Release Date: 08.11.10 | Location: All Metro Atlanta | Organization: Coach Darcy
When Back to School Means Back to Business
Three Tips to Get the Most from the Rest of the Year
NewsCertified Expert Darcy Eikenberg joins the Daybook Expert Network and fills us in on great tips to get the most from the rest of the year.
Article by Darcy Eikenberg
www.coachdarcy.com
For kids, back-to-school means buses and backpacks. But for grown-ups, the turn of the season kickstarts our drive to get “back-to-business.”
Even those without children find that the start of classes and the Labor Day holiday now signal an unofficial new year, motivating a more disciplined schedule and a renewed commitment to goals and projects we conjured up on January 1.
If you’re getting back-to-business—or, like many in today’s economy, you’ve never left—here are three tips to help you squeeze the most out of the final stretch of the year—without stretching yourself too thin.
1. Assess Your Accomplishments.
Okay, maybe your goal to land three mega-clients hasn’t panned out yet. But have you acquired one? Or made inroads to another you never expected? In today’s business landscape, things shift quickly, and we achieved things in July we never could have predicted in January.
Stop beating yourself up for what hasn’t happened and make a list of what has. Your calendar and email history will prompt you for problems you solved or new ideas you launched. Don’t censor yourself—write everything down. You’ll feel better about your progress, and you’ll be better prepared come performance review time.
2. Reset a Relationship.
Challenges that drain us usually involve our interactions with others. Which relationship in your worklife longs for the reset button? Maybe it’s your boss, a colleague, or a customer. Pick one—just one—and invite them for coffee or a catch-up phone call.
Avoid the typical surface-speak and ask bigger questions: “What’s the most important thing happening in your world right now?” or even “I’ve been thinking about our working relationship, and I’d like it to be stronger—what can I do to help make that happen?” Then shut up and listen.
3. Create Your White Space.
White space on a page makes text more comfortable to the eye and gives us our brain a place to rest. White space in your schedule works the same way. We need white space to process our thoughts, to apply our full talents to our work, and to regenerate our energy and focus. When we trade our white space for clicking and commitments, we miss opportunities, wear out faster, and have less fun.
Take five minutes and mark blocks of white space in your calendar. Maybe it’s a 3 p.m. escape from the office in December to get a jump on the crowds at the mall. Maybe it’s Thursday evenings where you’ll switch off your Blackberry and hang with the kids. After all, they’re back-to-school now—and they can teach us a lot.
As a leadership & workplace coach, consultant and speaker, Darcy Eikenberg offers fresh, straightforward and practical perspectives on how we can grow in the workplace without sacrificing our values and our lives. For a complimentary subscription to her monthly newsletter and to receive your copy of “Finding the Right Words to Build Confidence,” join her community at www.coachdarcy.com.
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Contact:
Coach Darcy LLC
404-313-0278
darcy@coachdarcy.com
http://www.coachdarcy.com
Read Darcy Eikenberg's Daybook Network expert bio.
Journalists: View Darcy Eikenberg's NewsCertified profile here.
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PR professionals and experts: Find out more about the NewsCertified Exchange here.
Darcy Eikenberg has been certified by the NewsCertified Exchange and joins the Daybook Network through the NCE/Daybook alliance.
Contact Info
Contact Name: Darcy Eikenberg
Company: Darcy Eikenberg
Phone: 404-313-0278
E-mail: darcy@coachdarcy.com
