Sonia McDonald* says that even in times that are less than normal it is still possible to plan for long-term value and success.
One of the main things I work on with my clients is productivity and mindset, particularly during this time.
This is a common problem in many organisations, especially with the added challenges of leading remotely, and virtually.
These recent challenges that have impacted many of us and the pace of change leaves many executives struggling to stay organised and focused.
This results in lacklustre personal results.
The key to any productivity system is to focus on value, not effort.
Leaders who focus simply on checking as many things off their to-do lists as they can each day will get a lot done, but often fail to deliver significant results.
Leaders who consider what is most important during these times will create long-term value and be exceptionally successful.
In turn, it is imperative you review your own mindset and thoughts.
One of the best habits that will help you in this pursuit is to develop a personal weekly planning and mindset process.
By taking the time to plan your week, you can identify the best use of your time and energy and organise yourself for success.
Here’s how I plan my week on Sunday night so that I can hit the ground running Monday morning.
Do a mindset map: This process walks through a list of prompts in different categories, looking for things I’m trying to remember and commitments I’ve made.
I get them onto paper. This gets the distractions out of my head so I can focus better on the work at hand.
I also do a mindset map on things that are disempowering — do I have any automatic negative thoughts that are not serving me?
I write them down and delete them from my mind.
Then I write positive and powerful affirmations. At present it is: “I have got this”. It’s crucial to have a great mindset.
Review the week to come: I look at what I have scheduled and where I can block time to do my own work which is important for my long-term goals.
I make sure I have scheduled daily meetings and time to check on my team and team members each day to make sure I am there for them.
It is important during this time to schedule more time in my diary for calls and Zoom meetings.
If my plan is not well organised, I request changes to create focused time and to optimise.
I also set up habits into my diary, so I have time for self-development and exercise.
I use my leadership planner to help me set up my week and month.
Schedule time for the team and yourself:
I have mentioned that it is important to schedule more time with your team and for yourself.
An engaged team during these challenging times is a high-performance team.
Every day, I schedule a morning and afternoon call with my team.
This depends on the team numbers so empower your direct reports to do the same.
In the morning I ask them how they are.
What they are focusing on; how I can help them; what they need from me.
In the afternoon I also ask about any learnings, successes and lessons.
I ask what they are focusing on tomorrow and how I can help. I thank them for their great work.
I also send my team emails, messages and thank-you cards to tell them how much they mean to me.
Reflect on the last week/s:
Once I have a good grasp on the week/s, I look back at the last week or two and see if there is anything I may have missed. This often happens.
I always look for opportunities to write quick thank-you notes and to confirm any actions or plans coming out of previous meetings.
I’ll also take this time to reflect on what went well and what didn’t, and how I can improve my schedule, mindset and planning.
Check longer-term goals:
One thing to help me move forward is to check and review my long-term goals and objectives.
I check to see where I need to make progress and set tasks for the coming week/s.
I’ll reach out to people with whom I need to coordinate or collaborate to schedule time or set up meetings.
Don’t let these challenging times stop you from achieving or checking your long-term goals.
Sort by urgency and impact:
Once I have my tasks, goals and reminders written down, I begin to sort and organise.
I’ll make notes on them and then sort them by two major criteria.
First is urgency, which is how critical the task is to this week.
The second is impact, which is how much value this task creates for me in the short and long term.
At present I am doing better on being vigilant on what is important, such as my wellbeing, family, work focus and team — and what is not, such as social media and being worried about what is not in my control.
If I’ve done things correctly, my schedule and mindset will be where it needs to be to be the best person I can be, and I will have a plan for how the week will unfold.
Of course, life happens. Something unexpected could come up and I’ll need to replan everything. That’s fine.
The value of planning is not that a plan will execute perfectly.
It’s that when it doesn’t, you’ll understand what your priorities are, and how you re-organise things to stay on plan.
*Sonia McDonald is the founder of Brisbane-based LeadershipHQ and McDonald Inc. which build leaders and organisations through strategy, culture, leadership, performance and change. She can be contacted at soniamcdonald.com.au
This article first appeared on LinkedIn.
