At our first meeting, my executive coaching clients typically start the first conversation by sharing their top priority and what they want to improve. I hear them describe the desires to communicate better, manage frustration with others and be a better leader. But a bigger issue often lurks below the surface.
As we talk about their days and their lives, I hear accounts like:
“I often work well into the evening because there is so much to do.”
“My days are packed, and usually I’m scheduled in meetings from the time I get to the office to when I leave.”
“I end up being pretty exhausted most of the time.”
Days like these can be symptoms of bigger problems:
• Your day is no longer yours. Your working hours are available to others for scheduling and using your time as needed.
• You are losing perspective because you lack the pause or distance to view situations differently after further thought.
• Your pace and lack of boundaries are affecting your outlook, patience and ability to manage stress and frustration.
• Your ability to accomplish bigger priorities is compromised because not only is there no time to work anything but the fire drills, but you also have no time to think.
• You aren’t realizing your goals—your real reasons for working—because there is no room for it in your schedule.
Take your day, your week and your life back with these seven tips:
1. Don’t treat your calendar like a community feast.
2. Create bumpers on your workday.
3. Take more recess.
4. Plan for one hour a week (at least) and act on it.
5. Build in more prep time.
6. Make an accomplishments list next to your to-do list.
7. Be active often.
At our first meeting, my executive coaching clients typically start the first conversation by sharing their top priority and what they want to improve. I hear them describe the desires to communicate better, manage frustration with others and be a better leader. But a bigger issue often lurks below the surface.
Do your days lack boundaries? Learn how and when to draw the line’to defend your boundaries’after someone asks too much of you.
Read Full Story On http://www.success.com/blog/overscheduled-7-ways-to-reclaim-your-day
