schedule your priorities

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“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule but to schedule your priorities.”

– Stephen Covey, American self-help author

Image from Flickr by photosteve101.

Image from Flickr by photosteve101.

Stephen Covey is one of the best known pioneers in the field of personal development. His Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is one of the most popular personal growth programs of all time. Four of his habits directly deal with time management, efficiency, and effectiveness.

Please explore for yourself how the following habits relate to the issue of prioritization:

Habit 1: Be Proactive:  Suggests we need to take initiative and responsibility for the choices we make and the order in which we make them.

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind: Encourages us to prioritize and schedule what’s important and not simply schedule and prioritize what’s urgent.

Habit 3: Put First Things First: Pretty much says it all!!

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw: Encourages us to make ourselves a key priority that will allow all other priorities to benefit.

Exercise:

Evaluate your calendar and any to-do lists you may be using to manage your day. How can you schedule your most important priorities and do less of what’s “on your schedule”?

You’re welcome to download a free copy of my time management workbook at:

www.dempcoaching.com/download-your-free-workbooks

Enter the password barrydemp (all lower case) to access the page.

Of course, I also recommend you read or reread The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. If you want a quick refresher, you can find a brief explanation of each habit here.

 

When no one is watching

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“The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.”

– John Wooden, American basketball coach

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mage from Flickr by Arlington County

I was enterprising as a young boy. At age 11, I mowed lawns during summer and shoveled snow during winter to earn money to purchase things I wanted. One winter day, I was headed out to shovel snow in our neighborhood, and my dad asked me to shovel our elderly next door neighbor’s sidewalk and not charge for the effort.

I must admit I hemmed and hawed, thinking this request unfair, and I remember my dad’s words, “It will build your character.” To this day, I can’t lift a shovel of snow without those words running through my mind.

Exercise:

What are the things you do or could do, without anyone knowing, that contribute to your character?

If you happen to be a coach, mentor, parent, teacher, or other service-oriented individual, how can you share today’s nugget of wisdom with the coach-able people in your life?

“Energy is contagious: either you affect people or you infect people.”

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“Energy is contagious: either you affect people or you infect people.”

—T. Harv Eker, author, businessman and motivational speaker

Image from Flickr by Tree Leaf Clover

When was the last time you had a cold? I bet there was a good chance you know who passed it on to you. The energy generated by those around us can have a similar impact on our health, well-being, and overall disposition.

Which people in your life give you that pick-me-up feeling? Which ones seem to suck the life out of you and make you feel ill, due to their negativity?

Exercise:

Create a list of people in your personal and professional life that you would place on either the positive or negative ends of the energy spectrum. Make an effort to only allow yourself to be “zapped” and not “sapped” as you adjust whom you spend your time with.

Extra credit: A quick and easily read book on the subject, particularly in a business context, is Zapp! The Lightning of Empowerment. Reading it will also help you become more of a “zapper” and less of a “sapper” in the lives of others.

Interview with Doug Gfeller, Part Two: My Coaching Style and my Journey as a Writer

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In this second excerpt (12 mins) from my interview with Doug Gfeller of The Coaching Perspective, we discuss:

  • What I do differently from other coaches, and how I aim to create “leveraged” coaching relationships.
  • How the idea of “givers gain” drives me in my work with my clients and gives me a sense of purpose.
  • Why I started my daily series The Quotable Coach (which Doug has shared with many friends and acquaintances) and wrote my book The Quotable Coach: Daily Nuggets of Practical Wisdom.
  • The way I use the quotes, adding a short, focused reflection and exercise, and how this has helped me send out a new email every day, Monday to Friday, for over two years.
  • My earlier experiences with writing, and particularly with corrections and feedback, which made me reluctant to put my work out there for many years.

Click “play” below to listen to this part of the interview:

You can listen to the full interview, and other interviews with me, on the Podcasts page of my coaching site.

If you haven’t yet got your copy of The Quotable Coach: Daily Nuggets of Practical Wisdom, you can find out more about the book here or buy it directly from Amazon here.

“Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit.”

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“Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit.”

– Oscar Wilde, writer and poet

581Image from Flickr by quinn.anya.

How popular are you? How often do you find yourself at the center of attention?

If your answer happens to be less than you desire, Wilde might have a little coaching for you.

Exercise:

Begin exploring and even studying the great quotes of well-known individuals of today and the past. The selective use of quotes in your conversations will likely raise your popularity quotient in your personal and professional worlds.

Consider purchasing a copy of my recently launched book, The Quotable Coach: Daily Nuggets of Practical Wisdom, and turn to the index, where you can select quotes in your area of greatest interest.

