Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - April 28th

Stop waiting for Friday, for summer, for someone to fall in love with you, for life. Happiness is achieved when you stop waiting for it and make the most of the moment you are in now. - Anonymous

Whatever you’re facing today, keep going.  Keep moving.  Keep hoping.  Keep pressing on.  There is Victory on the other side! – Mandy Hale

How are you surviving social distancing?  For the author, it has not been easy because she greatly enjoys hanging out with friends.  To help stay positive and thankful, the author has helped other people, sent cards and encouraging texts to friends.

For the author, she has had to stay focused on working toward achieving her goals and her desire to go to the beach this summer.  The author has kept her dream in front of her in a couple ways:

1.       Last week, the author mentioned needing “noise” in her apartment, but it could not be the television.  The author regularly plays YouTube videos of waves crashing against the sea shore.  This helps her have “noise” and it also reminds her of the reward coming at the end of the lock down.

Additionally, the ocean waves are very tranquil and peaceful.  When the author feels overwhelmed from her to-do list, she takes a moment to breathe, look at the beautiful scenery and relaxes.  These short breaks help refocus the author and she is able to continue with her work. 

2.       Every day, we have to find joy in these trying times.  Over President’s Day weekend, the author went to presidential and military historical sites.  While gone, she went shopping and found an inexpensive shower curtain.  She struggled purchasing it because she knew she had a shower curtain at home, but it had been in her apartment for about three years.  The author bought it and put the new shower curtain up.  Now every time the author is in her bathroom, she looks at the beautiful blue, purple and teal pastels on the shower curtain and is reminded of the ocean that she loves so much.  The author discovered how important it is to have the items in her home that make her happy and bring her joy.  It is quite possible that these items will also be reminders of the dreams and goals we have in life.

CHALLENGE: What are you looking forward to after the lock down is over?  What reminders do you have that continually remind you to stay positive and focused because you will come out on the other side of this situation stronger?

Resource

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/stop-waiting-friday

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - April 21st

If you chase two rabbits, you will catch neither one. - Russian proverb

Be like a postage stamp—stick to one thing until you get there. - Josh Billings

Multi-tasking is the opportunity to screw up more than one thing at a time. - Unknown

As the author has been working on being intentional in her work and goal accomplishment, she has been reminded of a few things.

1.       Focus - Multitasking does not work.  Various studies have concluded that multi-tasking actually makes individuals less effective.  By focusing on one thing at a time, our whole being is completely focused on that task.

You can do two things at once, but you can’t focus effectively on two things at once. - Gary Keller, author of The One Thing

The author lives alone and it is very quiet in her apartment.  To provide “noise”, she tried having the television on; however, the television created distractions because the author often took time to listen to news story or watch something funny, which caused her to stop and then have to remember where she was to restart.  It is very difficult for the author, but she determined that she has to have quiet or another type of “noise” going on in the background.  More about this next week!

2.       With the author’s to-do list, she often looks at it and immediately feels overwhelmed.  When the author had those feelings, she quickly decided the best thing to do was prioritize what was the most important task to complete.  The author knows her work priorities come from what her boss needs and then what is important for the staff she works with.  By having a prioritized to-do list, the author knows that once she completes one task she moves to the next and does not waste time contemplating what to do next.     

Success demands a singleness of purpose. - Vince Lombardi

CHALLENGE: What distractions do you need to remove from your life to accomplish goals?  Are your priorities established to help move toward goal accomplishment?  If not, how do you plan to determine how to prioritize your task list?

Resource

·       https://examinedexistence.com/12-fantastic-quotes-one-thing-not-multi-tasking/

·       https://blog.ryan-jenkins.com/2014/06/23/are-you-multitasking-your-way-to-irrelevance

·       Episode 231: Time Blocking | A New Model for Your Time - https://www.the1thing.com/podcasts/231/

·       https://www.the1thing.com/blog/time-management/the-pomodoro-method-of-time-blocking/

·       https://www.the1thing.com/blog/the-one-thing/the-multitasking-myth-the-science-behind-one-thing-at-a-time-holds-true/

·       Andy Stanley - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pt223q-NnA&t=1329s)

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - April 14th

The way to get the most out of your work and your life is to go as small as possible. Most people think just the opposite. They think big success is time consuming and complicated. As a result, their calendars and to-do lists become overloaded and overwhelming. -Gary Keller

Success is deliberate.  It doesn’t come as an accident.  What you work for is what you achieve. Faith without work is a vain hope.― Israelmore Ayivor, Become a Better You

As the author stated last week, she decided to become intentional to complete tasks preparing her to have fun when the Virginia “Stay at Home” order is lifted.  Additionally, this will keep the author on track to accomplish her goals in 2020. 

