Tips & Insights for Top Performance

The Journey From Comfort to Possibility written by a friend of mine, who shares the same energy and passion for life, author, Stephanie Zizzo, wrote this workbook to help people move from stuck, ideas and dreams to making them a reality. Written in a manner that is easy to follow and step by step, it is filled with exercises, questions and action steps to keep you focused. This workbook is designed for those of you who are ready to discover yourself, clarify your direction in life, uncover what holds you back from living the life of your dreams and begin venturing out of your comfort zone to experience new possibilities.

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

In the book, The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, a new paradigm for time management is presented. The premise focuses on encouraging people to leverage their energy rather than time. We have all known for years, you cannot get more time, no matter what you do you only get 24 hours a day. Loehr says, “The ultimate measure of our lives is not how much time we spend on the planet, but rather how much energy we invest in the time we have.” Focusing on the concept of harnessing your energy to be in FULL ENGAGEMENT will help you to empty your plate and get done what you need to accomplish.

A few tips the book emphasizes are:

• Manage your energy, not your time
• Downtime is key for your success
• Rituals help to maintain focus
• Purpose fuels performance
• Work in sprints (small bursts of focused energy)

It is very easy to get into the REACTIONARY circle of life! We deal with what comes up and are hard pressed to make progress on our to-do lists! Here are a few strategies on how to maximize your time, energy and effort through good planning, habits and personal perspective!

 PLANNING

1. Plan ahead.

•      Take:  10 minutes to plan your day
•                 ½ hour to plan for the week
•                 1 hour to plan for the month

  2.   Do the most important things first (with-in the first ½ of your day take 10 minutes to plan for the day)

• What do I need to do?
• How long it will take?
• What is most important? (prioritize)

Do the top 3 important things FIRST! You have heard the Rock story… if you fill your jar with pebbles, sand, gravel, water, and dirt first (distractions, routines, crisis’s, tasks), there is often not any room left for the big rocks (important priorities that often get cheated, ignored, procrastinated, and left undone because there is just not time).

  3.  Evaluate. We often spend 80% of our day doing things that are 20% effective and 20% of our day on things that are 80% effective. Look at what you are doing with your time. What are the essential things that make the biggest impact? Look to stream-line or eliminate the things that are least effective and spend more time on those things that are most productive.

 DEVELOP STRONG HABITS. Habits are a silent contributor to how we work. Often we do not see these as part of the equation because they are so natural to us. One way to increase your efficiency is to identify old habits that are not working and replace them with good habits that support what we want.

 1.    Identify Old Habits. Evaluate:

• What am I doing & why? (procrastinating, distracting myself, fire fighting, etc.)
• What is not working? (running from one thing to the next, getting frustrated, etc.) List 3 things you want to stop (reacting, procrastinating by cleaning, making excuses, etc). It is good to create a structure for what you will do if you catch yourself doing something you want to stop.
• What is working great? (AM to do list, listening to holiday music, writing my goal daily, etc.)

PERSONALIED – VISION – MOTIVATION – FOCUS – CLARITY – ENERGY – SPEED – PRODUCTIVITY – RESULTS – SUCCESS – and more.. What could you do with this?

PERSONALIZED. Every person has unique strengths, gifts and talents. Every person things and operates in their own special way that works for them. It is great to read books, listen to audios and be mentors by others that have gone before us. We can learn from these resources, AND they do not always for work us. Coaching allows a dynamic conversation to happen to meet you where you are at that day and personally customize and adapt what you want with strategies and tactics that are in line with how you naturally function. Coaching takes a holistic view at your short term goals and places them in line with your long term goals not only for the area of focus but also your whole life. This is unique and critical as many things “happen” in life that can distract, lure and pull us off the course. Coaching looks to understand you, your goals and your path in a way that is customized to work with the way you think, act and function in life.

VISION. You will have a clear idea of where you want to go and how to get there. Often we know the end result, but do not see what it takes to get there. This is critical for your success. You cannot do what you cannot see first. Coaching will ask you questions to make sure your vision is strong.

MOTIVATION. You will know what you really want and understand your unique values and motives to keep you moving forward. Stop procrastinating, delaying and putting off because of fears, perfectionism and doubts.

FOCUS. You will be able to operate with clear priorities, doing what is most important things which will allow you to excel in the midst of ‘urgent’ demands and busy chaotic schedules and lives.

CLARITY. Each coaching session deepens your learning about how you work and think. Coaching also prepares you for action and supports you in getting crystal clear on the steps to take. By work with a coach, you will get a helicopter perspective so that you can return to your business and navigate quickly because you have taken time to assess where you are going. You will be able to see what is right in front of you and developed a plan to forge ahead.

ENERGY. You will find yourself working at your optimum potential. Why? When you are operating in line with your values, life just simply comes together in an easy way. Coaching will give you with the encouragement, momentum, and natural dynamics to operate more efficiently and effectively. You cannot get more hours in the day, but if you have more energy, you will get more done and feel great!

SPEED. You will be more effective. Through planning and strategizing, you will be able to eliminate ineffective methods and enhance those methods that are most natural to supporting you in reaching your goals quicker.

PRODUCTIVITY. You will simply get more done. Coaching will keep your goals clear and in line with your vision. Next, it ensures that what you are doing is important to furthering the bottom line, not just want is urgent, easy or obvious. Then, the regular accountability provides a structure that will keep you moving forward, so you can really get it all done.

RESULTS. Through regular coaching and consistent follow-up, you will increase your bottom-line results. Profits. Clients. Personal Passions. Weight Lose. Whatever your objective is, coaching is a strategic partnership to support you in getting what you want as quickly as possible. If you are ready and motivated, you can actually double what you accomplish in a period of time.

SUCCESS. You will be more successful. Through keeping focused on what you want, the goals and the plan, coaching helps you keep the big picture in mind while you implement the small steps. While focusing on the goals, coaching monitors the balance in your whole life, so you are not distracted with life pulls but have all the elements of your life complimenting your actions. Before you know it, your goal is complete!