Image by Samantha Gades on Unsplash
The loss of control over our work and social lives, and trying keep up with our obligations while dealing with all these big shifts in our routines, work spaces, and connection levels puts many at risk for serious burnout. This impacts our focus, effectiveness, and our relationships at work and beyond.
Leaders need to manage their energy and create the right physical and mental space to think critically, listen fully, and sustain well-being to effectively navigate these challenges. They also need to support their teams to do the same.
Being intentional about where we focus energy is critical. It also takes practice and experimentation as situations and circumstances change. Below you’ll find a few strategies to help you find small ways to simplify and increase focus in the year ahead.
If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.
Be Bold on Boundaries
Boundaries are the guardrails that can protect our time and well-being. They help us create clarity for ourselves and with others, and help restore our sense of control. Boundaries also help us be accountable for how we work, and our results.
Boundaries should align with our values, support our purpose, and make it easier for us to focus and contribute. Some questions to consider when determining boundaries might be:
What time do I work best?
What commitments do I want to make to myself about my health? My family?
When is my energy highest/lowest?
What information do I need? How do I process information best?
When do I need to build relationships? Or plan and prepare?
How will I make sure the team has what they need?
Getting clear on how we work best, and how we support others best, helps us take control of our time and communicate directly about it. For example: “I am available between 8:30am and 5pm but I only check my device about 1X per hour. I will respond to emails/texts based on urgency, and usually within 24 hours. If you need something sooner – please call and I will make time.”
Boundaries need to be guideposts, not brick walls. They help us say yes to less, but as conditions change we may need to adjust. The key is to make a conscious choice, based on what serves our purpose and goals, and to communicate and create agreements with others about how we can all work best together.
Take it to your Team: Take time to discuss boundaries together to protect time for each person’s best work, and to keep team collaboration supportive. E.g. When are “off” hours? What is a reasonable response time? When are in-person meetings expected? Or preferred? When are they not? What deadlines are firm, and which are flexible?
Be Unwavering About WHY
Purpose gives us a clear sense of WHY we are leading, which can guide our actions on HOW. Being clear on purpose also helps us build clarity with our team. Knowing why we’re doing something makes it easier to both evaluate and simplify what we choose to do.
Try this: Take stock of all your commitments, tasks, activities, and plans. Look at your list and ask yourself why each item is there, why it needs to be done, at this time, and in this way. What assumptions have you made? Does it support your goals? Does it enable someone else to be successful? Does it meet a fundamental need, or help you live up to your values, or purpose?
If an item on your list doesn’t hold a clear “yes” to one of these questions, does it need to be there? If it does, can it be adjusted to a better time, smaller steps, or simpler way to make progress and achieve the same thing?
More and more research is showing us that productivity and success come from focusing on the right things, not doing more things. Being clear about WHY we are doing something simplifies our to-do list by shifting our focus to what’s truly a priority.
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished
Lao Tzu
Consider “Fallow” vs. Fail
Farmers have a practice of letting fields rest by not planting them for a specific period of time. Leaving the field empty, or “fallow” periodically, helps the soil replenish nutrients, which makes for healthier future crops without need of interventions like fertilizer, irrigation etc.
We often hold on to our own exhausted field of tasks, obligations, and standards because it feels like a failure if we stop “planting” or working feverishly. We think we’ll lose time, status, or success. We’re afraid to adjust or let something go because we fear judgement from ourselves or others, or compare ourselves to others who seem to to do it all.
By embracing a fallow vs. fail mindset, we can choose to put a goal or expectation on hold, for the greater benefit of our energy and contribution in a given set of conditions, without cancelling it forever. We can give ourselves permission to stop or change something for a specific period, and commit to revisiting, revising, or restoring it when conditions change. Maybe it’s holding off on that website update, dropping a project, or putting a product or service on hold. At home, it might be adjusting our standards for household chores, screen time, or making meals from scratch. Adapting and choosing what to stop doing isn’t failure, it’s focus.
When we increase our awareness of what’s driving our to-do list, we can reclaim our ability to choose, and can let go of activities or expectations that may not serve our teams or organizations in the long run. This can simplify decision making and how we structure our day-to-day work. Complexity and change will be part of our reality. By challenging ourselves to reconnect to our values and be intentional in how we work, we increase our ability to focus on the things that matter most.
Sources:
Habits for Wellbeing https://www.habitsforwellbeing.com/20-inspirational-quotes-on-simplicity/
Shane Snow How to Set Boundaries At Work via Forbes.com (April 13 2020)