How I stumble every day

To admit blindspots is the first step towards improvement, right? OK; let’s dive in.

Let busyness get the best of me: Instead of focusing on the most important items of the day, I sometimes bounce crazily from e-mail to LinkedIN to Facebook to Twitter. The chase is exciting, but it wears me down by noon.

Let the inbox dictate my day: Instead of working through the priorities specified in my iteration, I wait for the next, new e-mail. Something about receiving a new e-mail makes me feel important, but I shouldn’t tie my self-worth to the number of e-mails I receive.

No planning for tomorrow: Instead of taking 5 minutes to set the stage for a productive tomorrow, my days often end like this:

“Oh no, is it really 6pm. Where has the day gone? I really have to finish up this e-mail. Let me just crank this out and then shut down for the day. Man, where has the day gone?” Unfortunately, the day has probably flitted away in busyness. (see error #1)

Voice mail apathy: Wouldn’t it make a huge difference to respond to voice mails in a timely manner? I expect people to check their voice mails immediately and respond to my calls within 30 minutes, so why don’t I place the same importance on an incoming message? Think of how much you’d stand out from your peers if you truly respected the person that was just trying to connect with you.

Take time to read: What? Reading? Who has time for reading? And I am not talking reading Facebook posts. I am talking about taking 15 minutes during the day to read something ‘outside’ your industry. Maybe it’s an historical novel, a fantasy story, the Bible, some poetry. When I read a book or magazine, I find it refreshing to actually move away from a screen and feel actual pages between my fingers.

We all can get better. Admitting your weaknesses is the first step towards improvement. Start today.

Until next time,

Dan Naden