It has felt like a mighty heave was required to get me back into work mode this year. Not because I don’t love my work, or even because I still wanted to be at the beach. This summer my focus has been fully on my family. In my last blog I wrote about disconnecting in order to connect.
Having all four of my kids home, dealing with a multitude of needs, wants, agendas, I have really had to exert all my capacity for flexibility. I truly don’t find flexibility easy. It isn’t my natural state. I like order, focus, a plan. Or as my husband says (with an eye roll) a LIST!
So, on my first alone day in what feels like months, I got to dictate my agenda. My goal was to refocus. (My word for the year is PAUSE)
These are the steps I took to refocus in case you might be feeling similar.
1. Braindump all the things I want to do, need to do, feel I should do. I chose a time frame of the next month, but you could choose a week, school term or year. I also restricted myself to work or business tasks. Although, if all your life is feeling a bit crazy it can be quite cathartic to dump everything down onto paper. This can clear it out of your monkey brain (when you keep ruminating on everything and can’t switch off).
2. Unpack – I reflected on where I am truly up to now. I based this on my review at the end of 2018, while recognising the other things that have shifted this year. For instance, now the kids are back at school my work day looks different, and that influences how I use my time. If you are wanting to unpack where you are up to you might choose to consider these categories:
Health
Family
Finances
Relationships
Social
Career/ Work/ Business
Personal Growth or Study
Attitude or Mindset
Are there any aspects of these that feel out of whack or needing some attention?
3. Group the To Dos – once I had my categories I went back to my braindump and organised each of the tasks into these categories. For instance under Mindset I added the need to re-establish my work schedule for the school term.
4. Prioritise – I took a good hard look at what I had put down, and decided which were really important or urgent, which would be nice to do, and which I could cross off or delegate. I highlighted those tasks that I feel will have the biggest impact on my stress levels and satisfaction. I also chose 3 tasks I could complete immediately and had the satisfaction of ticking off – phone calls, emails etc. That helps me create a sense of momentum.
5. Finally, I scheduled time in my diary to work on the most important, and high impact tasks on my list over the next few weeks.
I can feel a shift in my motivation and focus ready for a rewarding and productive term ahead. It really is possible to shift your mindset with a refocus.
If you would like more support with this process contact me to discuss a supervision session, or have a look at my self-paced e-course Emerge From Overwhelm.
