“If only I had more time to get things done …” If this is a lament you say to yourself more often than not then it’s clear you need a new strategy. I’m not judging because I’ve caught myself saying this more than I care to admit but it got to a point at the beginning of this year when I had enough!

I had all these big goals for the summer that included: (more…)

As I write this I’m not long back in New Zealand after taking another unplanned trip back to Ireland. Although it was great to see family, sadly the circumstances weren’t what I would have wished for; however, in life we can’t always choose the outcomes we’re faced with. In these instances we can ask ourselves, “Why did this happen to me?” but, after working through the emotion that often comes with tough times, I prefer to ask, “What now?”

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From catching up with my coaching colleagues a common theme that keeps coming up is that CEOs and senior leaders are struggling to build or maintain a sense of culture within their teams or across their organisation. While it is a new world, a lot of the skills leaders possess can be easily transferred to this new world. The problem is that in the majority of cases these skills are simply just tweaking the basics. (more…)

According to Wikipedia, “Let them eat cake” is the traditional translation of the French phrase “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche”, said to have been spoken in the 17th or 18th century by “a great princess” upon being told that the peasants had no bread. The French phrase mentions brioche, a bread enriched with butter and eggs, considered a luxury food. The quote is taken to reflect either the princess’s frivolous disregard for the starving (more…)

I was only ever pretty average at school. The best grade I got was a ‘B’ and I only got it once. Needless to say the world of academia wasn’t for me. I was more into sports and training at the time so it was off to fitness and leisure management for me. What was really interesting is that I soon propelled myself to the top of the class. (more…)

Have you ever been brushed off, ignored, demeaned, silenced, or humiliated? These painful and memorable experiences trigger the self-censoring instinct that is within us all and effectively neutralises performance. When social friction exists in a team the predictable approach to our work is one of caution, preventing people from bringing their whole self to work. (more…)

Welcome to 2022! What a year it’s been! Indeed, the great thing about a new year is that it gives us the energy, the determination and the focus to do something new. Unfortunately, most of us, by the end of the month, will already have lost our will to continue with the changes we so fervently committed to only a few weeks before. We’re funny ol’ creatures, aren’t we?

The question in the title is a big one. Mostly we’re asked the question, who are you? (more…)

We’re 2 months into the new year and if you’re like most it probably feels like the break over Christmas is a distant memory. I’ve fallen into a familiar trap over the last couple of weeks and now it’s time for me to eat my own dog food. I’ve been going at quite the pace lately, neglecting the importance of strategic downtime and treating my days like a non-stop sprint. The problem with that of course is that it can be exhausting and my energy levels never really get a chance to recover before I go again. It’s clearly not sustainable and although the level of effort is the same, the level of productivity (or value I add) decreases and the level of stress remain consistently high. Think of it like the law of diminishing returns.

Here’s how it commonly works…

As effort increases so does our productivity (value) and stress levels. Our effort tends to hit a plateau at some stage during the day and we continue to churn on; however, our productivity level starts to slide and our stress level continues to rise.

This isn’t sustainable in the long run. That’s when fatigue can kick in and our motivation for work (and life) can seem like it’s all just too much like hard work.

The Benefits of Implementing Strategic Downtime in Your Workday

So what’s the solution? The solution is introducing what is called ‘Strategic Downtime’. Strategic Downtime is about consciously scheduling mini-breaks throughout your working day to reset and refocus on the work you’re doing. This approach will ensure that each task or meeting is tackled with gusto and energy increasing your productivity and your overall value contribution throughout the day.

This is what it might look like…

As you can see, our effort increases in the same way at the start of the day as does our stress and productivity but then we consciously introduce strategic downtime. Obviously our productivity goes down but it doesn’t go down to zero because during the strategic downtown we’re preparing ourselves for what’s coming next whilst taking time out. The big benefit, of course, is that our stress levels reduce significantly before we go again. This is important because high stress during the day is a drain on our energy levels, impairs our judgement, impacts our ability to make effective decisions, and impedes our emotional regulation.

So what might this look like in reality? It’s different for everyone and so it might take a little bit of experimentation to find the sweet spot for you. As an example, a productivity phase may last for 1.5 – 2 hours. During this time you commit yourself to achieving something important in that time, ideally without interruption. Once you achieve that mini-goal decide what task is next and then take a short break (strategic downtime). This might consist of grabbing a cup of coffee or a glass of water, going for a walk around the block, or chatting with a colleague. A short break might last only 5 or 10 minutes but it’s enough for us to reset for the next task. The working day should be broken into a series of sprints with the aim of producing high value outputs during each productivity phase.

The added bonus to this approach is you will have much more energy at the end of the day to carry out what is arguably the most important work of the day… time with your children and family.

I hope you take a moment to implement this approach and give it a go. I recommend trying it for a couple of weeks and notice the difference in your productivity and overall energy levels throughout the day.

If you’d like to know more about how to achieve more in life or business, or if you’d like to explore how coaching can help you become a better leader (of others or yourself!), or even if you’re just generally curious about what professional coaching can offer you, please contact us at any time for a free consultation. Let’s connect on LinkedIn!

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Happy New Year!!! Over the holidays I spent a few days building a French Drain. We bought our house about nine years ago and the back garden has never been right. Because of the position of our neighbours property and the slope of the ground, when it rained, we always ended up with a completely waterlogged back garden. Well after nine years I decided to do something about it. (more…)

Towards the end of the year I always find my mind wandering back to the year gone by. I look back on those things that have gone well, the things I’ve accomplished – how have I moved my life and career forward? – who have I connected with, and what could I learn from or do better?

I find this exercise invaluable because (more…)