We all know them, the space invaders, the time suckers, the creepy too friendly people at work. They waste your time, make you feel uncomfortable and make you say and do things you don’t want to. A lot of people have issues with setting and maintaining boundaries with others. Boundaries are the physical, mental and emotion ‘line’ between us and other people.
The ability to elegantly handle objections is a key success strategy in the workplace. It is not easy to do though as the objections are often about things we care about - either at work or personally. Because we care about them (probably more than the other person) we are more likely to respond with our emotions rather than logic. Here are some ways to handle objections without arguing or getting defensive - and more likely to get you a good outcome.
Time sometimes really does seem to slip away? We lose time often not because we are busy doing something important, but because our mind is stuck in it’s naughty bad habits. If you can identify your habitual time wasters and change them even just a little bit, you will free up more thinking time, more energy and the ability to get a lot more done. Here are a few top time wasters and how to address them:
Is is that time of year again? Time to organise the team away day or strategy day. To be successful Strategy Days need to generate ideas, be done in an environment that stimulates freedom of thought and involve the right people. Without a clear plan and enough structure you cannot have a successful strategy day.
Everyone can recognise that familiar tug of war inside us; go out or stay in and catch up on work, make a fresh dinner for the kids or finish catching up on e mails; work late or go to the gym? These are common everyday dilemmas we all face but have you ever stopped to consider that this constant tug of war could be impacting your health?
Negotiating is something we do on a daily basis - even if it’s who is stacking the dishwasher. It is a skill a lot of people find difficult and often intimidating though, particularly in the workplace where the stakes can be high. Improve your negotiating skills with these easy to implement strategies modelled from successful negotiators:
Can you get things done better and faster by actually slowing down? Speed has many benefits but also some drawbacks in that speedy decisions can be less thought through and have unintended consequences that can take you by surprise, wasting time, money and energy later. Instead, consider trying out some of these strategies:
Do you find it hard to say no? The problem many people have with saying no is that they don’t want to offend or upset people, or they are afraid it will damage the relationship in some way. Here are some top tips for saying no and being polite from Time Mastery; Banish Time Management Forever...
It’s so frustrating, you know something is important but you constantly seem to end up doing something else. The reason for our distracting habits comes down to our habitual thinking habits which can sabotage us without us knowing. Here are 3 top time wasting habits and how to overcome them and free up your thinking space for those essential actives you want to do...
Successful people think long term about their career and plan accordingly. This is not being stuck in a restrictive path there is no going back from, but to have a strategy for progression and a general direction to aim for. Sadly most people spend more time planning a birthday party than planning their life!
As you evaluate your career and decide where to go next ask yourself these helpful questions...
It’s tough when you feel pulled in different directions, unable to spend time doing the things you want to. Building a good work life balance is a very personal thing because we are all different - to some people sitting on a beach is relaxing - to some it is the very definition of boredom! Find a work life balance that works for you by following these top tips from Time Mastery; Banish Time Management Forever.
People often tell us they find asking other people for their time, help and support difficult. This is particularly tough when asking a loved one to help out, it can feel like grovelling, being demanding or disrespectful depending on how you think.
