Time…how do you define it? Here are 2 terms referring to TIME.

Chronos or Kairos? What does this mean to you, if anything? Are we in ancient Greece yet? How are these two Time Definitions effecting my productivity?

The difference profoundly affects how we live our lives.

When we think about time in the abstract, or Chronos, there’s not generally a sense of urgency. While this can be helpful in some cases, it can also be a breeding ground for procrastination. Conversely, Kairos embodies time in our lives. Kairos says, “if I want to ‘be successful’ at my job, I need to nail down what means, and take some action as my first step.”

When reading studies by psychologists, there are 2 kinds of regret based on the age of the subject being interviewed. People their 20s regretted poor choices that got them into trouble, or caused embarrassment. These range from cheating on exams to romantic interests/failures. As a result, the younger set seeks to avoid risks so that they are in the “safe zone.” Conversely, people in their 70s and 80s regretted not taking MORE chances. Their mantra is “do it while you can.” Perhaps they wanted to switch careers or learn to tap dance, but they did not act. They see the value of acting when the time is ripe.

The lesson in this? You guessed it. We’re talking about the value of goal setting, and more importantly, step-by-step goal ACHIEVING. We all have “Chronos” in our lives. Chonos tells us there will be a time to do this or that. And, he is right. There will be. But Kairos reminds us that if we wait forever, we’ll look back and wonder what happened. We might even find ourselves saying,

“Where did the time go?”

If you are ready to put Chronos in his place, and start taking action for a change, please read the article below, download the 7 steps to success, or call me for a complimentary time breakthrough session.

Finish 2016 with the pride in knowing you are poised for an even more successful 2017. I know you can.

On October 5, I was honored to speak to busy executives all over the country via Lorman.com. We learned some new tricks and re-surfaced and dusted off some not-so-new ones. I took the 5 Ways to Accomplish a Lot More and broke those 5 ways down, even further. If you want more detail, you can buy a copy of the webinar through Lorman, or with your personal “gettin’ it done” challenge. I’d be honored to help!

Overview: 5 Ways:

1. Make your meetings more effective
2. Help me multi-task- everyone needs a response!
3. Many ideas- how to Remember to Remember
4. Design your Days…your way, for the benefit of all
5. Pre-work the day before makes today So. Much. Better!

Let’s dive into Way 1: meetings! Do you have lots of meetings to attend? Do you hate them? Why, and what can be done about it? It turns out that a lot can be done….and it’s pretty simple. (Simple is Not Always Easy though, right?)

1. Simple question: Do we really need the meeting? Can we do this via phone or email? You’d be surprised at how many people don't ask this.
2. How many of us just fly into meetings and try to play catch up while there? Conversely, what happens when everyone is prepared? Things get accomplished….more gets done…the meeting is shorter and effective.
3. Oh the latecomers. “He’ll be right along….” What incentive, then, do I have to be there early when the guy who gets the donuts is forgiven time after time since he’s bringing the donuts? Then the leader repeats the first few meeting items…more time wasted…time I didn’t have….So let’s forget the donuts and stop punishing those who are showing timeliness and responsibility or we’ll all be “out to lunch.”
4. What agenda? Is there one? Is it written? Is it distributed 24 to 48 hours before the meeting so we can all be prepared…? So many times, there’s no agenda, no timekeeper, and eventually, no solid momentum going on the meeting purpose.
5. How many times have things been left open ended? While every meeting will not close with complete clarity, one easy way to combat this is to set a “next action” and a date for this action. It keeps the ball rolling and creates a sense of progress. Lack of progress and momentum is the death of all project meetings.

I hope that these 5 “sub-ways” to Way 1 helps you be more effective in your next meeting. I’d love to talk about your own personal meeting gremlins. Email me and we’ll have a complimentary discovery chat- and get you really clear on your next step to Productivity Bliss.