Michele Woodward

Powerful Coaching. Powerful Results.

getting organized

Who’s Ready For Some Homework?

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I have the firm belief that it’s impossible to make a really great plan for the future unless you take time to reflect on the past.

That’s the thinking behind the Personal Planning Tool I’ve been offering you since 2009. Every year I update it for the coming year and this time when I wrote out the new date, I said something eloquent and thoughtful.

I said, “Whoa.”

As in, whoa, what a great opportunity to reflect on everything that’s happened in 2019 as we plan for 2020, but why not look waaaay back? Why not look at where we all were in 2010?

So I sat down, and I am known to do, and created a tool to do that reflection. What were the most powerful questions? What got to the heart of the matter?

I made a copy of my handwritten draft and walked myself through the emerging process. Tweaked. Refined.

Then I sent my handwritten, scrawled out notes to a dozen helpful souls who offered to try it and provide helpful and critical feedback.

I waited. But before long my email started to ping with messages like this:

“I was surprised by the theme of taking care of my physical body. I’m seeing my family age and it suddenly feels URGENT to care for my vessel in ways it never did before. This came through so loud and clear as I filled this out.”

“I thought the whole review was thought provoking and valuable. The big surprise to me was the question: If you could send a message from today to your 2030 self, what would you say? As I read it, I teared up. Big time.  At first I thought the question didn’t make sense – easier to give advice/share wisdom with 20/20 hindsight –  but then why did it bring tears to my eyes?! I realized the reason was that my thoughts about the future were pessimistic (which is not my usual personality default) and I didn’t know what to tell my future self beyond “Savor the butterflies now.” ;/ Not a useful way to move forward action-wise. And that I could do better for myself and values than that. Where I am currently is to say to my 2030 year self that the future is still wide open (props to Tom Petty) and to stay sturdy; my work here is not done.”

“I think the biggest thing I learned from this exercise is that you have no idea what the future could bring. Ten years ago, I was single, had not met my husband and could not have dreamt of what my future life could hold. I also noticed today – 10 yrs. later – that I omit my career and myself in much of this plan. I am in a supporting role and put my needs after those of others. However, this process reinforces a few things that I need to make a priority – working out, reconnecting with friends. I also realized how much I am driven [now] by personal vs. professional goals. It also makes me fear a bit for the next 10 years since things have been so good, similar to that of a recession after good economic times.”

“I cried on page 4.  These questions were POWERFUL.  When you compare 10 years the things that need to be fixed are in such plain sight. I focused on what was still not going well but, I also need to celebrate that I have doubled my income in 10 years.”

Deep and abiding thanks to the brave and kind folks who took the time to test drive the 10-Year Tool. Which is now up and ready for you!

Go to www.michelewoodward.com/resources to access both the new 10-Year Tool and its big sister, the 2020 Personal Planning Tool. These two worksheets are designed to complement one another – and also designed to be the sort of thing you take your time with. To think. To reflect. To grow your understanding.

This ain’t no Cosmo quiz, friends.

And, as always, the resources on my page are available to you at no charge.

After you use the 10-Year Tool or the 2020 Personal Planning Tool, drop me a note and let me know what you think. I can’t wait to hear about the things you learn!

Making A Plan (That Works)

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I woke up this morning in a planning mood. Rather than start from scratch, I decided to look back at a popular post I wrote earlier this year – 7 Questions I Asked Myself – and sit down with some paper and my favorite pen to answer the questions. I thought that you might enjoy taking a look at them, too, so here’s the post in its entirety:

Even coaches need coaching.Large collection of metal bowls full of herbs and spices

Maybe you find that amusing, or even startling. But the truth is: Growth never stops.

I will never, ever be finished understanding, knowing – and surprising – myself. It’s a life’s work.

And, to be honest, sometimes all the options available in our lives are a little overwhelming. How do we decide where to focus, and what to say no to?

To figure that out, a Friday ago I sat down and asked myself some questions which served to focus and streamline my energy. Maybe you can benefit from asking yourself the same questions, too.

1.  What do I no longer want to do? What no longer feels right?

Now, in my case, I made two columns – the left one was affirmative, and listed what I want to keep. The right column was a list of 14 things that no longer feel right, such as “stupid rules”, “my wardrobe” and “eating crap”. Your list might be a wee bit different. Or not.

2. What needs to be cleaned up? Literally, and figuratively?

Again, two columns: Literally and Figuratively. In “Literally”, I put down “hall closet” (tell me – how’s your hall closet, hmmn?), and “garden” – so feel free to identify those niggling areas of your world which physically could stand a good cleaning or de-cluttering. In the “Figurative” realm, I’ll bet you have a couple of areas to address. I know I certainly do.

