Fall Cleaning Ideas (for success)

Today is a “fall cleaning” day for me, maybe you are on “cleaning” mode, too

I’ve gone through ALL of my emails, my to-do lists (old and new) and looked at my calendar for the week and the month.  The month promises to be quite busy and full of different activities.

First, I will give a talk on personal branding and story-telling (in the olden days this might have been called a pitch) this week.

Next week I will attend a coaching conference and give a workshop on coaching for “teal”-oriented (flat, agile and flexible) companies for that conference.

In two weeks the semester starts and I will have almost 150 students, so life will be busy this semester.

I also have upcoming (phone and in person) meetings with colleagues, clients and potential clients.   All this activity is exciting and getting me revved up for the fall.

How are you getting ready for the fall?

Are your emails paired down and ready for responses? Do you code/color-code them for “triage” and potential clients?

What about your to-do list(s)?  Do you keep your old lists to make sure you haven’t out something under the pile of papers for too long?

What is your calendar like?  Do you make time and space for reflection and “catching-up”?  Those alone or set aside days are often the key to moving forward.  I know. Today I am hosting at my co-working and I have been able to cross off a lot from my “list”.  But I also need the quiet time of “alone” days to contemplate what is to come.  This will be more difficult once my classes begin.  But then I know it will only be very busy for a season, and then I will be free-er once again, come December.  Even so, I have prepared some “off” days, some times away and many weekends will be free in October and November, on purpose.

Where is there time and space in your calendar and your energy “bubble” for change, for growth, for reflection?

Where can you go to get away and think?  Is your work-space good for this, or do you do other things and not focus on the important, then? 

Remember the Eisenhower Matrix:

Do the important urgent things but set aside time for the important things (deep work, thinking work) that are less urgent (of course, you delegate and/or trash the unimportant, depending).

So today I did the work syllabi for my students (and sent them their emails), and I responded to key emails that I found important.  I also thought of what I could do tomorrow, when I have more “thinking” time.

What about you?  What’s urgent and important (do it today)?  What’s important but not urgent and when are you going to do that?  Who can you delegate the other urgent things to?  What can you “trash”?

What does your September look like?

Have a lovely month!

Patricia Jehle               patricia@jehle-coaching.com