2,500 years ago, Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher said, “Change is the only constant in life.” I love this saying and never before in modern America have we been tested to adapt to such radical change so quickly. As humans, we thrive on predictability and safety and when massive change is mixed with massive fear, we have massive uncertainty.
My natural optimism and strategic planning tends to work in my favor at times like this, so perhaps I can share some things that may help you work through the current climate:
1. Use your weekly calendar to schedule your time to allow for: “me time”, “work time” and “stuff time”.
a. Me time is all yours…it is about health, wellness and spiritual balance
b. Work time is self-explanatory…quality effort in this area is a must
c. Stuff time is all the things that you need to do for others and all the tasks on your plate
Make sure you have proper balance of these three. 75% of your waking time is here unless you have greater and urgent needs in any of these areas
Now we are onto the other 25% of your time
What are you doing to grow, get smarter, build your toolkit, sharpen your saw, think aspirationally, put a plan in place for the future … I believe the most successful and happiest people are focused here
2. Goal Time
a. Have three-year professional and personal goals in place
b. Review and reset goals weekly
c. BE ASPIRATIONAL…why not dream big and set the bar high…you can’t get somewhere special for yourself without identifying what that looks like in the first place!
3. Learning Time
a. Build a growth plan…take courses, learn skills, challenge your current sensibility…this makes you more adaptable to change
b. Do creative things! Child or Adult, it rewires your brain and creates better problem solving skills
4. Roadmap Time
a. This is the detailed plan…it is personal, professional, spiritual, growth, wellness and every goal you have rolled into a calendarized plan
b. What’s the pathway? When? How? Who? What help or resources do you need from others?
There is no hope in trying to control forces outside of your domain. The only thing we can do is adapt to change by managing what is urgent and what we can control. But, we also need to focus on the future and reach for the things we want…one step at a time.
