Get Charged

Posted on April 09, 2013 by Margie Schamuhn, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.

Do you live a busy and full life, and at times find it difficult to have balance?
Is overwhelm your current reality?
Does it seem like there is never enough time to focus and accomplish what you most desire?
If this is the case, you might just want to consider some ways to recharge.

My husband Darren and I juggle very busy lives personally and professionally, and we recognize that we must consistently choose balance as a gold nugget for our lives. One of the things we have learned over the years, which is crucial to our success is, you must take the time to reboot your battery. Whether we take the time to wander for a few hours without a schedule, take a day or weekend to escape, or schedule a needed vacation, these times are absolutely crucial. A change of pace or scenery always seems to bring a fresh perspective.

Knowing this, why is it that when you endeavor to take a needed break, and actually attempt to turn the switch off, this creates such a challenge?

I read an article last week by John Tesh that talks about taking time off and it resonates for me. It reminds me how extremely important it is to have quality time, to change gears and to simply get away from it all. Tesh writes the article with vacation time in mind, yet in reality, this applies to every day life. Turning it off, as you know, is not that easy.

“Almost 60 percent of North Americans who get vacation time don’t use all of it, because they worry about the work that’ll pile up while they’re away. And another 10 percent are afraid they’ll be fired if they take time off.
But even those who take their vacation don’t disconnect from the office. A Harvard Business School study found that 98-percent of vacationers check in with work while they’re away! And almost everyone in the study said they thought their colleagues would look down on them if they didn’t.
But Joanne Cantor, who wrote Conquer CyberOverload, believes there’s more to it than that. She says that emails, text messages, and other electronic communications from work are addictive. Which means, unplugging can cause so much anxiety that we literally can’t relax and enjoy a day at the beach.
If that describes you, listen carefully: vacations make you a better employee. Studies show that our brains can’t focus 24/7. And getting away allows us to recharge. In fact, a change of scenery often helps people find solutions to problems that had stumped them up until then.”

Taking the time to recharge and unplug for a period of time on a regular basis, is crucial to your success.

As much as I love the modern conveniences of technology that we are so privileged to enjoy, I am wondering if it is to our detriment. Who would have ever thought it would be so difficult to turn off the noise! When there is a constant demand for your attention, and distractions that never stop, how do you shut down?
As human beings, we need space to think, contemplate, evaluate, check in and reflect on our lives. Without it, we loose our ability to prioritize what is most important personally and professionally. When we are unable to distinguish what is most important to our success, we loose focus and we loose our way.

FOCUS IS KEY TO SUCCESS

When I purchased my first iphone, the first thing that I had to learn was that when I had too many apps turned on, the battery on my phone would drain very quickly. No matter how advanced the technology, if you neglect to charge the battery on a regular basis, your phone will not perform. Isn’t this a mirror of life? When you have everything going on and you are multi-tasking, endeavoring to be “the jack of all trades and the master of nothing”—- how much do you really accomplish? When you are tired and drained, how productive are you?

To achieve peak performance, be your best and get the success you want, you have to concentrate on what is most important, turn off the things that drain you, and focus on what is priority.

GET CHARGED!

What do you want?
In your personal and professional life, what are the results that you want to achieve?
Is it a better relationship, a productive business, an increase in your finances, or maybe you want to look and feel better? The bottom line is—-you need to specifically know what you want. The more specific you are, the easier it will be to design a plan to achieve your goal.
Identify what you want and write it down. Studies prove that the highest percent of people, who successfully achieve their goals. are the ones that write them down.

SIMPLIFY AND PRIORITIZE WHAT IS IMPORTANT

What are you saying “yes” to in your life and what must you say “no” to?
Did you know that the two most powerful words in the universe are YES and NO. Did you know that these two words are how you achieve more balance in your life? How easy is that!
Say YES to the activities that support your vision—- that will bring you the results you most want. This must be your priority.
Say a firm NO to the things that are unproductive, distracting and take away from accomplishing your goal, and make this is a consistent discipline. Notice the negative sabotaging voices in your life and put them into perspective. These voices will deplete you faster than any other source.
Establish boundaries that align with your success plan.

TAKE ACTION

What are the necessary steps you will take to commit to your success?
The reality is that without making a commitment and having an action plan, you will never get the results you want. Excuses be gone—- take 100% responsibility for your success even if success scares you. In your journey, you will find courage along the way.

What are the top priorities you need to focus on daily to accomplish your goal?
- Focus on these critical activities.
- Prioritize what is most important.
- And take action.

Schedule time to recharge—- and be more productive. Silence the noise and the distractions and take control. Identify what is most important and focus. And lastly, fully commit to your success. You will never regret the day that you took action!