3. What do I want that I don’t have?

Oh, boy. This is a rich area. Don’t edit yourself here – let your psyche run wild. Your inner knowing will tell you things that may suprise you – such as, “I want support” and suddenly you’ll find yourself looking for a new calendar, a cleaning crew, an assistant, and a pool boy named Paolo (even though you have no pool). It is amazing what comes up.

4. What are my beliefs around (work/love/money/life – whatever you feel is most troublesome in your day)?

This is a huge area that holds people back. We have hard and fast beliefs in the most stuck areas of our lives, and it’s really only those beliefs that hold us back. “Work must be hard”, for example. Or, “all the good ones are taken”. And, “people like us never get ahead”. Writing those beliefs down on paper is a great way to begin to examine them to see if they are at all true. And most of them…aren’t. They’re just in the way of our happiness and success, so collect them, examine them and drop ‘em like they’re hot – so you can get moving toward what you want.

5. How can I be more grateful every day?

Research shows that focusing on what is working and expressing gratitude about it creates a sense of well-being which powerfully impacts health, work and relationships. So I came up with five things I can do daily to be in the gratitude zone: set positive intentions; be mindful and notice good things; say it out loud to someone else or myself; smile; and, thank people. Easy peasy, huh? What will you come up with?

6.  How can I nurture myself better?

Sleep. Feed myself well. Stretch physically and mentally. Learn daily. See doctors as needed. Stand up straight.

That last one there sounds small, but when I stand up straight I feel better. Stronger. Like I’m ready for anything.

So I’m going to try to stand up straight more often, because I like feeling like Wonder Woman. [This is the sole reason I wear bracelets, sugar.]

I had a #7, too.

7. What books need writing?

Now, this may or may not be a question you ask yourself. But asking it in this way instead of “what book can I write that will make me a ton of money?” allows real ideas to come forward. Ideas that will serve people, have an impact and allow you to write a book that’s memorable. And might just make you some money. Of course, I came up with six ideas – you know me. And now it’s time for sifting and shifting, and something great will emerge (notice the positivity? Yay, me! I am already doing #6!).

Now comes the fun part. Having asked myself these questions, and answering them honestly and openly, I came up with a set of to-dos that feel focused, efficient and purposeful.

I have a vision.

A plan.

A purpose.

All from seven little questions.

How are you going to answer them?

 

 

Curiosity Gets The Job

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A few weeks ago, I was a guest on a radio show hosted by the fantastic Koren Motekaitis. Our topic was “Jobs Over 50” – the conventional wisdom being that in “this economy” it’s doubly difficult for people over age 50 to land decent jobs. Of course, I never met a conventional wisdom I couldn’t refute, so I outlined tactics, mindsets and approaches to help anyone find a good situation. You can hear the interview here.

Then, this week, New York Times writer Tom Friedman wrote an interesting column about where employment is headed, titled: “It’s P.Q. and C.Q. as Much as I.Q.”

Friedman’s thesis is that the modern world’s easy hyperconnectivity has radically changed the way we work, and we all must understand this “Great Inflection”  to be prepared for what’s coming next.

In short, you’ve got to talk about what you are able to do today and tomorrow, rather than solely rely on what you’ve done in the past.

For example, the marketing degree you got back in the 1980s? Practically irrelevant today, given the explosion of new media, hyper-personalization and micro segmentation. Lead your pitch for a new job or a promotion with that educational credential? Dinosaur alert. Lead with your recent social media campaign success? You’re in the mix.

In his piece, Friedman says, “That means the old average is over. Everyone who wants a job now must demonstrate how they can add value better than the new alternatives.”

Today, regardless of your age, you must stay current – especially because things are happening so fast. In essence, every 40+ person who says, “I just don’t get Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/Foursquare/Vine/YouTube/email”, is effectively saying that they’d prefer to sit around with Lord Grantham and shoot grouse.

To grow in your career, or to re-enter the work force – or even to have your own business – if you’re an older person, it’s vital that you get across that you not only have a wealth of experience, tempering and seasoning but are also fully current with all of today’s tactics and approaches.

