Let's Lead
☆ Martin Seville
??Personal Development Specialist?? Working with Leaders, Managers, Business Owners and Teams to overcome what's in their way and build the life they want.
Welcome to the eighth edition of the Your Extraordinary Life Newsletter.
THANK YOU for subscribing and being part of this journey together.
Before we get started: News Flash! We've passed 1,000 subscribers!
What a thrill to have reached this milestone. I'm so grateful to each and every one of you. When I started this newsletter, I had no idea how it would be received. I knew it would be packed with valuable content, but would anyone actually subscribe? Well, you did, continue to, and here we are.
If there's a life lesson in there (you know I love my life lessons) it's that we all have ideas, but how often do we not act them? To achieve a success, to make a difference, we have to start. Start small. Start uncertain. Start awkward. Start with good intention. Put yourself out there. Give it time. Be consistent. Acknowledge the progress. You can't be certain about how things will play out, but the joy and excitement is in finding out. THANK YOU.
So, as we continue to build a great community of like-minded people who want to live their most Extraordinary Life, let's keep that up.
Now, on to all the goodness in this edition. As a recap, this newsletter is designed to help You navigate the thrills and spills of professional and personal life. In each issue you'll get:
Motivation Time
This issue's theme is about working on yourself so you can be a better leader at work, at home, in life. The legendary Jim Rohn reminders us of this in this short Motivational Video about the power of working on ourselves.
In it he perfectly describes a common situation where we get stressed, overwhelmed and unhappy with things. We feel trapped and even consider this is how it has to be. We then turn to hoping, wishing and praying that something out of our control will change to improve things.
Does that sound familiar? It certainly describes many years of my corporate career. Then I realised we have far more power than we give ourselves credit. We can learn how to deal with challenges better, how to shift our mindset, look at work differently, focus our time differently and take seriously the daily habits we have to keep us on track, healthy and connected with our families.
I'll talk more about that in this issue's Framework, but suffice to say, I came to the same conclusion as Jim ...
If you do that, everything, and everyone, around you benefits, including your job.
Extraordinary Life Lesson
Be deliberate and intentional with your time and energy.
It's so easy to be busy, to rush from one thing to the next, to get swept up in the demands, routines and habits of life and business. It's exhausting and not particularly fulfilling either.
When it comes to life and leadership, it's all about being deliberate and intentional. It's about challenging what isn't serving us and being open to new ways of thinking and doing things.
This is one of the key lessons I've learnt in recent years. Be deliberate and intentional. Don't drift and don't get stuck in ways of thinking and doing. Challenge what you're doing and how you're doing it. It doesn't mean you have to have every second of the day planned, but it does mean setting boundaries, being in the moment and choosing what and who to spend time and energy with.
Your time and energy is your most valuable gift ... use it deliberately and intentionally. Do this and the quality of your life will greatly improve.
Your Roadmap to Work Leadership
Frameworks are priceless. Whether they help you get predictable and sustainable results, or help you reflect, plan and take action.
Today's framework helps you with results and action.
Created after reviewing 20 years of corporate ladder climbing and then building my own business, I wanted to create a simple framework that helped stressed and overwhelmed leaders, managers and business owners. As you may know, my own story travelled the route of every element of stress and worse. With 72 hour days and a to-do-list of over 800 items, my workload and time got as out of control as it possibly could, and yet I still ploughed on, desperate to not let others down. Eventually I got so ill, I couldn't work for over a year. I'm aware that far too many people are on a similar path, and I don't want anyone to experience what I did. So, I took everything I learned and created this ... my Work Leadership Model.
The aim was to have a simple framework that addressed the key areas to work on, in a specific order. I wasn't interested in stress coping strategies or traditional time management. I don't want people "coping" with stress, I want them avoiding as much of it as possible and I don't want you "managing" your time, I want you to be in control of your time. It needed to be real, grounded and with a logical flow that just made sense. A key breakthrough for me was in what actually needs to come first, versus what we instinctively think we need first. So, let's run through the 4 steps, and the magic that happens when we progress each one.
Mindset
When we're in a place of huge workload and very little time, we naturally want to know how we can manage our workload and time better. We're still intent on getting it all done, but we're looking for the magic solution of getting it all done, all at the same time, all by last Friday. A well meaning time management course and Eisenhower Matrix might seem useful, but we soon find ourselves returning to our one strategy. The one we've used for years. The one that got us this far. The one that's actually failing us right now ... work harder and longer.
