In Sight

I know several of my posts this year have focused on running and surprise… this one will be no different! I mentioned earlier how I signed up for my first 5k but I didn’t mention that my husband signed up for the 10k that will take place before the 5k. The last 10k he ran was in 1987 in the Bolder Boulder, he was 15 at the time.

Watching him train has honestly been inspirational. He has not really done a lot of running since he was a teenager, so to see him start in January not being able to run 1 mile straight, to now being able to run over 6 miles straight is amazing! To manage such a feat it takes consistency, dedication, and a lot of patience. Since it was winter when he started to train he used the track at our local YMCA. The track is small and you have to run around it 17 times to complete one mile. I know from experience that it can become a little boring and tedious at times. I can’t even imagine running around it over 105 times in a row, but that is what my husband has done now several times. Of course it took many hours and days to work up to it, but it has all been worth it.

Consistency, dedication, and patience are great attributes and I would say most successful people have these skills. The good thing is we don’t have to necessarily be born with them. They are skills we can acquire, but funnily enough it requires, consistency, dedication, and patience. Just like in running there will be good days and bad days, but even on the bad days you tried, so it is still a victory and you were consistent in your effort.

My last piece of advice to obtain your goals would be to use help where you can get it. There is no shame in using the tools available to you. In my husband’s case he used a running app and he went through lots of books on audio. The first helped guide him and the second staved off the boredom that was bound to happen after several weeks.

So remember…. Consistency, Dedication, and Patience.

I know you can do it!

This week is spring break for many across the country including where we live in Alabama. It’s typically warm and sunny here this time of year. Unfortunately that’s not the case this year. We’ve had a very cold March and this last week was no exception.  We have not yet been able to trade in our winter gear for our more desired choices of shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops. Our pasty skin is even crying for the sun to come out. Right now, we’re singing endless winter nights instead of endless summer nights.

So what do you do when the winter seems endless? Or better yet, what do you do when you feel like nothing will ever change where you work?

One thing we do know is that the weather is always changing and, hey, you might have noticed that those forecasts aren’t always very accurate, so for all I know it could be 80 degrees tomorrow instead of the forecasted 45 (this is very wishful thinking on my part). Maybe the extended forecast where you work is looking a little bleak too, but does that necessarily have to be the case? Thankfully as humans we have a great power: the power of choice. I don’t mean that we get to choose what necessarily happens to us, but we always get to choose how we react to it. I can’t choose for it to be my desired 80 degrees tomorrow, but I can choose to have a positive attitude and make the most of it. So instead of lemonade, I drink hot chocolate. That’s not so bad, right?

Not many of us have ideal work situations, but when we choose to highlight the positive we can make that forecast a little bit sunnier. We may not be able to change the weather forecast, but we can at the very least change our attitudes.

So bring on the hot chocolate!

Last time I wrote I mentioned that I had signed up to run my very first 5K in May. Since that time, I have found that you absolutely need the right pair and type of shoes. I own several pairs of tennis shoes and thought that at least one of those pairs would be adequate to complete the task at hand. They were all well broken in shoes and I had never had any issues when wearing them for regular use. Unfortunately when I began to use them for running, they each caused blisters. I went through three pairs until I finally got wise and decided that maybe I should get some real running shoes. Yes, it was a little bit of a hassle and I had to spend money that I really wasn’t planning on, but it was so very worth it. Not only are my feet happy, but they have helped my overall performance.

I think sometimes in business we take this approach. We get used doing and using what’s familiar to us even if it causes us some “blisters”. Because let’s be honest, sometimes change and spending money can be very painful and time consuming. But that should definitely not discourage us when a change needs to be made; especially if those blisters are becoming visible to your customers and partners.

Thankfully change doesn’t need to happen all at once. Just like in running we need to pace ourselves, the same can be said for implementing change at work. Setting up a good schedule for making changes is a good idea and will prevent the feeling of being overwhelmed. The great thing is that even small changes can make a big difference. Maybe you can’t change everything all at once, but don’t let that stop you from changing what you can now.

So here’s to fewer blisters and more productivity!

I know for many January is a time for reflection, but also for looking ahead and making goals. This year for me is a little different, as I feel like this year has many life changing events in store for me and I don’t even need to make goals to accomplish it!

Here are just a few life changers for me: I will have one daughter graduate from high school and then leave for college, one daughter will turn 16 and get her license and I will be turning 40. And this is just one week in May! I did make a commitment to myself that I would make 40 fabulous. So, I have decided to get somewhat out of my comfort zone. I just signed up for my first 5k, which to some may not be a big deal, but for someone like me that has never ran that far at one time, not to mention that I don’t like people watching me run, it is a pretty big deal.

Signing up for this 5k not only gets me out of my comfort zone, but it gives me a goal to complete and will hopefully keep me using my YMCA membership to its fullest. I know in January we seem to overuse the term goal setting, but maybe we can call them life changers. Life changing to me is more urgent than goal setting. Of course we have life changing events that happen without any planning on our part, but wouldn’t it be nice, for a change, to make some life changers that we plan and work for? This works not only for personal goals but professional ones too.

What can you change in your company to have a “life changing” event? Can you add or upgrade current products? What about pricing structure? It can be as simple as how you conduct meetings and flow of information.

So what things are you doing to change your personal and professional life this year?

I love interesting lists of facts. If you read our monthly newsletter, you know I always include a few little fun facts about that particular month. The following facts are not only interesting, but insightful. I think this list is particularly useful for employers and managers. Note how many of the following items deal with stress. Of course stress is a fact of life and stress can be good, but too much causes high turnover, reduced productivity, increased absenteeism.

We know the holidays can be especially stressful, so this may be a good time to think of some great office stress reducers. You can start by sharing this list!

1. One percent of U.S. employers allow employees to take naps during working      hours.
2. People in the U.S. spend at least 1896 hours per year at work.
3. Women business owners employ 35% more people than all the Fortune 500 companies combined.
4. No piece of normal-size paper can be folded in half more than seven times.
5. During thinking, we only use about 35% of our brains.
6. A typist’s fingers travel 12.6 miles during an average workday.
7. More American workers (18%) call in sick on Friday than any other day of the week.
8. Tuesday has the lowest percent of absenteeism for American workers—11%.
9. Difficult focusing on the computer screen, short-term memory problems and trouble with basic math can be caused by a mere 2% drop in body water. Remember to stay hydrated during work hours.
10. Americans now spend more than 100 hours a year commuting to work.
11. More  than 50% of lost work days are stress related, keeping approximately 1 million people home from work every day.
12. The  average office worker spends 50 minutes a day looking for lost files and other items.
13. The United States has the fourth largest workforce in the world, at 154.2 million (does not include those who are unemployed).
14. Forty  percent of worker turnover is due to job stress.
15. Remember to always take notes during meetings, as the brain retains less than 5% of what is said.
16. Each person owns at least eight distinctive intelligences (Musical, Bodily-Kinesthetic,  Naturalistic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Verbal-Linguistic , Logical-Mathematical, Spatial), and these are further developed whenever used at work.
17. “Stewardesses” is the longest word typed with only the left hand.
18. Refrigerating rubber bands makes them last longer.
19. Eighty percent of jobs are gained through networking.
20. People spend one in every four and a half minutes online on social networks and blogs.

And those are the (office) facts of life!