Habits Make All the Difference
The promise was books that rocked my coaching practice that are off the beaten path. OK, so maybe this one isn’t that original, and I must have stumbled on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey in Barnes and Noble because I can’t remember who recommended it. But I have to say that from the day I read this book, I changed some habits that utterly altered the trajectory of my life. I don’t think it is a coincidence that when I started doing what Covey said (and let’s be clear, not everything, just a few things made a huge difference) my business took off, my household became more orderly and calm and my quality of life shot up. I developed a reputation for being freakishly productive. I feel that almost every other “self-help” book that came after this one simply fleshed out some of the good ideas that were here in the first place.
In the section called Put First Things First, the 4 box quadrant probably made the biggest impact on me. The idea is that we all can put every single thing we do into one of the four quadrants.
| Urgent | Not Urgent | |
| Important | QUADRANT I crises, pressing problems, deadline-driven projects |
QUADRANT II prevention, Principle Centered activities, relationship building, recognizing and leveraging new opportunities, planning the future, recreation |
| Not important | QUADRANT III interruptions, some calls, some mail, some reports, some meetings, popular activities |
QUADRANT IV trivia, busy work, some mail, some phone calls time wasters, pleasant activities |
The ones who spend the bulk of their time doing things in the “important” quadrants are simply going to have a much higher life satisfaction quotient. This very concrete model gave me the courage to say no to things that did not fall into the Quadrants I or II. Today, I let people assume I am extremely busy (everybody does) and if pressed I will admit that I am no busier than anyone else, just extremely focused on what is most important to me and ferociously choosy about what I focus on. Don’t tell anyone.
The Secret Powers of Time
The Secret Powers of Time is one of many brilliant videos in the RSA Animate series by the RSA. In the video, Professor Philip Zimbardo conveys how our individual perspectives of time affect our work, health, and well-being. Time influences who we are as a person, how we view relationships, and how we act in the world.
In coaching, simply having an awareness and understanding of the time perspectives of those you coach is invaluable. Within the context of time, we’d like to see all of our clients be future-oriented. Those that come into coaching already future-oriented are more likely to be able to quickly move into action on their growth and development goals. That’s not to say that individuals who are past/present-oriented can’t achieve the same, however, it might take a little more work and, most definitely, a different approach.
Take the time and watch the video below to learn more. Share your take-aways in the comment box.
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