you take advantage of this extra day? Will it be spent like every other day – full of to-do lists, e-mails, and other personal/work obligations? Or will you decide to make it a special day in some way? And if you spend your extra time doing typical things, then I invite you to consider the energy you bring to those activities. As Jim Loehr, co-founder of the Human Performance Institute says, “The investment of time alone has zero value of return. What matters is bringing your best energy to the time you have.”

Take a leap this Leap Year day and commit to using the time and your best energy to focus on what really matters most instead of reacting to what gets thrown your way. The challenge for you this February 29th, is to take 10 minutes to consider the following:

  1. Is how I spend my time consistent with what I value?
  2. Do the activities that consume most of my time contribute to my personal and professional goals?
  3. What one habit am I willing to make, or break, in order to effectively spend my time and energy on activities that matter most?
  4. What is one activity that I continue to push off to the side, claiming that I don’t have enough time for? And what one commitment will I make that supports my engaging in this activity?

And don’t worry about taking 10 minutes to complete the above questions . . . you still have 1,430 minutes left to play with!

Be Unconventional

As legend has it, the concept of a woman proposing marriage to a man has its roots in 5th century Ireland with the tradition continuing in Scotland in 1288 when a law was passed allowing women to propose marriage on Leap Day.  In those days, that was unconventional!

Being unconventional doesn’t necessarily mean you become a stringent activist or act unlawfully, so what would “unconventional” mean to you? In what ways could you do something original or take a slight risk on February 29th? What might you say or do differently that you wouldn’t otherwise? Take a risk this leap day even in small doses. For example: speak out if you normally stay quiet, stay quiet and allow others to share their opinions if you normally are first to speak, take a different route to work, or change up your work-out routine.  Choose one unconventional action and commit to taking it on February 29th.

Course-correct

Leap Day is essentially a course-corrective measure.  This course-correction in our Gregorian calendar was made in the 16th century to reflect a more accurate solar year (it actually takes the Earth 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds, to travel around the sun). Course-corrections in life are necessary if there is something we are doing (or not doing) to have the work and professional life we most desire. Making a course correction requires change, and change is hard. We are wired to think and act in a habitual way.

What is the one area of your life (a personal relationship, a work relationship, physical health, financial health, personal growth/development) that could benefit from a course-correction?  Take this Leap Day to do “just one thing” (refer to the January 2016 JOT it Down blog) that will move you closer to where you want to be. Let Leap Day be a catalyst to more “just one thing” course-corrective actions and before you know it, you’ll have made significant progress on your goal.

I hope you take advantage of this leap day and all the gifts it provides. Take your own personal leap of faith to use the extra time for something meaningful, to be unconventional, or to course-correct. And if none of those resonate for you, then simply enjoy your extra 1,440 minutes this year!

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JOT It Down For A Successful New Year

Many of us welcomed in the New Year with renewed energy, hope, and enthusiasm and have committed to a list of personal and professional goals we want to achieve. We are three weeks into the New Year and, to borrow from Dr. Phil, “How’s that working for you?”

Throughout my career I have developed a deeper understanding of human performance and potential.  We either lack clarity about our goals, have too many, or don’t create SMART* goals – or some combination of the three. We are creatures of habit and though we may start the year with great intentions, our habits – how we act and how we think – keep us stuck.  Keep reading if this sounds familiar!   

One answer to this perennial challenge? JOT it down. The acronym JOT came to me in one of those light bulb moments when you feel the stars have aligned just for you. Okay – a bit dramatic for a 3-letter acronym – but so far, people I’ve shared it with have received immediate value from its message.

 JOT stands for “Just One Thing.” It’s really that simple. Write “Just One Thing” down that you want to achieve this year that matters most to you. And, as any goal setting expert would advise, break down that goal into sub-goals. So from there, write down “Just One Thing” that you want to accomplish for each quarter, each month, each week and each day that builds on your priority goal.

What could you accomplish each day if you committed to Just One Thing? Your JOT approach could be one of the following options:

  • Just One Thing in the morning and Just One Thing in the afternoon
  • Just One Thing for work and Just One Thing for home
  • Just One Thing every 3 hours

The point is that we are so easily distracted in our 24/7 world and often have difficulty building structure and boundaries to get done what is most important to achieve our goals.

