As an exercise for the class, I signed up to have 12 people from my work evaluate me in relation to people management, leadership, teamwork, coaching, time management, communication, etc. The results of this in conjunction with my topic on effectiveness are united. My strengths are in energy, enthusiasm, team support and my opportunities lie in structuring time and work more effectively towards personal, work and team goals. The opportunity is around being clear, deliberate and focused in my work and pre-planning to accomplish that. I spend so much time fretting about the large piles I seem to attract, that it is often difficult for me to consider let alone work on what is most important until it falls behind and becomes URGENT (and stressful). Further, it spills into anything I work on with others so I need to ensure they have clear direction that allows them to succeed. So I am working on a plan to enhance my self-regulation and ask for help from anyone who I collaborate with to support me in this work. I am giving myself a two month window to experiment, in order to accomplish the large projects at work, the major initiatives for school and the personal work I hope to do along the way to prepare for my son's arrival. I think the huge benefits I will receive in being more intentional include: sense of accomplishment, more availability to engage in supporting relationship and satisfaction that I am doing what is more important to me right now.
I am working on my schedule, major priorities and exploring various organizational systems. I have included a few basic links around scheduling as I work to figure out how best to structure my time.
Wikipedia on the subject:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_management
Weekly calendar page and ideas for filling/structuring time:
http://web.mit.edu/uaap/learning/modules/time/weeklyplanner.pdf
Suggestions for clearing a cluttered desk:
http://www.organizetips.com/office.htm
My plan is to start with a plan for each day that really focuses on key initiatives.
I am going to focus on a minimum of once a week, organizing my desk and space.
I am going to do weekend planning for my food/cloths and household needs to ensure I am more efficient through the work week.
If anyone else has tips that have been helpful for them, I am always interested in hearing about people's personal strategies on this front.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Am I an Idiot? Finding music or anything for that matter
It is a great mystery to me how the lay person finds meaning in things that are primarily managed or appreciated by experts. I feel I am beating my head against a wall and wonder if I am capable of figuring these things out or if I should give up! A few examples that are haunting me at the moment. . .
- Searching for music to try and listen to what Michael Gelb lists as the "Great Music From the Classic Cannon." I thought it would be great to do and started searching for the pieces, the artists, etc, by typing in exactly what he provided on page 118 of How to Think Like Leonardo Davinci. Frankly, hundreds of people have created versions of "Bach:Mass in B Minor" which all sound different and are about different pieces of this selection. Which is best? How do I know I am actually getting the right piece? Is it me who is just ignorant or did Michael need to provide additional details? If these are the best, shouldn't there be an album with them? Anyone a music buff out there? It left me feeling that I should abandon this exercise though I would really like to hear the pieces.
-Searching for articles and texts within the Libraries massive search engines. I feel sometimes I am trying to make articles work for me, rather than finding exactly what I need. Additionally, I wonder if 25 articles really exist? I think I am figuring out how to get around EBSCO, but it seems to be a primary engine in the areas I use such as PsycInfo. I don't know how to start with a search engine specifically, only to reference a link when EBSCO does not have my article and then I am redirected to a different engine. I am sure it was covered several times during our 6 hours focused on searching, but I can't figure it out.
All of this makes me feel a bit lost and ineffective, but the only think I can think is that it is a challenge and maybe if I stick with it, I will achieve some sense of FLOW.
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- Searching for music to try and listen to what Michael Gelb lists as the "Great Music From the Classic Cannon." I thought it would be great to do and started searching for the pieces, the artists, etc, by typing in exactly what he provided on page 118 of How to Think Like Leonardo Davinci. Frankly, hundreds of people have created versions of "Bach:Mass in B Minor" which all sound different and are about different pieces of this selection. Which is best? How do I know I am actually getting the right piece? Is it me who is just ignorant or did Michael need to provide additional details? If these are the best, shouldn't there be an album with them? Anyone a music buff out there? It left me feeling that I should abandon this exercise though I would really like to hear the pieces.
-Searching for articles and texts within the Libraries massive search engines. I feel sometimes I am trying to make articles work for me, rather than finding exactly what I need. Additionally, I wonder if 25 articles really exist? I think I am figuring out how to get around EBSCO, but it seems to be a primary engine in the areas I use such as PsycInfo. I don't know how to start with a search engine specifically, only to reference a link when EBSCO does not have my article and then I am redirected to a different engine. I am sure it was covered several times during our 6 hours focused on searching, but I can't figure it out.
All of this makes me feel a bit lost and ineffective, but the only think I can think is that it is a challenge and maybe if I stick with it, I will achieve some sense of FLOW.
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Sunday, September 23, 2007
Blogging Anonymity
Just wanted to ponder this whole concept of blogging for a minute. As we explore this channel, I am curious about risk and reward. I sense some have a fear of exposure. Someone commented about my openness, while we have all talked about personal concerns for who is watching/reading. Who might read and what would that do for us? For me, this avenue seems safer than actually talking to a person. I can say what I want and see how others interact with it over time. Further I love the variety of entries and comments of our class, that range from personal journal, to personal reflection to open ended questions. It strikes me as a powerful way to better understand one another, challenge our thinking (class goal) and see things from perspectives other than our own (DaVinci). I am curious what you think about what blogging means for you, the risk and reward you perceive and your goals for using this as a tool to spur on your own effectiveness.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Thoughts on Effectiveness
What motivates YOU to get up in the morning (i.e. what do you look forward to and dread)? Similarly, what keeps YOU up at night? I believe these questions speak to our underlying sense of what matters to us at a moment in time. This drives choices, actions and reactions. The more we can author and channel these driving forces, the more we can get to what matters most to us.
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