What I discovered was that if we ever stood a chance of being better and doing better when it comes to the amount of work we have, we needed to think about it differently to start with. The world's best work and time strategy won't help if we're caught up trying to do everything, believing it's all on us, believing it all needs to be done, believing it wouldn't be on our plate if it wasn't expected we could do it.
This is why we MUST start with mindset. We MUST look at work differently, and we MUST see our role at work differently. There's so much we could go through, but let me share these two fundamental mindset shifts to get you started:
It's not your capability that's in question ... it's your capacity.
I have no doubt you can do everything being asked of you. You just can't do it all, at the same time, all by last Friday.
It's not about doing everything ... it's about focusing on what makes the Biggest Difference
Without a doubt THE biggest mindset shift you can make. From thinking my role here is to do everything ... to my role here is to make the Biggest Difference. Of all these tasks that need to be done ... which do I need to focus on that makes the Biggest Difference?
Workload
Once we've made simple shifts in Mindset, we automatically start looking at our workload differently. We're no longer trying to juggle a jigsaw puzzle of 1,000 pieces. Now we're looking for the piece that will make the Biggest Difference. To do that we need to ask better questions. I suggest shifting from the despair of How am I going to get all this done? to these 3 powerful questions:
1) Why am I doing this?
Why, as in why does this task need doing, what's the outcome, what's the importance of this? There's a big difference between needing a report done because the global CEO is flying in from Switzerland on Monday morning to review the figures and make serious decisions about the division v we'd like some figures for a team meeting on Friday which we might review if we have time.
Also, Why are YOU doing it? Is there someone better placed to do it?
2) What's the consequence if this doesn't get done?
What's the consequence if it doesn't get done by the date given, or even if it doesn't get done at all?
There's a big difference between not getting that report done for the Global CEO on Monday morning v not getting those figures done for the team meeting where they may get discussed if there's time.
Really challenge the consequence. Often it's not as life and death as it's being presented, and often there are false deadlines at play. Be really mindful of these two things - from others and with the story we tell ourselves.
3) What will make the Biggest Difference?
The first two questions really start us challenging things so we understand the 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle. By doing this, we will naturally reduce the number of pieces we focus on. Ideally, I suggest reducing the number to 3 a day. The 3 tasks you absolutely need to complete or progress today. They're unlikely to be the only things you do, but they are your absolute focus.
To help, look at your reduced number of puzzle pieces, and with everything you know about them - and of your company's/division's/department's/project's/personal goals - confidently decide on the one that will make the Biggest Difference. That's the one that now requires your/your team's/your company's focus.
Time
By this point you will be feeling far more confident and in control. You're thinking and acting like a leader. So, what now? Well, now we need to carve out the time to complete the work you've identified ... without these three productivity killers:
1) Multitasking
There's no such thing. You're not saving time doing two things at once. You're in fact increasing the time it takes to do things by potentially over 100% by switching between tasks. Focus on one thing at a time. You'll get it done quicker and to a better quality.
2) Distraction
For the same reasons as multitasking, turn off distractions. Close down the 97 tabs on your computer. Turn your phone off. Remove all temptation. Noise cancelling headphones are priceless in noisy offices. Focus on the task at hand and get it done.
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3) Interruptions
There's nothing worse than being in the flow, totally focused ... only to be interrupted. Some interruptions can be avoided by turning your phone off, as above. More physical interruptions may require you to isolate yourself. I used to book out a meeting room to myself to get important work done, so I wasn't both distracted and interrupted in a busy, noisy open plan office. At home, I let family know I need to focus and shut my office door.
Habits
Now that you're thinking differently, approaching your workload differently and focusing your time differently, let's make sure you stay on top of things, with balance. Your daily habits are key to this. There are many we could discuss, but here are three to help you stay healthy, balanced and productive.
1) Regular breaks
The incredible Brendon Burchard completed the biggest study in the world of high performers. We're talking those amongst us performing high professionally, financially, in their health and their relationships. Their overall quality of life is high as a result. His study, among many valuable insights, discovered that high performers took a short break, on average, every 52 minutes. These deliberate and non-negotiable breaks improves their physical and mental performance throughout the day. Whilst most people say they're too busy to take a break, the highest performers always make time for a break. We can all learn from that.