The simple steps the author implemented to become intentional in life were:

1.       Create a list of tasks to complete for work/personal goal accomplishment.  Once the list is created, break down each task to the action steps needed to complete the task.  By listing all of the actions, the reader will know exactly what needs to be done to accomplish the task.  Often times, a large task seems impossible, but when it is broken down into smaller action steps it becomes much easier to accomplish.  Another benefit of having all of the action steps written down for each task is that if the reader is interrupted, they will be able to pick up exactly where they left off.  At the end of the day, any leftover tasks can be moved to the next day’s list. 

Success isn’t that difficult; it merely involves taking twenty steps in a singular direction. Most people take one step in twenty directions. - Benjamin Hardy

2.       Set a time block for how long you will work on the list without distractions.  This may be difficult based on family being home so it may mean getting up early or staying up later to accomplish goals.  During this time, focus completely on the tasks on the lists.

Be conscious of your actions daily. - Sunday Adelaja

Work on Purpose - Play on Purpose - Rest on Purpose - Do not let yourself or anyone else waste your time. - Izey Victoria Odiase

3.       Have a reward for completing intentional time.  The reward could be doing something with family, reading a book, taking a walk, baking, etc.  Ideas are endless.

Too much work is bad, too much fun is bad. Find that balance in your life, live smart. Live good. – Jc Caylen

The above steps may seem very simple, but during uncertain times creating a regular routine and maintaining it will create consistency and peace in one’s life. 

CHALLENGE: What steps are you going to take to be intentional to achieve goals during this time?

Resource

·       https://medium.com/swlh/think-big-go-small-how-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-work-and-life-fdade374a10b

·       Episode 2: How to get organized at work - https://www.the1thing.com/podcasts/how-to-get-organized-at-work/

·       Episode 6: What 794 people like you taught us about time blocking - https://www.the1thing.com/podcasts/what-794-people-like-you-taught-us-about-time-blocking/

·       Episode 231: Time Blocking | A New Model for Your Time - https://www.the1thing.com/podcasts/231/

·       https://www.the1thing.com/blog/time-management/the-pomodoro-method-of-time-blocking/

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - April 7th

Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals. - Jim Rohn

Intentional living is the art of making our own choices before others' choices make us. - Richie Norton

On March 30, 2020, the Virginia Governor declared a “Stay at Home” order declaring everyone needed to remain in their homes except for essential work, health or shopping needs until June 10, 2020.  When the author heard this, she called Mama Flow and strongly stated her frustration with this order.  To the author, she immediately thought about the negative aspects of how she would not be able to move towards “some” of her dreams and not be able to socialize with her friends.  After voicing her opinion, she went to bed and woke up the next morning with a different mindset.  She decided that she would use the 70+ days starting on March 31, 2020 to prepare for when the “Stay at Home” order was lifted.  She knew that she would want to socialize with friends when this was over.  Thinking about what prohibited her from socializing, she started working on accomplishing tasks such as reading books, going through mail, cleaning her apartment, getting caught up at work, etc. 

That morning working out and listening to a podcast, the author heard the speaker state the word “intentional” relating to goal achievement.  The word intentional has stayed on the author’s mind for almost a week now.  According to Oxford Dictionaries, intentional means “done on purpose; deliberate”. 

Last week, the author mentioned that she had not been able to figure out how to change the mindset of working more and “making up time” for taking breaks while teleworking.  The answer is the word “intentional”.  Next week, the author will explain the simple steps she created for herself to remain intentional during this time and remove the “making up time” mindset. 

Intentional living means making choices in your life based on your greatest values, not the habits of others. - Brian Buffini

CHALLENGE: What new habits do you want to intentionally incorporate into your life or intentionally remove from your life during this time?

Often times, accountability is the biggest issue why people do not remain intentional.  A free resource to check out for a 66-day challenge is: https://trainings.the1thing.com/66-Day-Challenge-membership-benefits.

Resources

·       Episode 224: Don’t Fall Behind, Front Load Your Priorities | A New Way to View Time & Have a Relationship With Your Goals - https://www.the1thing.com/podcasts/224/

·       https://medium.com/swlh/think-big-go-small-how-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-work-and-life-fdade374a10b

·       https://www.simplyfiercely.com/an-intro-to-intentional-living/

·       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3w2tRv0XYY