You can buy the ebook from Amazon:

http://amzn.to/1jboDX7

And the paperback from my CreateSpace eStore – use the discount code 42E47C9N to get 10% off:

https://www.createspace.com/4855547

“Remember, man does not live on bread alone: sometimes he needs a little buttering up.”

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“Remember, man does not live on bread alone: sometimes he needs a little buttering up.”

– John C. Maxwell, American author, speaker and pastor

580Image from Flickr by ilovememphis.

In spite of the joy I find in cooking for family and friends, I really enjoy going out to dinner. Many restaurants serve bread and butter at the beginning of a meal, and in Italian restaurants, it is traditional to accompany the bread with some form of seasoned olive oil.

During our current low-carb craze (at least here in the US), many people are pushing that bread basket away. It turns out that many forms of bread, when consumed quickly, convert to glucose, which stimulates the pancreas to secrete insulin, which causes our body to store the glucose in the form of fat … which we all prefer to avoid.

There is evidence, however, that a modest amount of fat (in the form of butter or preferably a non-saturated fat such as olive oil) reduces this effect by reducing the Glycemic Index (GI) of the bread. There’s your science lesson for the day!

Exercise:

The quote by Maxwell above suggests that we need to attend to our important relationships to smooth the crusty edges of life.

How can you “butter up” some of your key relationships by showing greater interest, listening more fully, and allowing people to fully express their ideas and opinions?

You may wish to download my workbook on Masterful Relationships to help you. Go to www.dempcoaching.com/download-your-free-workbooks and enter the password barrydemp (all lower case).

“The opportunity is often lost by deliberating.”

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“The opportunity is often lost by deliberating.”

– Publilius Syrus, Roman writer

579Image from Flickr by Julia Manzerova.

About a month ago, I attended a coaching workshop related to decision making. The speaker pointed to the combined use of our head, heart, and gut in this process.

Examine your own use of phrases such as I think, I feel, or my gut tells me, as a way to determine which of these three voices is the loudest.

A phrase I often hear, and frequently tell myself, is “I need to think this over” – which almost always slows down the decision-making process. It can sometimes help us avoid mistakes, but as the quote above suggests, it may often have us miss out on some of life’s best stuff.

Exercise:

How can you enhance the use of your heart and gut to augment your thinking self, so as not to lose out on some of life’s most wonderful opportunities?

“At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.”

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“At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.”

– Lao Tzu, founder of Taoism

577Image from Flickr by rodaniel.

Lao Tzu must have been an outstanding coach. Many coaching philosophies have at their core the concept that virtually all answers lie within each individual. If this is the case, why has there been such a phenomenal growth in this industry?

Many coaches, including me, assert that the engaging, committed, and inquiry-based coaching relationship literally draws these answers out of each client to clarify and crystallize this inner knowing.

Once these answers are made clear, the coach provides the ongoing reminder and support system to assist the client to pursue their authentic life journey toward their deepest held desires.

Exercise:

Who are the coaches in your life that will help you answer the important questions regarding who you are and what you want, and support you to realize your best future self?

If you would like to explore my own coaching services, please start by looking at my flagship program, Personal Excellence Training:

http://www.dempcoaching.com/personal-excellence-training

“‘Tis very certain the desire of life prolongs it.”

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“‘Tis very certain the desire of life prolongs it.”

– Lord Byron, English poet

Arthur-3

This week, my family is experiencing the passing of my brother-in-law Arthur. His death is a crushing loss to many friends and family members, and to the medical profession.

Listening to his colleagues describe his passion for life and for helping others was a remarkable testament to his courageous heart and his desire to make a difference under very difficult circumstances.

Exercise:

What relationships, passions, and purposes make you look forward to each and every day?

Pursuing these activities with even greater enthusiasm and engagement will almost assuredly provide you with a more prolonged and fulfilling life.

“A man’s growth is seen in the successive choirs of his friends.”

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“A man’s growth is seen in the successive choirs of his friends.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson, American writer and philosopher

576Image from Flickr by ruifernandes.

Whether you are a loyal subscriber to The Quotable Coach, or you are reading this blog for the first time, we have something in common: a commitment, even a passion, for growth and development.

This characteristic is right up there with optimism and open-mindedness as critical factors associated with success in a coaching relationship.

One of the most important reasons for this is what’s often referred to as “social support”: beyond the coach’s direct support of your journey, it is imperative to have an advocacy base amongst friends and family.

Exercise:

How can you, through your association with highly capable, committed, and supportive friends and family, expand and enhance the choirs of their support to more completely realize your fullest growth potential?