Last session’s dialogue between CEOme and OPSme gave me a lot to think about. It was helpful to realise:
- What awful working conditions CEOme had allowed OPSme to have to handle
- How much coaching CEOme needs to do her job well.
The concept that came to mind was SELF-LEADERSHIP. The Self-Leader in us is like the benevolent wise-one, the mature boss, the nurturing parent (in PAC terms).
After a couple of days pondering Self-Leadership, a new approach to time management revealed itself to me.
Basically, if we sleep for 8 hours (as it were) we have 16 hours to play with each day. If I’m not careful, those 16 hours get rail-roaded into Ops, orrrrrr, into hiding from the Ops rail-roading… But no-one’s in charge..! So let’s look at those available slots:
16 hours = 8 slots @ 2hours each, from 7am – 11pm
Then I worked out what the 8 Activities are for a balanced worklife, with a fair self-employer, and gave each a 3-letter code. The 8 activities can change order but the ideal order (which also flows with G’s day) might be as follows, from 7am.
7/11 Slots (for Self-Leadership)
- QTD = Quiet Time & Dress with PJStretches (eg 7-9am)
- E&E = Exercise and Eating Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch (eg 9-11am)
- OP1 = Operational Session 1 – client work / paid (eg 11-1pm)
- OP2 = Operational Session 2 – client work / paid (eg 1-3pm)
- CEO = CEO / Admin / BusDev / Marketing / Strategy (eg 3-5pm)
- HOM = Home-making / cooking / dinner / laundry (eg 5-7pm)
- FUN = Social activities (eg 7-9pm)
- R&R = Rest & recuperation – 9pm screen curfew + PJStretches, in bed by 10pm to read and sleep (9-11pm)
(timings interchangeable; each activity vital on a daily basis)
I trialled this approach yesterday, and it was such a relief to know that each activity was only going to run for 2 hours max. I felt I could do anything. Also, by the end of the day, everything was in balance: home, business, projects, rest… None of this, “Ooops, I worked flat our on one thing for 6 hours and now the house is a mess and I’m mentally drained and physically exhausted.”
It’s hard to get stressed if you really do switch tasks every 2 hours.
Ah, this is like Switch20 but for 2 hour slots! Switch120!!
Indeed, it is Switch120.
So much of our learning has just been about being able to start a task, and then know how to switch task. I feel it’s because as I get older, these aspects of my Aspie brain get harder to manage nimbly.
For this reason, putting down these vital Self-Leadership practices is so valuable. You are setting balanced daily routines which will be sustainable.
I need to be able to work for the next 30 years I guess… And I couldn’t do it working as I did last week.
You have important work to do. (Everyone does.) You have a CONTRIBUTION to make. Creating a viable daily framework for action is key.
I spotted this book cover someone handmade, on FB yesterday. The Tony Robbins quote stood out.
You have spent a long time seeking to order, synchronise, control time. Understanding that ‘timetabling’ is an act of self-leadership, not ‘organisation’, is a big step. Keep developing the Self-Leader in yourself.
Let’s read.
NOTHING SPECIAL: In zazen what you are doing is not for the sake of anything. You may feel as if you are doing something special, but actually it is only the expression of your true nature; it is the activity which appeases your inmost desire. But as long as you think you are practicing zazen for the sake of something, that is not true practice. If you continue this simple practice every day you will obtain a wonderful power. Before you attain it, it is something wonderful, but after you obtain it, it is nothing special. It is just you yourself, nothing special. Zen Mind p47
***Zazen10minTimer***
- I am developing my capacity for self-leadership now I’m xx years old. Nothing special.
- I am trialling my 7/11 Slots approach (aka Switch120) to time management, to cover all bases daily and have a sustainable working life. Nothing special.
- I’m developing a new training piece today. Nothing special.
- I’m taking time out for a walk today. Nothing special.
- Sometimes I jokingly call my self-leadership ‘my slef-dealership’ to underline that really, it’s nothing special.
- I’m pivoting my little business to capitalise on online opportunities this week. Nothing special.
- I’m reducing my trainings down to Go** Ch**, and that’s it. Nothing special.
I like this nothing special approach.
It stops the engine from revving and the temperature going up. Chug chug chug. It’s all perfect and yet it’s all ‘nothing special’. The phrase supports a fair employment life balance. The phrase promotes inner peace.
Nothing special