Overload! Our Choice to manage! TBT!

Here are some observations / thoughts..

• Last week on vacation, I saw 4 people were sitting at a dinner table in a restaurant. 3 of them were playing with their iphones/smart phones for almost the entire time they sat there over the course of the meal.  
• Michael Dell said that in 2020, we will be creating 35 times as much data as in 2010.
• Mark Hurd of Oracle said that more data will be created in the next 4 years than in the history of the planet
• Eric Schmitdt of Google says we create as much data now in two days as was created between the dawn of time and 2003. 
• Studies indicate 2.8 hours per day are lost to non-important interruptions and recovery time required to get back on track.
• Every time I do a time management workshop (called Time Choices), Email quantity, 24/7 availability with email and interruptions by others are perceived as the major time eaters that need to be addressed.
• And then there are the studies that show the quality of what we pay attention to is changing:  in 1970, 39% of the US TV news was global in nature, now it is 12%. 

Where are we going with all this?  Does all this data (and perhaps information) make us happier, more balanced and more successfull in our lives?

Thinking about this, makes me realise how careful I need to be:r (a) managing the input I receive; (b) managing the output I create for others..... Is another news letter really what is needed in this world ? (c) focus on this topic in the Time Choices workshop needs ramped up.

Thanks to the www.worklifebalance.com for bringing this up.

(TBT = Think before Tweeting)

Aagh!

Somebody else is using Joyful Voyager as a blog/name and their goal is not at all aligned with mine! Any ideas on how to handle are welcome!

Sent from my iPhone

When things come together...

3 things came together in my head this morning... rather a shock I must say..

(1) Friends of mine have been working on a project about leadership with heart. I liked the idea but was not comfortable with some of it and could not figure out my position towards this initiative.

(2) Read something about personal branding: Asking yourself 3 questions. Who have I been, who am I being now, and who do I want to be. Have been rolling those around in my head and some clarity has been coming around logicial, analytical, problem solver - who had heart, then lost it on the way in terms of answering the who have I been ...

(3) HBR arcticle on Mc Namarra (Head of World Bank, Sec. of Defense during Vietnam war, head of Ford for a while...) and how he was known for his facts and data approach and the lessons he learned in his life... that people are not logical decision makers, you have to take into account the non-logical, and have empathy for your enemies/others.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm Not ready to say how this crystallizes... but it is becoming clearer.

Sleep - how little can we get by with?

When I do the Time Choices workshop or coach people on how they use their time, the question comes always comes up about how much sleep is enough. A recent New York Times article, quoting research done at the University of Pennsylvania answers that question!

Most people (Adults) need 8 hours sleep. If we get less than that... we become impaired in our thinking. The average number of hours slept in the U.S. is 6.9...... There is a small % (less than 5%) that are effective with less than 6 hours and a similar small % who needs more than 8 hours.

So.... what are we doing to ensure we get those 8 hours???

Grilling sausages in April!

Great time to appreciate the moment! Beautiful weather here, no snow, so time to hike and grill sausages instead of ski!

New Year's Resolutions...

It might be a bit late for this... but if you are like most people, probably... the new year's resolutions you made are not quite working out the way you intended...

Here is some advice from http://www.tut.com/ that I thought was relevant.

(1) Give thanks and feel real gratitude for what you have, where you have been, the journey up until now...
(2) Decide what you want (the end result), how it will feel to have it, what it will look like.
(3) Follow your instinct and get working on it... it does not have to be in a organised plan, you dont have to complete big steps... just get going!

Enjoy and I would love to hear if anybody tries this and what happens!

What are coaching credentials?

Today... anybody can say they are a coach, even if they have not had any training. There are quite a few organisations now trying to set some standards to help upgrade the profession. I have chosen to align myself with the ICF (International Coaching Federation).

The ICF (International Coaching Federation) did a study (handled by PwC) and found out that while coaching in general generated a high or very high level of satifaction with the client (83%) , coaches who had ICF credentials generated a high or very high level of customer satisfaction of 92%.

The process of being and remaining certified is a life long process... and I can attest - that it really works. The process is helping me be a better coach.

So... when looking for a coach - consider the credentials. There are some brilliant coaches who are not certified to any organisation of coaching so it is not a fail safe criteria but it is an important point to consider.

The golden circle of leadership

Check out this interesting video on Leadership! This makes a lot of sense to me..

Great video from David Allen - Guru of DOING

Watched this video from David Allen at a DO conference (what a super idea!).

The ideas he says are:

• Pay attention to what has your attention ("scratch your itch")
• Decide outcomes desired, next actions required
• Free your psyche with a trusted system
• Share these ideas

This is so interesting, for 2 reasons.

1. First, I almost avoided David Allen's work (despite some great ideas for the system of managing one's time) because I found people get SO caught up in the system that it takes over the psyche! Managing and improving the system becomes the itch. This video - makes it clear to me that is not his intent and that is just a pitfall to know and avoid.
2. Secondly, this is so close to the coaching I do.... This set of beliefs is the corner stone of Best Year Yet's program, the first program I was attracted to in the coaching world, it is the corner stone of the Time Choices program I run (with all these great time management systems available, how come nobody has any time anymore...), it is in fact, the basis of most coaching interventions for most coaches, including myself!

Well - this motivated me to continue to scratch my itch to support others, and to continually improve my life in this way (am going through a bit of a change at the moment - trying to find a new type / level of balance so I keep focusing on what is important). Hopefully it will help you too!

Update on my Joyful Voyage!

Here is where I have been for the last month... Having fun in the U.S.A. on horse back, hiking, crazy stuff on the water, and especially being with family and friends.