2) Set boundaries
Here I'm talking about work and home boundaries. What's your work start time and what's your finish time. Yes I know, sometimes, we have exceptional circumstances, but what are your boundaries for all other days. The problem is, without boundaries, many people drift and every day becomes an exceptional circumstance. Late nights, missing dinner with their family, missing bedtime stories with their children. Former President, Barack Obama, was famous for having a 6.30pm family meal 5 days out of every 7. If, arguably, the busiest man in the world could set boundaries and find time to have a meal with his family, so can the rest of us.
3) Set reminders
Another little life hack I learnt from Brendon is this: set reminders on your phone. I find this invaluable for the philosophies I hold myself to account for, habits and when starting new things.
Let's use reminders for this new Work Leadership model I've introduced you to. Pick some of the key points to remind yourself of every day. For example:
> Here to make the Biggest Difference
> What are the 3 things I MUST get done today?
> Focus - No multitasking!
> Home time. No excuses.
Might be worth setting a reminder to take a break every 52nd minute of every hour through the working day too.
Over time these will just become automatic habits, routines and ways of thinking. At which point you can replace them with new reminders. Until then, it's worth doing this simple thing to help keep you on track.
Compound Effect
The philosophy that surrounds the whole Work Leadership model is the Compound Effect. I love how small things, like habits and routines, build over time to create something greater than the individual parts. What I discovered with all the elements of the Work Leadership Model is they can all individually make a big difference - as long as you start with Mindset. Collectively though, if you introduce and use each element consistently over time, you'll be living a totally different life. Lower stress, lower overwhelm, less exhaustion, more confidence, more control, more balance, bigger difference at work, more quality family time.
The beautiful thing about the Work Leadership Model is it's all totally in your control. No permission needed. It's not complicated. It's ready to be used starting right now.
I hope you've got massive value from the Work Leadership Model. I also hope you can see the logical flow of the steps, and how mindset is the key.
Enjoy and put into practice what you learn.
Recommendations
Book Recommendation
Overwhelm & Us, Compiled by Carolyn Street
You've actually just read only the second time I've written, in any depth, about my Work Leadership Model. The first time was in this book.
In my chapter, A Hero's Overwhelm, I talk you through the model and provide more insights into what you can do in each step. It starts, as all my "& Us" chapters start, in my Doctor's office getting diagnosed with being depressed and having high anxiety. I go on to describe the pressure and spirals that can easily happen working in the corporate environment, before sharing how to avoid my predicament and what I use today.
I'm joined by a collection of brilliantly honest authors from all over the world, also sharing their stories of overwhelm and what they've done to overcome it. Really proud of this book and I hope you'll enjoy and get massive value from reading it.
Check it out, let me know what you think; and remember:
"Our approach to mindset, workload, time, and habits has the power to create overwhelm and stress. It also has the power to release us from overwhelm and stress."
Here's Overwhelm & Us, using my Affiliate link. Any affiliate commissions will go towards supporting Gloucestershire Bundles who help families in crisis. I have a particular passion to help families throughout the year, and to ensure each child in these families receives a Christmas present at the end of the year.
Course Recommendation
The Work Leadership Model forms the foundation of my signature Stressed Dad to Calm Dad online programme.
This programme consists of step by step videos and exercises tackling Mindset, Workload, Time and Habits. It's the most in depth collection of trainings I've put together on this. If you're a Dad, or know one, that really needs to take back control of their work and time, this will deliver.
Access the programme here.
Alternatively, if you're looking for something to just get you started, or maybe you're not a Dad, I highly recommend my Belief Busting Blueprint Bundle. A collection of three trainings taking you through a proven framework to bust three of the most common beliefs we have about work that can keep us stuck, stressed and overwhelmed.
Community Recommendation
It's our small, global community of like-minded people looking to be better and do better, so we can live our most Extraordinary Lives. With an increasing library of over 80 hours of Exclusive trainings and events, there's plenty of valuable content and resources for everyone ... for Free!
I look forward to welcoming you soon.
Sign off
Thank You for joining us for this 1,000 subscriber edition of the Your Extraordinary Life Newsletter!
I hope you've found it valuable in helping you beat overwhelm, bring back some control over your life and Get Leading, professionally and personally! When we learn from what others have done it can save us so much time and frustration. So, as always, it's been a pleasure and privilege putting this together for you.
I'd love to hear from you. So, drop me a comment or message on what you think, ask any questions you may have, and please do share the newsletter with anyone that might benefit. Lets keep this community growing.
If you'd like to go a little deeper into anything we've covered in this edition, then please do book a free call. It would be a privilege to help you.
Thanks again, and until next time, remember just how Extraordinary you are.
Your coach, mentor and friend,
Martin