Having too much on your plate?
Lucica Ibanescu - Coach
Coaching professionals in tech to design their leadership style, use their voice and build careers rooted in their unique strengths, wellbeing and authenticity ?? Professional ACC Coach by ICF
Hey there! ?? How is the start of the new year for you?
One of the most common topics I have worked with recently was around the idea of having the plate (too) full - and also feeling unable to do something about it.?
Do you currently have such a plate in front of you?
If so, keep reading and experiment with something new moving forward.
Visualize your plate
In our 1:1 session I usually invite my clients to actually "see" their plate in detail - immediately concepts like overwhelm, lack of control, paralysis, inaction or procrastination, lack of productivity and high stress start to bubble up to the surface.? Yes, sometimes inaction is the response to a full plate, a feeling of “I don′t know what to pick up first so I procrastinate” followed by stress as more food piles up on the plate.
We react instead of act.
Having a clear picture of “the type of food” on your plate is a good place to start exploring further:
The buffet game
I invite my clients to imagine they sit in front of a buffet with an empty plate. Having in mind their impact but also their wellbeing, what do they choose to put on their plate?
Inevitably they begin categorizing work, thinking about priorities and what is truly important, what is under their control, saying “No”, delegating - they are now in a different mental space because the “buffet” shifted their perspective enough to get out of their heads for 15-20 minutes and think differently.?
?? If you need some support re-arranging your plate I am more than happy to work with you - Let′s meet for a free chat, no string attached: https://bit.ly/lu-coach
For those who wish to work alone on this issue here are 2 well known alternatives to pick from, when it comes to the management of your plate:
1. Stephen Covey′s "Important vs. Urgent" time management matrix
Take a look at the work on you plate: where on the matrix would you put each item??
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"Energy vs. Impact" matrix
I normally use it when working with coachees who are dancing with burnout, constantly running on low batteries and having a hard time recharging.?
The purpose of mapping the activities (and the time they take, in the form of how big each bubble is) on this matrix is to shift as much work as possible towards Battery Charging + High Impact - because burnout, lack of engagement or unemployment live in the other 3 areas.?
Once all the work is visible you can take informed, conscious decisions:
?I know you know all this. But still, here I am, hearing a lot of talk about "surviving" the week, or the year... ??
Share your "plate" story
What are you currently doing to balance your work & wellbeing better ??? I am curious to read your stories, if you feel like sharing them with me.
?? Hi! I’m Lu, a work-life balance coach for the unapologetically ambitious
?? Interested in how coaching can support you in achieving your goals? Let′s meet for a free chat, no string attached: https://bit.ly/lu-coach
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Agile Coach | co-Founder Ally | Helping Software Engineering and Product Development Teams Achieve High Performance Team Health |
1 个月I love this metaphor! I would even take it one step further and have a conversation with my client about the actual food they're putting in their bodies to sustain themselves during these busy days. I'm thinking about those afternoon sugar crashes for example. After all we need good fuel for our bodies. One other exercise I ask my coachees to try is to limit things even more so that each day they can feel like they're making progress. I ask them to choose their MIT (most important thing) at the beginning of every day. Just 1 thing that they need to make progress on. The MIT is one of my foundation tools in my own daily habits and it serves me well.