How to Focus by Embracing the Unpredictable

Clear focus and chaotic unpredictability might seem to be opposites, but in order to stay focused on the path to your goals, you must embrace the uncertainty that lies within and around you. As the world's challenges get more complex, we need to stop treating chaos as a problem to be solved and honor it as the creative ground that it is.
Our Western culture is not very comfortable with chaos. We tend to be results oriented and search for the shortest path to everything we want. We value being as efficient and productive as possible as much as possible. When things feel like they are getting out of control, our tendency as Westerners is to try to clamp down and minimize uncertainty.

But have you noticed that no matter how elegant and powerful your plans and systems may be, they alone are not enough to ensure success?
The real world is unpredictable. We face the outer chaos of information overload, conflicting demands on our time, and unexpected events. We live with our inner chaos, the push-pull of competing dreams, doubts and fears.
But this is exactly what is needed to create a new paradigm world. Albert Einstein once said "We cannot solve our problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." In other words, we cannot plan a major change with our current mindset. And we cannot expect the world to act in linear predictable ways.
So how do we balance the forces of focused planning and creative chaos?By scheduling time for the chaos that is a necessary part of creating something new.

• Build uncommitted time into any project schedule. When I was a software development manager, I would automatically double any estimate a member of my team might make. That allowed space for new feature requests and new ideas as well as random delays. It does require making peace with the part of us that wants to predict the quickest turnaround possible!


• Set aside daily "integration" time into your personal schedule. In your personal life, is every hour of every day filled with activity? If you lie awake at night with your thoughts, it's a good indicator that you need to set aside time to integrate your day. If you keep stirring a pool of water, it will never settle into clarity. What's needed is time alone with your chaotic thoughts so your mind can roam and make new non-linear connections. Practices to make this time easier for you include journaling or contemplation during mindless household chores.


• Balance structure and freedom in your choices. Albert Einstein enjoyed his job as a patent clerk because the simple tasks involved freed his mind to develop his theory of relativity. When I was a software engineer, singing with a vocal improv group was a refreshing contrast. Do your current commitments allow you time to delight in the unexpected?


• Build a direct relationship with your inner chaos. Unexpressed inner chaos often shows up as resistance and even rebellion about "going with the program." Talk with that part of yourself and find a way for it to express its creative wisdom. One client found it much easier to stay with a time management system when he let his "inner rebel" design it.

As we embrace all parts of ourselves and the world around us, we are able to bring a fuller, more integrated wisdom to our complex challenges.
What do you see that's not moving at the pace that you'd like? How might you free up more resources by balancing the forces of clarity and chaos?

The Cost of Waiting

How much of your life have you spent waiting on others?

You wait for your boss or business partner to give the thumbs up on your work so you can move on to the next project. You wait for a lawyer to review an offer before you can sign on the dotted line and make a lucrative deal. You wait for the website designer to put the final touches on your new website, the printers to produce your new book, and a new employee to accept your salary offer.

All of this waiting is a waste of time, and an even bigger waste of money. You are ready to run with new ideas and are eager to accomplish big things. Rather than launching the new website, marketing the new book, or signing that lucrative deal, you find yourself in idle mode twiddling your thumbs.

When you are ready to stop paying the expense of waiting, there are some things you can do to eliminate much of the idle time in your life:

1. Expect others to keep their deadlines. When someone makes a promise to finish a project by a certain date, your own timeline and workflow is affected. Make sure to follow-up within a day or two of the deadline if you have not heard from them. If there is a valid reason for the delay you may understand, but they should understand how their delay your business as well.

2. Give clear, concise directions, and make your expectations clear. When someone else starts on a project, they should know exactly what you expect from the final product. Use time management software to set clear deadlines if necessary.

3. If something is important to you, let others know why it is important. Effective communication is key. They are more likely to keep their deadline and produce their best work if they know why you have placed the work in their hands. For instance, the printer is more likely to have your business card order ready on time if they know you need them for an important event on a certain date.

4. Remain accountable to yourself so you can expect the same of others. If you cannot stick to guidelines and follow procedure, how can you expect anyone else to do so?

5. Respond to others in a timely manner. Just as you lose money when waiting on others, they lose money when waiting on you. If you show respect to others by responding promptly to all communications initiated, they are far more likely to show you the same respect.

Notice the give-and-take nature of these methods to eliminate wait time. While these tips show you how to handle others in order to get work from them in a timely manner, they also show you how to discipline yourself. What you expect from others you should expect from yourself. You do not want to spend time waiting on yourself anymore than you spend time waiting on others.

Effective Stress Management Increases Productivity At Work

What is "Stress?"

Stress is anything and everything with which we exert a pressure on ourselves. Basically, this pressure could be a mental tension or physical worry which comes out of us in various other sub forms. We do need a limited stress which motivates us to react to intense situations. This is positive stress and anything which is under limits, is good for health. Maintaining a balance in every walk of our life and using our common sense could relieve stress to a lot of extent. Example: For a cup of coffee, one spoon of sugar is good for health, 3 spoons of sugar are heavy & anything above that could be dangerous. An organized life style with realistic time frames and metrics could easily overcome unwanted stress at work.
What is "Stress Management?"
Until & unless we can analyze ourselves and stay under calm (especially while dealing with stressful situations), chances are high that our stress gets multiplied. Surprising reason here is for a particular situation, its hard to measure or check the stress levels which will get multiply unless ready to nullify. So, stress management forms the list of actions and the level of determination we impose ourselves for a safer and healthier life.
What is "Stress Management @ WORK?"
Stress could be more at work place. On an average, we spend around one-third of our time at work in a day. So, the more relaxed and calm we are the better our stress management and a safer health.
Steps to find and control Stress

• FIRST STEP- Once we find the negative aspects of stress, it is our responsibility to make determination that we will be overcoming stress for a healthy life
• SECOND STEP- There will be lot of changes in terms of body language, chemical reactions within the body etc between a person who is calm and a person who is undergoing stress. The difference increases based on the degree of stress that particular person is facing at that time. Our wisdom lies in identifying whether we are NORMAL or STRESSED. As soon as the stress is observed within, we have to make every attempt first to control our stress and nothing else, no matter what in front of us
• THIRD STEP- Analyze the situations which are causing stress. Find out what is the real intention behind the stress
• FOURTH STEP- Judge whether the goal is genuine and if genuine and then find out the alternates of achieving the same
• FIFTH STEP- By this step, no matter how stressful the situation was, 90% of the stress will be automatically controlled

How Stress Management can improve Productivity at work?

• If we continue working with stress, unknowingly our focus gets deviated from real work and hence the unnecessary issues crop up. This is simply a waste of time which needs controlling
• A person under (limited) stress can handle more works than a person under more stress. This reason also helps in effective use of time, which invariably increased productivity at work
• A person under stress is bound to make more mistakes compared to a person who is calm and relaxed. So, effective work results with less stress
• A person with less stress has certainly a proper mindset which influences his or her relationship with co workers. This helps in building an ambient work atmosphere. Basically, deviations and unnecessary actions gets resolved

Result of an effective "Stress Management"
A relaxed, safe and productive work environment results with effective stress management techniques. It's top management's responsibility to make every attempt in creating a stress free atmosphere