Tips and takeaways from Nancy Snell
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Who knew that managing time was right at the top of the list for being effective at what you do? As a manager, the burden is always on you to navigate a wide variety of skills and people. If you think about it, the first task is to become an effective manager of your time. Why? Because if you are always behind…
I worked on an article with a wonderful gentleman named Jay Goltz who writes a blog named "You're The Boss" for the New York Times.
Our article was published years ago, but is still totally relevant and I thought it would be fun to share some of the content with you again..
Why Are Some Really Smart People Underperforming These Days?
The demand of modern office life is leading to an increasingly common condition many of us in the field recognize as Attention Deficit Trait (ADT). As I always like to say: "You don't have to be ADD to feel like it these days"! So many of us are struggling with the tsunami that has become our world.
Believe it or not, overworked managers — like your colleagues, employees and maybe even YOU — are suffering from a very real neurological phenomenon caused by brain overload. Previously dependable executives are being turned into overwhelmed underachievers. In truth, the human brain just isn't made to "download" all of the information that is bombarding it on a minute-to-minute basis. We just don't have the data points.
Interestingly, some of the core symptoms of chronic circuit overload and ADT are:
Ultimately, ADT wreaks havoc among harried executives, managers and employees, leading to lost productivity that hits companies where it hurts most: the bottom line.
There is a practical and achievable solution.
Professional coaching is an ongoing partnership that focuses on defining and setting goals in order to get great results. Crazy Busy Coaching is structured for business leaders, managers and decision-makers who are intent on changing the workplace culture that fosters ADT. This process is about retraining yourself and your employees through creating and maintaining support, external structures, timeframes and strategies.
Through extensive research and personal experience I have created a proprietary system called Crazy Busy Coaching — a collaborative process that helps executives with ADT or managing ADT in the workplace take action — and get results.
The result?
I call that priceless!
If you would like to schedule a 15 minute conversation with me to discuss, I'd love to hear from you. Email me at nancy@nancysnell.com, or call my office at 212 517 6488.
And always remember to have a productive day!
Warmly,
Coach Nancy
Susan Wilson Solovic is a small business expert, award-winning serial entrepreneur, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Amazon.com top 100 and USA Today bestselling author, media personality, keynote speaker and attorney. Solovic regularly appears as a contributor on Fox Business, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal’s “Lunch Break”, MSNBC, CNN, CNBC and today - The Distracted Executive!
The Distracted Executive: What has become your greatest challenge around managing time? What is your very best practice for being as efficient as you are?
Susan Wilson Solovic: Actually, I am a good time manager. I learned when I was an executive with a Fortune 100 company, a night law-school student, a wife and a step-mom how to make every minute of the day count. The first thing I do when my feet hit the ground in the morning is schedule my day in my mind. That includes time for personal needs such as exercise or social interactions and of course family. My calendar is my Bible.
TDE: Everything seems important or urgent these days. How do you efficiently navigate your to-do list without hindering your success?
SWS: Every morning I consider what things absolutely must be done that day. I focus on those things first. Once they are done I start on the rest of my list. If you spend too much time looking at everything on your list you'll be overwhelmed and probably jump from one thing to another, not really accomplishing anything.
TDE: You must work with some people who are all over the place. How do you deal with someone who is very distracted and not giving you what you need in a timely manner?
SWS: I'm very focused on deadlines. Even for myself, I think deadlines are important. So I give someone a timeframe and expect them to honor it.
TDE: How are you impacted by interruptions during the day? What is your #1 tip for dealing with them?
SWS: Interruptions will always happen so I always have a little cushion in my "schedule." If something starts eating up my time, I usually try to end it but offer a time to return to the issue or project.
TDE: As an entrepreneur, author, speaker and media personality juggling many balls, what is the greatest challenge in your business today, and what are you doing to address it?
SWS: My biggest challenge is growing too quickly. It's hard for me to turn down opportunities, so sometimes I take on too much and I don't have the back room support I need. When that happens, I get stressed and so does my team. As a business owner, you should really look at each opportunity and make sure you can take on new opportunities without jeopardizing others. I tell business owners to remember, when you say yes to one thing, you effectively say no to something else because you simply can't do everything. I need to follow my own advice.
Thank you Susan, for your time!
If you'd like to get in touch with Susan, you can call her office directly at 866-227-8684 ext. 11.
A digital detox can be a scary proposition!
We went to a BBQ last week at the beach.
Our hostess had a fabulous "Hamptons chic" basket and asked each of us to put our cell phones in there upon arriving. She said she wanted to do an experiment to see what it would be like to have one evening - just one - where we could focus on one another and have real uninterrupted conversations. A throwback to days and times gone by.
Some guests balked. Some felt naked. Some of us were skeptical but willing. Some thought it was the most ingenious thing they had ever heard of.
What happened? The first few minutes were a bit uncomfortable as our fingers twitched to click something, anything, look at a screen or see what someone we barely knew was up to. There was a definite hole that was yearning to be filled.
Then something interesting and wonderful happened. We all began to chat (remember that form of socialization?) and get to know about each other. Meaning that we had real conversations with real live people. We looked one another in the eyes and learned about our kids, work, interests, etc. We ended up all having a really great time and really enjoyed ourselves. Nobody was checking Instagram or distracted by texts.
We all survived. In fact, after the initial awkwardness, we didn't even miss them at all. So what I am saying here is "try it". Not only at a party but turning off and giving yourself the dignity of it all.
You just might even reconnect with yourself!
Have a productive day.
Coach Nancy
