Improvement

Creating a Personal Mission Statement

A mission statement is a clear and concise statement of what your organization does. Have you considered creating one for yourself?

When I taught media ethics at a university, the final project I required of my students was for each one to create a mission statement. They could write it. They could make a video. They could draw it. All that mattered was that they gave some thought to understanding what made them tick.

They really struggled with it, but the final projects were always phenomenal. I didn’t require them to share them with the class – only with me, the instructor, who almost always gave them an “A” as long as they put thought into the project.

When you have a mission statement, you know what you want and whether what you are currently doing is helping you to get there. I was reviewing mine the other day, and I realized, I needed to let some projects go because – although I enjoyed them – they were a distraction and were not part of my personal mission.

Another way to approach your mission statement is to think about what you would do if you had your life to live over. And then do it! Near the end of her life, columnist Erma Bombeck wrote, “If I had my life to live over, I would have talked less and listened more. I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded. I would have eaten the popcorn in the ‘good’ living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace….

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute… look at it and really see it … live it…and never give it back.”

If you don’t have a mission statement, why not create one. It’s not too late!

Maximizing Your Mornings

I’m an early riser – 5:30 a.m. and I’m up and at it. No snooze button for me. Most of my friends groan. About 10 years ago, I would have, too, but over time, I found that getting up consistently at 5:30 a.m. works for me.

Newspaper and yogurt

Your morning routine can make you more productive and successful. (Photo by Cynthia Price)

I work out in the morning at least once a week and sometimes three times. I’d prefer to work out in the evening to relieve the tension and stress of the day, but my evenings are usually packed with social activities or I work late and then I don’t motivate myself to hit the gym. I have no excuses with a morning workout. Best of all, I head to work energized.

On the mornings I don’t work out, I use at least one day to go to the office early to get organized and focused. This is really helpful for me on Mondays, especially if I have been traveling. Other mornings, I use the time for myself. Sometimes I write in my journal. Sometimes I simply sit and read a book that I want to finish. Whatever I choose to do, having some quiet time in the morning sets the tone for the rest of my day.

According to time management expert Laura Vanderkam, mornings hold the key to taking control of our schedules. If we use them wisely, we can build habits that will allow us to lead happier, more productive lives. She’s written a book What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: A Short Guide to Making Over Your Mornings – and Life. In a recent post on Fast Company she talks about the five-part process to get the most out of the morning.

My morning routine isn’t perfect, but it’s definitely improved since I’ve given careful thought to how I spend the time. The result is a more productive day.

How do you spend your mornings?

Finding, Capturing Life’s Moments

For the past six months, I’ve been taking a photo a day. It’s intended to get me to pause and enjoy the moments of each day this year despite a busy schedule.

Produce stand

The colors at this produce stand made me pause and enjoy the scents of all the fruits and vegetables. (Photo by Cynthia Price)

During a recent vacation, it was quite easy to take a photo a day. I probably took 100 photos a day!

For the most part, I’ve not had a problem. I’ve found myself playing more with my photography and trying to figure out how to capture the smell of a spring day, the sound of leaves rustling in a tree before a storm or the smell of a peach cobbler fresh from the oven – all things that provided me with simple joy on a particular day.

Some days, though, it’s more difficult, especially on busy work days. And yet as I leave the office and think, “It’s 7 o’clock and I’ve yet to take a photo,” I rewind the day and realize there were many moments in the day, I could and should have photographed.

I now have an office with a window (my first one in 15 years!) so the view is always worth a photograph. Sometimes I wish I had photographed a great presentation (really!). One day I did photograph a colleague because we always made sure to smile when we saw each other. It was her last day before she moved out of the area and so we took a photograph with big smiles. That photo makes me smile.

Once in a while I think I’ll just stop the project. I’ve done it for six months, why continue? The answer is that I need to keep finding the joy and the moments in each day. It would be too easy to overlook them, and I don’t want to do that.

At the end of each week, I add the photo to a PowerPoint presentation I’m keeping for myself. One slide, one day, one photo. Of course, some days, I’ve actually put multiple photos on the slide. There are no real rules, except to find the moments each day.

I wonder what I’ll discover in the next six months?

Keeping the Vacation Alive

Chocolate covered strawberries

My vacation featured a cooking demonstration. This photo helps return me to the relaxing meal we had following the lesson. (Photo by Cynthia Price)

I just returned from an incredible vacation, one in which I took no electronic devices. I watched no TV and read no newspapers. It was a stress-free week.

I knew, though, upon my return that the stress could quickly mount at the office so I took some precautions. Perhaps the suggestions will help you when you return from a vacation.

Leave your first morning free to address urgent emails and messages. Don’t worry about any of the others. Don’t schedule any meetings. I actually blocked the time on my calendar so no one could snag it.

Block time each day for the first week to catch up on the emails. To save time, sort your emails by conversations. By reading the latest, you can eliminate all of the individual ones in the thread.

Set a limit to your day. You can work long hours but you’ll lose that vacation feel way too quickly. I limited myself and a colleague even offered to call me to make sure I was walking out the door.

Schedule something fun or relaxing for your first weekend back to extend that vacation feeling.

Schedule your next vacation or break if you haven’t already done so. I block time each quarter on my calendar. That way I always have something to look forward to, even if it’s simply curling up at home with a book.

If all else fails, look at your vacation photos each evening or change your desktop image to one from your vacation spot.

Are You Listening

Do you listen?

Are you sure?

I recently participated in a global leadership meeting and one of our facilitators spent time coaching us on listening.

He asked us: What’s the opposite of listening?

We all answered: Talking!

Then he asked us, “What’s the opposite of talking?”

Of course, we wanted to say, “listening,” but we suspected we would we wrong. The answer? “Waiting to talk.”

He challenged us to consider if we really are listening or if we are simply waiting to talk.

It’s something I struggled with for years and still do at times. As a newspaper reporter, I would only half hear answers to questions because I was always waiting to ask my next question. When I finally started to really listen, my stories became stronger.

Our facilitator noted we could approach a conversation from sides, or we could approach it to find the center together.

The next time you are conversing with someone stop and ask yourself if you really are listening.