Do you wish you could work
less and play more?
Are you
so stuck in the
rut you
can't see a way out? Have
you ever said I wish I had
more time for me?
Well there is hope. First
of all you have to be aware
of your situation, have a
strong desire to change and
then take action.
Jackie's Story
Jackie is 31 yrs of age and
the Business Development
Manager for an insurance
company.
She always arrived at
work at 8.00 a.m. and never
left the office before 6.30
p.m. most nights. She
bemoaned the fact that work
took over her life.
Through the process of
coaching we discovered that
the only reason Jackie
didn't have a personal life
was because she never
planned to have one.
She realised she buried
herself in her work
needlessly. She avoided
going home as she had
nothing to look forward to.
Jackie lived on her own, she
wasn't in a relationship and
had no hobbies. So she
defined her purpose in life
through her work. It made
her feel worthwhile and
wanted. Although her career
was blossoming, Jackie was
unhappy. In fact, she was
lonely.
We worked on getting
Jackie on purpose in her
personal life.
Through the coaching
process we concentrated on
three key goals which would
be achievable and realistic
over a six month period.
Why? Because that
timeframe is long enough to
achieve measurable results
and make long term changes.
Jackie's main goal areas
related to her career,
health and fitness and
relationships. This is what
she came up with:
Career
Leave work by 5.00 p.m. each
day.
Health and
Fitness
To be able to wear my black
skirt. (Jackie had put on so
much weight that she
couldn't do the zip up.)
Relationship
To be in a loving
relationship.
There were a number of
secondary goals, however
these three were the key
ones that Jackie was the
most passionate about and
was prepared to take action
on.
Define the Goal
Once the goals were
defined we then worked out
the strategies to reach them
and then the actions to take
to achieve them.
Career -
Leave work by 5.00 p.m.
each day
We looked at Jackie's time
management. I had her fill
out our Weekly Planner which
also can be used as a time
sheet. We discovered she
wasted at least two hours a
day on unwanted
interruptions and being
unable to say 'no'. We
showed her simple ways to
plan her day more
effectively and get more
done.
Health and
Fitness - To be
able to wear my black skirt.
Jackie had no exercise
routine and her diet was
inadequate. Together we
worked out the best solution
for her physical activity
which was to join the gym
near her work. By attending
the gym at 6.00 a.m. each
morning she was able to
bounce into work instead of
dragging herself in.
In fact the gym was a
double bonus as there were a
few good relationship
prospects who attended at
that hour.
Jackie never planned what
she would eat. In fact she
didn't shop regularly and
therefore would often grab
fast food for lunch and
dinner. By showing her
healthier alternatives and
planning time to shop, it
was easy for her to improve
her diet and overall
well-being.
Relationship
- To be in a loving
relationship
Through the coaching process
Jackie realised she would
have to be proactive in this
area and needed to meet more
people. She had always
wanted to do photography and
enrolled in a TAFE short
course. By doing this not
only did she meet a nice
unattached guy but fulfilled
a deep seated need to do
something creative in her
life.
Once Jackie realised that
she wanted to have a life
and was focused on her
goals, everything changed.
On her own she would most
likely not have made any
significant changes as it
would have been too
overwhelming and require her
to move out of her comfort
zone.
The fact that she was
investing her own money in
herself and had someone to
be accountable to, made a
huge impact on the results
she achieve.
5 Simple Ways You
Can Make More Time For
Your Life
#1 Learn how to
manage your time so you can
be as effective as possible.
You can read books on time
management, attend courses
or the most effective way is
to have a coach to work with
you.
#2 Say "no"
You don't always have to say
yes to everyone else’s
requests. You can say 'no'.
Perhaps you need to learn
how to be more assertive.
#3 Lighten your
load
Wherever possible look at
ways of delegating or
outsourcing tasks to free up
more of your time, i.e. at
home have a cleaner or
gardener. At work see who
else can help to lighten
your workload.
#4 Do similar
things at the one time
Do all your errands in one
trip. Visit clients on the
one day. Allocate a block of
time to return phone calls
or respond to emails each
day.
#5 Timetable Your
Life
Plan in your diary when you
will take time out for you.
Maybe every lunchtime you'll
go for a 30 minute walk or
attend the gym three
mornings a week, have a
facial or massage
fortnightly. If it's not in
the diary chances are it
won't happen.
The Final Word
Many people often float
through life with no
particular purpose. They'll
make the excuse "I haven't
got time". It's easy to say
"I haven't got time" or "I'm
too busy" to avoid having to
change and stretch
themselves. However, what is
the alternative? Continually
do the same thing and
getting the same results or
making changes and getting
different results?
The choice is yours.
Lorraine Pirihi is
Australia's No. 1
Productivity Coach. She's
also a dynamic presenter and
a leading business and life
coach.
Her business
The Office Organiser
specialises in showing small
business owners and
managers, how to get
organised at work so they
can have a life! Lorraine is
also a dynamic speaker and
has produced many products
including
"How to
Survive and Thrive at Work!"
To subscribe
to her free ezine visit
www.office-organiser.com.au
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