This means:

  • Take classes. In-person, online, formal, informal. Get a tutor to teach you one-on-one. Check out the robust free classes at Coursera, and iTunes U.
  • Read. Sometimes it astonishes me that people don’t read trade coverage of their industry. How can you suss out where things are heading? How can you help but be blindsided by a new innovation? So spend 10 minutes a day staying abreast of your field, and develop your own expertise – hey, you can make it easy on yourself – subscribe to SmartBrief for your field and get a handy news summary in your in-box every day. And follow key bloggers in your field. When you are up-to-speed and connected, you have a huge asset. Expertise, synthesis of information and the ability to say “what this means” can never be outsourced to computer code, people.
  • Expand your comfort zone. Yes, you may have gotten used to doing things a certain way. And those ways worked in the past and got you where you are. I totally get it. [I, too, remember carbon paper. But modern work requires less and less paper, and you don’t have to have blue fingers to be successful.] Appreciate the past for having been the past – but welcome the fun and growth in the learning that’s yet to come. This may mean you have meetings by Skype, or conduct business by text, or maybe work in a virtual team that’s very flat. It may not be what you know, but you can learn to make it work.

Friedman says: “How to adapt? It will require more individual initiative. We know that it will be vital to have more of the ‘right’ education than less, that you will need to develop skills that are complementary to technology rather than ones that can be easily replaced by it and that we need everyone to be innovating new products and services to employ the people who are being liberated from routine work by automation and software. The winners won’t just be those with more I.Q. It will also be those with more P.Q. (passion quotient) and C.Q. (curiosity quotient) to leverage all the new digital tools to not just find a job, but to invent one or reinvent one, and to not just learn but to relearn for a lifetime.”

Dig in to tradition, then, at your own risk. Hold on to the past at your own peril.

Instead, challenge yourself to be curious, to learn, to grow. Bring something valuable to the table, every day.

And you will see your career flourish and grow until you are ready for a change, on your own terms.

 

Get Yourself Organized

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Just can’t seem to get organized? Feeling a bit out of control? A little swamped?

Join the club.

And, it’s a mighty big club.

Organization may the single most problematic task for most of us, according to my completely unscientific poll of clients, friends and family. Oh, and the mailman. So, how about some tips on how to get organized?

Let me be frank here: if other people think you are disorganized but you are fine with how you live, then it’s not a problem. For you. Of course, if you have 25 years of old newspapers stacked ceiling high, 85 cats and 43 cases of yams stacked in untidy pyramids throughout your house, you might want to consider that there’s a problem… But it’s up to you.

If your disorganization makes you late — paying bills, keeping appointments, forgetting to take medication — or prevents you from being truly happy, then you need to make some changes. Here’s how:

Identify the problem. Take a notebook and walk around your home, or your office, and make a list of the areas that need attention. Be specific. “Hall closet” or “supply closet”, rather than “whole house” or “everything”. “Calendar” or “paying bills”, rather than “time” or “money”. Got it? Once you can identify the problem areas, you can make a plan to begin to attend to them. Cherry-pick the easiest task first, and if none of them seem easy, then pick the area where getting organized is going to have the biggest impact.

Break each problem area down into teeny-tiny little steps. For instance, take “paying bills”. What’s the optimal bill-paying process? Let’s write it down. OK. The mail comes. What do you have to do? Get the mail out of the box. Next? Sort the mail. Pull out the bills. Then what? Put them in a file folder? Pay them on the spot? What feels best for you? No, not throwing them into the trash, as much as you’re tempted. (Hey, I know your type.) Remember, what you resist persists, so if you hate paying bills and put it off, and off, and off, the problem will only get worse. So, make it as easy and painless as possible. And if you really, really can’t get the task done, outsource it — to your spouse, your eldest child, or hire a part-time personal assistant.

Tackle one problem at a time. We get overwhelmed when we try to pay the bills, organize the files, recast the calendar and write a strategic plan — all within the same 20 minute time period. Setting yourself up for failure, that is. Take one project at a time (that pesky “Hall closet”) and give yourself a realistic time frame for finishing it — even if that realistic time frame is three weeks. Remember, if you hit the wall on your project, that’s OK. Just keep on making teeny-tiny steps toward progress every day and soon enough the daggone closet will be tidy. That’s when you get to execute the very best tip:

Give yourself a reward. Honest. Give yourself something nice for having to do such a boring/nasty/unpleasant task. Make it something you look forward to — a solid hour of Guitar Hero, for instance; or, a long chat with your best friend. Link the reward with the action, Pavlov-style, and you will begin to look forward to knocking other tasks off your list.

The reward I love is free time. I figure that if I knock a project off thoroughly and don’t have to come back to it, I can then loaf absolutely guilt-free. Honey, talk about an incentive! Find the reward that means as much to you and you’ll find tackling overwhelming organizational tasks a snap.