| For years I’ve asked Crazy Busy delegates what they would do if they had an extra hour a day. Predictably their answers always include sleep, read fiction, read around their own subject, cook a decent meal from scratch, exercise, spend uninterrupted time with their kids, catch up with personal admin, or do absolutely nothing. Only occasionally do they have real hobbies: these have fallen by the way-side years ago as they climb the greasy pole. Even less occasionally they say they want to spend an hour with their husband or wife, but that’s another topic entirely. So folks, now we’ve got the time, what are we going to do with it? Even if you are full-on working from home, cutting out commuting and meetings gives us all time to play with. There’s loads of content out there on how to work remotely. Mostly saying to get up at your normal time and work! Retaining structure and routine is crucial to feeling in control. And we are all control freaks at heart aren’t we: that’s why the uncertainty of this situation is so stress provoking. We also need to distract ourselves from newsfeeds and get absorbed into something else. Your 5 a Day Here’s a structure to put into place now. Choose five actions you are going to take each day in order for you to feel like you’ve had a good day and moved further forward. These are your core, minimum, activities. You might have one work 5 a day and one personal 5 a day: whatever works for you. Here’s a work one for me: One priority task One hour reading a business book Two hours in flow (The Crazy Busy Leader is due out in January 2021, so no excuses now for that not happening) One proposal or confirmation of new work One check-in call with a current client or lapsed contactIf I do all those I can feel satisfied that I am on track. Any thing extra is a bonus, depending on how many coaching sessions/webinars I have to fit around. It keeps me away from endless staring at my inbox in my down time and makes me feel more productive, not less. Also, it gives me an end point to stop working and keep the boundaries in place between home and work. Here’s a personal one: One hour of reading, ideally outside in the fresh air 10,000 steps One live-streamed exercise session One new healthy recipe One call to an old friend. A real call not a WhatsApp!Do whatever works for you. I recommend having distraction and connection at the heart of it. Your list should fit your personal goals and include what you know will keep you happy. Access the dopamine hit of ticking things off a list and the six pleasure chemicals released when we get into flow (hyper-concentrating). Extroverts like me need to factor in some kind of socially distanced time with other people, if at all possible, especially if most work is going online. Introverts in busy households may need to find space alone to restore their energy. Start with a list you can quite easily do and then up the ante as time goes on. Try it, share it and let me know how you get on. I’d love to see your 5 a Day lists. With a bit of practice, we can keep these habits on the other side so we are never again as Crazy Busy as before. “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time. A schedule is a mock-up of reason and order—willed, faked, and so brought into being; it is a peace and a haven set into the wreck of time; it is a lifeboat on which you find yourself, decades later, still living.”Annie Dillard The Writing Life Take care everyone and you know where I am. A big silver lining is that I’ve lots more time to talk. I’m sending my clients some individual leadership reading material to make use of their new-found development time (ha ha there’s no hiding from me). I’m also contemplating a virtual business book-club so again please let me know if you’d like to participate. Zena Executive Coach and Speaker on Crazy Busyness zenaeverett.com 07968 424650 If this has been forwarded to you please sign up to my mailing list here: zenaeverett.com |
Coping with Corona: Your 5 a Day
