Balance and Productivity in Leadership

Stress-Proof Yourself and Your Leaders

Balance and productivity in leadership are crucial. Finding easy ways to stress-proof your leaders so they can feel more balanced and be more productive matters. 

The Guide below gives you 52 pick-and-choose “tips” that will allow you a creative way to do that. Or, use it yourself.

These tips (practices) and the accompanying self-directed coaching are designed to stress-proof those who use them. By that I don’t mean they will be stress-free. Nobody is.

But I can tell you that my clients report they are more organized, more productive, and far less stressed since they began to turn more and more of these simple practices into habits.

Instructions on Using the Stress-Proofing Guide

What you have here is a practical “everyday tool” that you can put out as “a challenge,” or turn into “a positive program” for your leaders or workforce.

It will help at work. It will benefit at home. It will improve their contribution in other community endeavors.

Oftentimes a leader's stress is compounded by simple practices they could be doing, but that have been neglected or become sloppy over time. Encourage them to get those back.

To benefit from this guide you have to be intentional. Just reading it won't do you any good. Applying even one of the practices, will. 

For every practice you feel is important to you RIGHT NOW, you will find five days of self-coaching exercises.

Pick one practice that seems most relevant to your situation and begin working on it. Work on it until it becomes a habit. Every good practice you put in place will stress-proof you.

Small wins add up. They will help you to avoid burnout. And, they will reintroduce balance and productivity in leadership in a fresh way.

52 Solutions for Those Who Need a 25 Hour Day

1.  Use the 80/20 Principle
2.  Plan Your Day 
3.  Conquer Your To-Do List 
4.  Harness the Power of Three 
5.  Capture Your Thoughts 
6.  Say “No” A Whole Lot More 
7.  Be Accountable 
8.  Prepare for Meetings 
9.  Plan Time for Renewal 
10.  Speak with Clarity 
11.  Create a Shield to Guard Your Time 
12.  Stop Making Assumptions. Know the Facts 
13.  Persevere 
14.  Adequately Fund Your Project 
15.  Relieve Yourself of Other Responsibilities 
16.  Work with a Great Team 
17.  Prepare for People Who Don't Understand 
18.  Let Your Purpose Determine Your Schedule 
19.  Give Yourself Time to Think, Schedule a Quiet Time
20.  Don't Manage Your Image for Others 
21.  Reject Busyness as a Bragging Point 
22.  Enjoy the Journey 
23.  Avoid Using the Word “Should” 
24.  Cultivate Good Friendships 
25.  Focus on One Person at a Time 
26.  Change Pace 
27.  Take Responsibility and Deal with Things as They Come Up 
28.  Focus on the Goal, Not the Clock
29.  Eliminate Scraps of Paper 
30.  Handle Things the Least Amount of Times Possible 
31.  If it's Not an Absolute Yes, it's a No 
32.  Just Do it Now 
33.  Embrace Failure 
34.  Group Lesser and Like Tasks 
35.  Read Books on Time Management Strategies
36.  Make the Tough Decisions 
37.  Work with a Coach 
38.  Break it Down into Parts 
39.  Get Your Finances in Order 
40.  Do it, Ditch it, Delegate it or Delay it 
41.  Build Character 
42.  Celebrate Individual Steps 
43.  Practice Time In, Time On and Time Out 
44.  STOP 
45.  Make a Strategic Alliance 
46.  Plan for the Unexpected 
47.  Organize Your Files 
48.  Create Space Between Meetings 
49.  Accomplish More While Traveling 
50.  Create a Not-to-Do List 
51.  Distinguish Between Needs and Wants 
52.  Balance Simplicity and Complexity

These are from my book, 52 Solutions for Those Who Need a 25 Hour Day. You don't need to buy the book. It's all here, and more. Special thanks to Sandi Martin, who helped above and beyond with the original book.

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Wondering Where to Start? Assess Your Balance and Productivity in Leadership 

Go here to answer some simple questions to determine which habits to consider making a part of your personal leadership development plan. 

You want to focus your improvement efforts in the right direction.

Helpful Ways to Use this Personal Development Plan Guide

No matter what you feel you need to work on to regain balance and productivity in leadership, practicing the basics is a must. 

This is a self-paced, self-coaching “program” about everyday habits, the ones you might have drifted away from. If applied, they will help you in regaining balance and productivity in leadership. This isn't about speed or brilliance. It's about regaining control of YOUR time, energy and confidence.

Reducing stress by creating some easy-to-do wins in your workday will create space to work on solutions to those “larger” things that contribute to overload and burnout. This won’t solve burnout by itself. But it is one part of the equation. 

Paying attention to a small number of basic things that made you successful in the first place will help regain focus, confidence and control, and set you up for greater wins. It will contribute to regaining or enhancing balance and productivity for leaders. 

Pick and Choose Habits that are Most Important to You Right Now

Work at your own pace on putting simple strategies back in place that will help you regain efficient, productive and effective work patterns.

Regaining even a few good practices of balance and productivity in leadership will reduce stress and bring the satisfaction of creating some meaningful wins, when having a win is a real boost.

The list above isn't a fancy time management system. It's a list of everyday habits that leaders, executives and professionals who want to do well, put into practice each and every day.

Simple Practices for Avoiding Burnout and Improving Leadership Effectiveness 

You may have gotten away from some (or many) of these practices. And, while it is not the key source of your stress, it is a contributing factor. I've found that paying attention to things that ARE within your control, plays a big role in rebuilding hope and resilience.

Every one of these habits or strategies come right out of my work with clients over the past many years of executive and leadership performance coaching.

This structure will provide you a different area to work on, on a weekly basis. A small change in one area can result in significant positive change across a broad range of life and leadership areas.

Regaining balance and productivity in leadership isn't mythical. It's deliberate and achievable. 

Frequently Asked Questions

When it comes to finding balance and productivity in leadership, where do I start?

• These 52 practices are able to be followed in any order. They do not follow in sequence. You start where you feel the need. If it's more balance that you need, look for "balance" habits. If it's more productivity that you need at the moment, look for "productivity" sounding habits. For more help, read above, "Wondering Where to Start."

Why are the basic productivity habits so important?

• Because if you can  take care of the basics, you will be more efficient and effective in your work.
• Because I suspect you if you can handle the basics, you are in a position to handle bigger things. Others might notice this too. 
• Because others watch you. They respect a leader who "has it together." 

Does self-coaching work, or would I be better one on one coaching with you? 

• If you follow the self-coaching guides with intention and some discipline, you'll enjoy good results. Do that first and see what happens.

When will I know I've succeeded? 

• When it's a habit. These basic productivity skills aren't rocket science. You can do it. When you don't have to thing about the habit any more, but keep experiencing consistent success, they you've "got it." Congratulations!

Recap

• Be intentional about your improvement as a leader and contributor
• Pick one practice, reflect on it, study it, and apply it. Do the five days of coaching to incorporate it into your routine. 
• Make sure that practice becomes an everyday habit.
• Pick another practice and repeat.
• Use these 52 practices over and over again. They will contribute to your success as a leader and high-value contributor.
• Encourage your team to choose one practice and act on it.