We are setting ourselves up for holiday success this year! This is the year of no regrets! No longer will we be working at our computers listening to our family’s laughter in the next room. No longer will we be physically with our families but mentally stressing about work. No more! To get ourselves to that place, we are working through a process. Last week you did something that maybe you rarely let yourself do, you allowed yourself to get specific and dream about how the holidays will look and feel on a personal level. Now it’s time to look at the holidays relative to our careers and find that balance.
The reality is that for some of you, dreaming about the holidays caused a little stress. As you were dreaming and setting goals a part of your brain started screaming, “What about work?!”
How about we silence that scream and reconcile your personal and professional lives?
It’s going to take a bit of work but if you want a “no regrets” holiday season, I know you’re not afraid of a little work. And I also know that once you do this work, you will feel even more confident about making your personal dreams a reality.
So let’s get to work!
Grab your calendar, look back over the past week, and start classifying the events on your calendar. (Get the workbook to find a resource that will help you map out your time more effectively.) Here’s how you are going to classify the work:
- Value-Add
- Security
- Filler
If the work is truly required because it is something that only you can do, put a V beside it. Inherently if it’s work that only you can execute in the organization (either because of your training, title, or both), it must be a valuable addition to the company.
If the function you performed and the time was spent primarily to make you feel more secure in your role, meaning no one asked you to do the work, no one expects you to do the work in question, but you’re doing it because you think that specific action helps you be more successful and makes you feel secure, put an S.
If you spent the time simply filling up the day, it wasn’t work the company needed, it wasn’t anything that made you safer or more successful, you simply just felt like you needed to be working during that time of the day and so you did some sort of work, put an F beside it.
After you do this time assessment, total up the hours for each work type and see where you’re spending your time. Make some distinctions as you review.
The only type of work you must continue to do is which type? Value-add.
Knowing this, are there specific blocks of time that you can take back? Actions and work that are classified as “security” and “filler,” right?
How much time can you get back into your personal schedule from the security and filler buckets?
Take some time to start adjusting your schedule accordingly.
If you want direct support, don’t forget to DM me on Facebook or send me an email at katrina@legendleaders.com with the word “HOLIDAYS” and we can chat.
Be Legendary!