Coffee and TV and Sleep

Here are some interesting facts about how we spend our lives from Distractify.

Twenty five years is for sleeping. We’ll work about 10-12 years in real time. This is discouraging, only 48 days having sex – keep in mind, it’s an average. We’ll watch about 9 years of television. Close to 3 years cooking, another year cleaning, and just over 4 years driving our cars.

We’ll drink 12,000 cups of coffee, 48 pounds of tea, and a measly 14 days kissing. Tack on another year of our lives deciding what to wear, 8 years shopping, 5 years sitting at a desk, and we’ll swear about 2 million times.

Life Gets in the Way

Interesting stats but if the average person in North America lives just over 78 years, it doesn’t leave us much time for reflection. But we’re far too busy for that. We have stuff to do, places to go.

When was the last time you gave your team a few minutes off, during the day, at work, to just clear their heads? Yes, quiet time at work. Life is an instant yet we take so little time for ourselves. You just spent about a minute reading this post.

Give yourself the next moment to reflect.
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Defined by Busy

There are meetings and family commitments and chores and email and deadlines and calls and stress and projects and the list continues. We are busy people doing busy things keeping busy with our busy lives being busy.

Years ago, I worked with a mentor who compared the work we were doing in a larger city next to when he lived in a smaller urban area. He said; “Sure this is a busier place, but I’m not convinced people are getting any more done.”

Technology Tether

We have devices that can share information across the planet in seconds. There are virtual teaming solutions that shrink the globe. We have no shortage of ways to connect to each other. But do we really need to check our smartphones every waking moment in case we get an email we'll ignore because we're far too busy for that.

If you think if you can cram more into today than you did yesterday without paying much attention to any of it and grow your business, good luck. If you put the phone and busy away from a moment and enhance the relationships around you, I like your chances.

Maybe not, you're probably busy.
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Less Meetings – More Collaboration

Let’s book a meeting. Let’s talk about it on the conference call. Let’s reconvene at next week’s meeting. Let’s discuss the next time we have a team call. Here’s a thought, let’s figure out why we have so many meetings and calls in the first place.

I have a colleague who attends an all-day full team status meeting once a week. Once a week?! Full day!?! I am a huge supporter of collaboration and teamwork. It’s critical that your company is strong inside before it can be strong outside, but an entire day in a meeting? I challenge there could be a better way.

Do you know why you are attending meetings today?

Has the reason for each been clearly articulated? Is there an obvious summary of desired outcomes? Will a decision be made on who does what by when? Will the call start and end on time? Do you know why you’re in the meeting at all?

I work with a guy who never has a phone call last more than 10 minutes. We get a ton accomplished in that time and move on. If we realize we've missed something or an item needs more clarification, we get back on the phone. Each of us has our agenda ready, action items listed, and we get to work.

Try this for a week

Cut the time allotted for each meeting and conference call by 50%. Then in a few weeks, cut them in half again. So the one-hour session you have this afternoon would become 15 minutes. You may claim that’s impossible. Have you tried it?

More meetings do not mean more efficiency or alignment. In a matter of a few short weeks, you will realize you are giving everyone more time to think and create rather than prepare and attend meetings and calls. You will see more collaboration, more impromptu discussions, and more ideas being shared. You will get more work done.

Or you could get to your next meeting.
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Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit

Finding the Quiet

Here are some interesting facts about how we spend our lives from Distractify.

Twenty five years is for sleeping. We’ll work about 10-12 years in real time. This is discouraging, only 48 days having sex – keep in mind, it’s an average. We’ll watch about 9 years of television. Close to 3 years cooking, another year cleaning, and just over 4 years driving our cars.

We’ll drink 12,000 cups of coffee, 48 pounds of tea, and a measly 14 days kissing. Tack on another year of our lives deciding what to wear, 8 years shopping, 5 years sitting at a desk, and we’ll swear about 2 million times.

Life Gets in the Way

Interesting stats but if the average person in North America lives just over 78 years, it doesn’t leave us much time for reflection. But we’re far too busy for that. We have stuff to do, places to go.

When was the last time you gave your team a few minutes off, during the day, at work, to just clear their heads? Yes, quiet time at work. Life is an instant yet we take so little time for ourselves. You just spent about a minute reading this post.

Give yourself the next one for some quiet.
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit

openheart

Inspired to Move

We all want our lives to have meaning. We all stumble along the way. We all get stuck and scared. Reflection can be powerful if we look to the lessons we need to learn. But action is the response required to prove we've learned them.

This isn't about busy or activity, this is about focus and progress. We're all working hard but are we working smart toward our goals? Are we creating what we want in our life and for those around us? I can't speak for you, but I know there's a ton I've done wrong, and a long journey ahead. How about you?

Being true to you and what you want to do. 

This is about laser focus on goals and dreams. This is about not letting up when roadblocks appear. This is about staying with it when it gets tough. This is about removing excuses, getting out of my way, and moving forward while you work on you.

Some may roll their eyes. Some may say it’s not possible. Watch and judge for yourself.


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Kneale Mann | Leadership Strategist, consultant, writer, speaker, executive coach facilitating performance growth with leaders, management, and teams.

Alpha Mind System

Are You Busy?

There are meetings and family commitments and chores and email and deadlines and calls and stress and projects and the list continues. We are busy people doing busy things keeping busy with our busy lives being busy.

Years ago, I worked with a mentor who compared the work we were doing in a larger city next to when he lived in a smaller urban area. He said; “Sure this is a busier place, but I’m not convinced people are getting any more done.”

Technology Tether

We have devices that can share information across the planet in seconds. There are virtual teaming solutions that shrink the globe. I'm often on webinars with people from several countries. It's cool stuff! We have no shortage of ways to connect to each other. But do we really need to check our smartphones every waking moment in case we get an email we'l ignore because we're far too busy for that.

If you think if you can cram more into today than you did yesterday without paying much attention to any of it and grow your business, good luck. If you put the phone and busy away from a moment and enhance the relationships around you, I like your chances.

Or perhaps you’re too busy.
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | Leadership Strategist, consultant, writer, speaker, executive coach facilitating performance growth with leaders, management, and teams.

udaya

Delegating Your Busy

It’s been said more times than we can count that we’re busy. There are meetings and family commitments and chores and email and deadlines and calls and stress and projects and the list continues. We are busy people doing busy things keeping busy with our busy lives being busy.

Years ago, I worked with a wonderful mentor who compared the work we were doing in a larger city next to when he lived in a smaller larger urban area. He said; “Sure this is a busier place, but I’m not convinced people are getting any more done.”

Technology Tether

A colleague of mine reads email twice a week. If you want to get a hold of him, send a text and he’ll usually get back to you within a day or two. If it's urgent, call him. He says email is a waste of time. And when you think of how many of us keep our thumbs posed on smartphones, how much is helping our advancement or fulfilment?

It’s disheartening when I speak with people about their relationships at work. All too often, they are starving for interaction and guidance from leadership, yet the boss is always far too busy for that personal stuff.

This is Important

We check our phones at a baseball game or late Friday night at a house party. If you’re expecting an important call or you’re the person others need to contact should there be an actual emergency, that’s understandable. But I was answering email in the grocery line the other day. How ridiculous.

If we're simply doing it by rote and we don't need to do anything significant with our phone, perhaps we should turn it off and enhance relationships right beside us.

If we're too busy to be here, because we need to be there,
we might too busy to be anywhere.

Kneale Mann

flickr