Think … before saying Yes to a meeting request

Many of you will remember that last month was about great quotes to inspire Innovation.

This months thought is about being Mindful in May. In a short example consider making time to think about your appointments Calendar and maybe blocking out some time to THINK. Sounds radical I hear you say!

Welcome also to everyone from the Miners Health and Wellbeing Conference who have joined our Newsletter this month.

Finally I trust you are all going to motivate yourselves to make time to have a Magnificent May!

 THINK….

THINK….

THINK

 

Ever heard yourself or collegues saying ” I don’t have time to think” or “I can’t hear myself think”

As you can imagine, your not alone. Often when working with clients a common issue people raise is their work Calendar. Meeting after meeting seems inevitable. As this is May how about thinking about being more Mindful of your Calendar.

Dare yourself to say NO to a meeting request, and use that time for reflection on current challenges with space to THINK.

Also challenge yourself to think about each appointment before accepting it.

Is it carved in stone, who set it for you?

How many do we attend even when others in our team attend?

Do we attend because in our organisations culture, everyone needs to know everything?

Do we believe that if someone thinks we are needed in a meeting, we cannot turn it down, we are leaders so we must be required?

Why not open your calendar, take a deep breath and pause for a moment, do you feel your chest, neck or stomach tighten just by looking at the volume of appointments. What is that telling us, if we listen? Is it good for us?

Is this the best use of our time? Are we effective leaders if we allow ourselves to be in 8 meetings a day 5 days a week. Where do we have space to lead, to think differently, to innovate.

How different would your week be if you questioned the volume of meetings, delegated more, intentionally left spaces in your week for connecting with colleagues and reports face to face. What do you feel the impact would be if you made space in your day to ask if there was better ways to do things, more productively, more socially responsible, more profitably?

As Wayne Dyer said “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

Book of the Month:

Use Your Head by Tony Buzan

Several people asked about MindMaps after last months Newsletter. So here is an easy to read book by the inventor of Mindmaps. Full of great examples and easy ways to develop this great tool yourself.

Here is a link to the book:

http://www.fishpond.com.au/Books/Use-Your-Head-Tony-Buzan/9781406644272