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November 2008

In this issue:

Announcement!

New Calendar of Events

By: Katie Mattson

Time is of the Essence

Time seems to be one of these untraceable factors of life. When talking to my clients, I’m finding three distinct trends in the way they spend their time. Each trend has a light and a dark side. Take a peek and ask yourself: How do I choose to spend my time?

By: Katie Mattson

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Time is of the Essence

“The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.” - C.S. Lewis

Time seems to be one of those untraceable factors in life. Either you have too much or you have too little. Seldom do you seem to have ‘just enough.’ It either slips away or seems to last and last. When talking to my clients, I’m finding three distinct trends in the way they spend their time. Like anything, each trend has a light and a dark side. Take a peek and ask yourself: How do I choose to spend my time?

Keep a journal for a week detailing each task and for how long you worked on it. What do you notice? DOER: You start and stop many different paths in a day, but never really finish anything. THINKER: You have great intentions, but can’t get past the logistics of making it work. TALKER: You have full days, but not with any significant time relating to your “newest project.”

TREND 1: DOER

“When people say to me: ‘How do you do so many things?’ I often answer them, without meaning to be cruel: ‘How do you do so little?’ It seems to me that people have vast potential. Most people can do extraordinary things if they have the confidence or take the risks. Yet most people don't” - Philip Adams

Me? I’m a doer most of the time. I fill my days with as much as possible because I’m afraid I won’t have time to do all that I want in life. At the end of the day, I’m either totally energized or completely drained. Sound familiar?

The Light Side – Things get done!! After the initial idea occurs, it doesn’t take long for progress toward the vision to be made. Finding people, researching, setting up a plan and moving into action are easy steps for you. Thinking leads to acting. If you’re a doer, chances are you’ve moved forward pretty rapidly in life personally and professionally. You don’t put up with much, you’re known as a risk taker and others come to you often for advice.

The Dark Side – Ever heard the phrase look before you leap? Yeah…sometimes we doers miss that step on the ladder. Plans don’t always go smoothly because we act so quickly. If you’ve “learned the hard way” a few times, then you’re probably a doer. This mentality doesn’t always mesh well with others either. Sometimes warp speed is a bit scary for other people who like to think things through, research thoroughly and take baby steps. If you’re thinking, ‘who has time for that???’ then you are definitely in this category. Keeping this fire going past the initial push is usually a challenge.

The Gray Matter – Instead of catapulting straight into roadrunner speed, take a moment and assess whether the idea you’ve just had is really something that you even want to do. Is it logical to take action right away, or are there more questions that need to be answered? Could you speak with someone who has pursued your idea already? Is it something that still moves you toward where you want to go? Is it a good use of your time? In relationships, it’s important to gauge whether you’re traveling the same speed. Are you pushing or pulling and does that tension match your needs at the moment?

TREND 2: THINKER

"If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that remains is a compromise." - Robert Fritz

My friend Alice is a thinker. She has brilliant ideas and her friends love her advice, but when it comes to taking action, she freezes. Even when she knows what she needs to do, she’s still so busy overanalyzing that the decision is usually made by non-decision. If you think about doing things, but they never quite make it into reality, then you are a thinker.

The Light Side – By studying all the angles, life is seldom a surprise. You’re always prepared for the best and the worst and everything in between. Every outcome and every consequence has been weighed. Your advice is top notch because usually you’ve thought of choices that your friends have not. People flock to you when they need help with a decision.

The Dark Side – Instead of moving forward, you sit absorbed with inaction. Each decision in the day seems overwhelming with all the choices you have. Choice itself becomes an enemy, which debilitates you from moving forward in any one direction. In relationships, it can become cumbersome for your friends to follow all the options you put on the table. Likewise, it’s frustrating for you not feel heard as you value the weight of your decisions.

The Gray Matter – To effectively move forward, try using your problem solving abilities to present yourself with the choices at hand and assess what fears come up. Filter out any decisions that definitely won’t work for you, which will narrow your options. Then, assess what weight this choice really has on your forward movement. If it’s a menial day-to-day decision, choose what fits best and then let go of the outcome. If it’s a big decision, then do weigh your options, talk it over with a friend or make a list. In the end, whatever choice you make it better than inaction choosing for you!

TREND 3: TALKER

"The world has the habit of making room for the man whose words and actions show that he knows where he is going." - Napolean Hill

My friend Keith is a talker. There’s always a new idea, always a new goal on the horizon. Everyone who first meets Keith thinks he is a go-getter. As you get to know him, it’s quickly realized that Keith’s actions don’t match his words.

The Light Side – In order to make something “real,” sometimes you have to try it on by saying it out loud first. By telling everyone your intended plans, it keeps you accountable and ensures that people will keep asking about your proclamations. Also, by stating your bold moves, you’re forming an identity in the way people see you.

The Dark Side – Unless you follow up on these verbal plans, eventually people are just going to see you as crying wolf. In other words, you put forth an image that isn’t really you. It’s also hard on your self esteem to continuously explain why things you’ve been talking about haven’t happened. If you’re like Keith, you’re probably confused about your lack of results and wondering why things aren’t happening. If you speak first, before thinking through how it will happen, you probably fit into this category.

The Gray Matter – Speaking up for what you want it great – but be sure you’re ready to back those words up! Before making the next grand exclamation, check in with your life, your goals and your values. Really examine your reasons for talking about what you want to do. What does it do for you to tell everyone about it before you actually set it in motion? If you know the accountability will inspire you to act, then shout it to the rooftops. If you’re finding that it simply makes you look good, or seems like a good idea, then write it down and move on to something that you can get truly excited about.

We all carry aspects of each trend above. Which resonates deepest with you? How does your trend help you move forward and how does it hold you back? What other trends do you need to work on in order to more effectively manage your time? Remember, we each reach the future at the rate of sixty minutes an hour. How do you use your time?

"When you cannot make up your mind which of two evenly balanced courses of action you should take - choose the bolder." - William Joseph Slim

Momentum Coaching's mission is for each of us to energize the moment we're in. As owner and professional coach, Katie Mattson energizes her clients to stretch their boundaries, deepen their awareness and indulge in life. She coaches individuals and small groups around topics such as: building confidence, career and life transitions, shifting perspective and stepping into new experiences. To read more about Katie and Momentum Coaching, visit www.EnergizeYourMoment.com. Contact Katie at: katie@energizeyourmoment.com