There are only a couple more months left in the school year, and then summer is here! I know. I can’t believe it either. Where has the first quarter gone? It’s always easy in the summer to get off track, which is the worst time since it’s the last half of the year – which is why I thought we could address getting on track before you get off track. I was thinking back to when I worked in a center. It was hard sometimes to balance everything. My kids were out for the summer, the business during the day fluctuated, I would take a vacation, my team would take a vacation, and the list goes on.
It doesn’t matter if you are in sales or part of the leadership team, we all have things that come up and we get away from what needs to be done or accomplishing our goals. I talked with our team, friends, and even my kids about simple things we can do in order to get back on track.
See every day as a new day and new opportunity
The great thing about every morning when you wake up is, the past is the past. You can’t change what happened the day before, but you can change what happens today. Maybe yesterday a lot of potential clients said no or you had a guest who was hard to deal with. The great news is that today, you have the chance to make more phone calls and change up your game, and you get to do something to make a guest’s day. It’s all new and it’s a chance for you to start fresh.
Journaling
Writing has always been known as a very therapeutic activity. Now they call it journaling. Journaling is a great way to write down things you have going on. Some ideas to write down are your feelings, to-dos, things that have been on your mind all day, issues that have come up. Journaling improves cognitive function and can help you see through the problem or stress to get a great outcome.
Use humor to get you through
Humor can be a great way to break through the stressful times and give you a moment to reset and get back to what you need to do. Think about it. Humor and having fun helps release dopamine in your brain which helps improve focus, increases our ability to be objective, and improves our overall brain power. Be sure and crack a few jokes today!
Start with a small task
Sometimes it’s hard to get back on task because we have a huge project to work on and we don’t know where to start. Start with a small task you know you can get done quickly and easily. Starting with a small task helps motivate you to take on another task and then another.
Get organized
Sometimes it just seems like everything is a mess. Our desk has stuff all over it, our car needs to be cleaned out, and my calendar doesn’t seem to have everything on it. A great way to get back on track is just to tidy up and get organized. Once everything is in place, it’s easier to get back on track with the task at hand. It also helps accomplish #4, doing a small task so we can move on!
Take a moment to reset
This one came from a very bright and wonderful fourth grader I know and has been helpful. We really should take more advice from these younger people! He knows when he is off track, so he takes a moment and puts his head down. He thinks about what he needs to get done and what he needs to stop doing to move forward. After a few moments, he says, “Okay, it’s time to reset.” Then he lifts his head and moves on to his work. Resetting is helpful to get more clarity to move forward.
Use the Eisenhower Matrix
The Eisenhower Matrix comes from our 34th President, Dwight D. Eisenhower. He said, “I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent is not important, and the important is never urgent.” By using this quadrant, we can determine what we need to get done next, what we can delegate, and what we can drop. You can watch a quick video here on how to use it.
Push through
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in everything that needs to be done, we sit back and don’t do anything. To get back on track, sometimes it just takes us plowing through and working on what needs to be done instead of just thinking about it.
Have an accountability partner
They say when working out, it’s best to have a partner who keeps you accountable. Work is the same way and one of the biggest benefits of our coaching programs. Having a person you have weekly conversations with about your goals can help keep you motivated, stay focused, help you reflect, see what your missing and, most of all, be your cheerleader.
We hope these tips will get you back on track. If not, a big, huge glass of wine always helps to put it in perspective! If you want to talk to someone about how to realize your goals, schedule a call with us and we can get you in for a one-hour coaching session to make sure your business is on its way to success.