Focusing on Just One Thing will also make you more present and engaged which will lead to increased productivity, more creativity and better results because you won’t be splitting your mental focus.

If you could JOT it down and commit to Just One Thing – the one thing that is most important – you will undoubtedly gain more energy, a sense of accomplishment, and a boost in confidence.

If this concept resonates with you and you find it helpful, please Like us on Facebook and share your JOT goal.

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” – Stephen Covey

*SMART Goals are Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time-based.

 

JOT Bracelent
JOT Bracelet compliments of bobbi kahn design jewelry

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Give Your Inner Critic the Boot

Your boots were made for walking . . .

I hope you will join me when I speak to 100 professional women at the “Give . . . Connect . . . Grow” event being sponsored by GCG Financial, Inc. on November 7th at 7:30am in Bannockburn, IL. It’s a wonderful opportunity to network with like-minded women and raise funds for a great cause.

I will be speaking on how to give your inner critic the boot and turn it into your inner champion by applying 5 key steps to Master Your Mindset and take ownership of your success!

Click here for details and to register!

My book, So Long Inner Critic, Hello Inner Champion: 25 Tips to Master Your Mindset will be sold at a discount and a percentage of the proceeds will be donated to The Center for Enriched Living.
INNER-CRITIC-Cover-Art

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Lead with LEGACY and Unleash the Leader in You

Depositphotos_96138830_original_rs“Me!”  That was the answer given by a hospital administrator last week when I asked the question at his hospital’s Leadership Development Institute, “What gets in your way of being the leader you want to be?”  His answer was spot-on and I was impressed with his honesty and personal accountability.

Typically, I hear things like . . . “an endless to-do list, staff that doesn’t respond well to change, bosses who redefine priorities daily, colleagues who are unsupportive and jockey for attention and position, and demanding customers.”  These are just some of the reasons clients and audiences have shared with me why they feel disengaged, burned out and not leaving a work legacy they can be proud of.

Being a “leader” at work is not reserved for those in the C-suite or those who have people reporting to them.  We are all leaders at work because we all have distinct responsibilities and ways of contributing that matter to those we are trying to influence and serve.

LEGACY is a 6-step process for creating a leadership and work legacy that will not only fuel you each day but position you to deliver your best qualities and results that matter to your organization.

  1. Leverage who you are.  Know and leverage your unique skills, passions and core values AND link those to the needs of your organization and customers.  This is what I call your “Leadership Sweet Spot.”
  2. Express who you are authentically.  This is where attitude and mindset play a big role.  Regardless of your words, the manner in which you express them speaks volumes about the type of leader you are and the degree to which others will want to follow your lead.  If you find that your attitude and mindset are the greatest obstacles to success at work, you may be interested in my new book, So Long Inner Critic, Hello Inner Champion: 25 Tips to Master Your Mindset.
  3. Gauge where you are.  Conduct your own SWOT analysis and assess how well you are doing against the leadership and legacy qualities that matter most to you and your organization.  Get feedback from others since we all have blind spots and may be overly critical.
  4. Act to close the gaps.  Once you assess where you are and compare that to where you want to be, identify priority areas and create very specific steps that will get you in action.  Knowing what needs to get addressed is very different from doing it.  That’s why the next step is critical.
  5. Create a success team.  Invite people to support you and your leadership and work legacy goals.  This also means creating boundaries to prevent the psychic vampires from holding you back.
  6. Yearn to give back.  As you achieve your goals and create success on your terms, share the wisdom by encouraging and supporting others to do the same.

“If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would be our legacy?”  — Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

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Get Out of Your Own Way: A 5 Step Process to Turn Your Inner Critic Into Your Inner Champion

Depositphotos_59674479_original_rsWhat potential are you leaving on the table? How could you be a more effective, influential, productive and successful leader if you translated your inner critic thoughts into inner champion thoughts? Get out of your own way, master your mindset, and be the success you know is within your reach.

To read more about turning your inner critic into your inner champion, please visit my guest blog on Mark Sanborn’s leadership blog. Mark is the bestselling author of The Fred Factor and has recently published Fred 2.0