One of the greatest gifts I use that allows me to help others is the power of listening. And this post is the direct result of listening to you.
I recently polled my fellow property managers to see where they were struggling and where they were most focused on. I was humbled by their eagerness to respond as evidenced by an 88% response rate, which is pretty unheard of.
Most expressed a sense of imbalance. The “pain” brought on by the demands of the job, ever-changing priorities, and looming deadlines resulted in stress and being off kilter.
My sense is these individuals were just not enjoying life. And that pains me to see. I’ve been there.
But I’ve learned a few things over my 30+ years in this industry to restore balance and actually look forward to Mondays. Crazy? Read on.
When I was younger, I’d happily work nights and weekends so I could get “caught up” and hopefully impress the boss with my after-hours accomplishments. My thinking was I’d work more now so I wouldn’t have to later.
Three decades later, I found a far better way to think about time and balance. At the very core are two words worth remembering: presence and intention.
I must be intentional about the balance I bring to the most important areas of my life. And I must be truly present to give my best and gain the most from each moment of the day.
Having just completed a fascinating course on time management, and having seen the results of the poll, I decided to take on this time challenge and share ways to restore our work-life balance.
So I began by creating an outline for a pilot program. It blends multiple approaches to gaining control over our schedule. But I’m not alone.
Leveraging the power of collaboration, I recruited “co-pilots” who are passionate about finding a better way to live their lives.
Together, we’re on a journey of exploration into a vast subject with no shortage of opinions, techniques, and philosophies on time optimization, productivity and balance.
Here are some of my takeaways, just two weeks into the pilot program:
- Balance is driven by priorities. Over the last month, I learned just how much my decisions stem from my priorities and what I value most deeply.
- Work-life balance can only be achieved if I become more intentional about the use of time
and more effective at work.
- My effectiveness is directly tied to my productivity.
- Productivity can only increase when I’m as efficient as possible in the present moment.
- To be more efficient, I need to make quicker decisions, delegate more, focus, and learn to say “no” with confidence. Because of this, I’ve said “no” to requests of my time and energy that I normally would have automatically said “yes” to.
- Reducing distractions by turning off my cell phone, notification popups, emails, and the television, increases my focus and productivity.
- I choose one or two main outcomes for the day, and they get done. Sure there are always 1001 other things I need to do––and I could beat myself up over not doing them, but I’ve learned that the list is long and it really will never get done.
Over the next few weeks, I know I’ll discover much more, but for now I invite you to consider these points and try them out.
As Steven Covey once shared:
“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”
When we know what our “main thing” is, we’ll have command over the day and the demands placed upon us. It’s our beacon that captures our attention and keeps us moving forward.
Once that’s known, we’ll intentionally create greater amounts of time to enjoy the things that matter most to us––our life and sharing it with those we love.
