1. Make a List of Deadlines Instead of a To-do List Most likely, you have a to-do list - in a notebook or organizer, in notes on your phon...
1. Make a List of Deadlines Instead of a To-do List
Most likely, you have a
to-do list - in a notebook or organizer, in notes on your phone, or just in
your head. Does it ever happen that some tasks have been moving from the list
to list for several months, and their hands never reach their
completion? They hang like dead weight, hinting at your unproductiveness
and laziness. Getting rid of such tasks and shortening the to-do list is easier than it seems.
Set a deadline for each
task on the list. This is the easiest way to turn a to-do list into a
schedule and a clear plan for what to do and when.
For example, if you are writing a
business proposal for a large client, include the date when you submit it. By
this time, you must not only draw up a commercial proposal but also take into
account the time it takes for the designer/assistant/freelancer to issue
it. Accordingly, the task will have several more deadlines:
- 1 - when you give the sketches to the designer,
- 2 - when the designer sends the finished version,
- 3 - when you send the edits to the designer,
- 4 - receive the final version of the commercial
proposal and send it to the client.
Now, instead of one vague task from the list, you have a developed
plan with clear deadlines, along with which you will move.
If you work in a team, it is important that everyone on the team
can see the tasks and deadlines of colleagues. This is helped by the
services of task trackers - Trello, PlanFix. As a last resort, the command
task tracker can be assembled in an Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheets.
The main benefit of setting deadlines for all work (and not only) tasks are reducing stress levels. You will begin to control what is happening and plan your day based on deadlines since you will already have a clear schedule. It remains only to adhere to it and adjust according to the situation.
2. Pump up Critical Thinking
Many entrepreneurs sin by making the first decision that comes to
mind. In the rush and bustle, they don't take the time to assess the
problem from all sides. But the first proposed solution is not always the
best. The skill of critical thinking will help protect against mistakes.
There are several ways to sharpen your mind to critically evaluate
your decisions and not "flog a fever."
First, question any assumptions and decisions you make. Especially
when the stakes are high. If you have come up with a new development
strategy, ask yourself: “Why is this strategy the best in this case? Is
there any market research on this, and what do they claim? "
Second, enable logic. Evaluate how obvious are the arguments
in favor of this or that conclusion to make an informed decision on
their basis? Are the arguments "for" supported by real numbers
or statistics?
Finally, try to find a fresh or innovative solution to the problem. No
matter how great the temptation to rely only on your immediate surroundings
when looking for answers to business questions, you will never get a fresh
perspective on the problem if everyone around you thinks the same way as you
do. Get out of the bubble and ask different people to question your
decision.
3. Stop Remembering Mistakes
How often do you think about your business failures or mistakes? If
you become obsessed with negative experiences, anxiety, and anxiety rise, you
lose the ability to make volitional decisions. There are several ways to
deal with intrusive memories.
Think about what makes you doubt yourself or your decisions? Perhaps
when communicating with certain people or while working on a project or task,
you suddenly feel insecure about yourself and your strengths? Watch
yourself when (and most importantly, why) you start rethinking the same mistake
or failure.
Noticing that you have once again recalled the very wrong
decision, thanks to which you lost money/client / got into a difficult
situation, think about it from a different angle. Instead of saying
"I am incompetent" to yourself, say "I feel incompetent." In
this way, you move away from affirmation to the formulation of a feeling. And
feelings and reality often have nothing in common.
Finally, no one canceled the easiest way - to distract yourself. If
your thoughts continue to revolve around a failure from the past; take a walk,
meditate, or start filling out an income and expense report - do simple,
pleasant (or not so) things so that the brain can focus on something else.
4. Listen to More, Don't Talk
If you have employees, you most likely talk a lot - you explain,
persuade, set tasks, mentor, give directions, lecture. The leader has a
lot of reasons for expressing his thoughts.
On the one hand, it is important to convey to employees, partners,
colleagues what you want from them. But at the same time, constantly
speaking out, you may not notice how you will begin to dominate in every
conversation, leaving your interlocutors (usually subordinates) no chance to be
heard.
Start following yourself in conversations. For example, if at
a planning meeting or meeting, someone brought up a sensitive topic or asked a
question, ask colleagues to give their opinion first. Even if you already
have a ready-made solution, don't talk about it until a couple of
people have expressed their suggestions. In this case, employees will get
involved in the problem-solving process and feel that their opinion is
important, and their contribution to the cause is worth something.
Aerobatics is to create regular one-on-one meetings with key
employees to express their ideas and
suggestions. At these meetings, ask employees about their wants, needs,
concerns, and listen. You will be surprised how much you learn about your
business and employees without saying anything.
5. Follow the Four Basic Meeting Rules
Most meetings are a waste of time. They eat up time, turn
into a booth, and do not bring obvious results. It is not necessary to have
knowledge of nuclear physics level to conduct productive meetings. You
just need to follow the basics.
First, when scheduling the meeting, define a goal. She will
allow you to draw up an agenda.
Second, decide who should definitely participate in the discussion
of a specific issue. If certain employees need to be aware of the meeting
but do not need to be present in person, alert them of the upcoming meeting and
share the decisions made at it.
Third, at the beginning of the meeting, stipulate its purpose and
focus the audience on the task at hand. Participants should be as involved
as possible in the discussion and finding a solution. Your job is to get
involved.
Fourth, do not forget to take stock after the discussion and
reflect a little. Answer the questions: “Did all the participants in the
meeting really take part in it? Did anything distract from the main goal
and agenda? "
6. Involve Employees in Achieving the Goal
To make your employees feel committed to the purpose of the
business, simply motivating and elevating speeches about the company's mission
are often not enough. Moreover, overly pretentious and insincere speeches
about the highest business purpose from your lips can be counterproductive and
cause cynicism among employees.
Keep two things in mind to inspire and engage your employees.
First, think about how to show employees the contribution and
impact of their work to the business. You can tell your team as many times
as you want that their work is important, but how do you make them feel it? It
might be worth bringing in a customer and asking them to share their feedback
with the staff or give the team a short field trip. For example, to
conduct an excursion for office workers in production or, conversely, bring
employees from production to the store, where they would see real customers
buying the product they create.
Second, sincerity matters. If your attempts to motivate and
engage employees to go against your usual behavior, employees are more likely to
realize that they are being manipulated, not inspired. Work with
engagement on an ongoing basis, rather than as a one-off promotion, to let
employees know you are serious.
7. Explore Positive Feedback
Most executives only focus on negative feedback about a business
or product, ignoring positive feedback from customers and partners. But
positive feedback is an invaluable way to learn about the strengths and growth
points of a business.
Create a space (digital or physical) where you will store the
praise you receive from letters, a book of complaints and suggestions, over the
phone. Take some time from time to time to review and ponder all the
thanks and positive feedback. Ask yourself: What is the most praised
thing? How can I use strengths in other areas and directions? "
There is no need to be shy and dismiss gratitude. Think of
someone pointing out strengths that you might not have guessed. Use it for
growth and development.
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