I want to offer you one very simple idea that may be useful to you if the pace of your life generally accelerates after Labor Day.
If you're like my clients and the people in my workshops, you probably do a fair amount of thinking on your feet. Your life is probably fast-paced, you're involved in complex projects, and you expect yourself to respond in the moment to a stream of information and demands regularly coming at you.
And like my clients, you may have forgotten one of your options. This option is particularly useful to invoke when you are being asked to do something that you really, on some level, do not feel good about. Perhaps you suspect that you don't have the bandwidth to take this on know. Perhaps you feel that it's not in your projects' best interest, but you're not quite ready to say so. Perhaps in some way it seems out of integrity for you to do this. Perhaps you have no idea at the moment why it feels wrong to you, but it does. Or you just don't know what you think.
Remember at a time like this, you can say something to the effect of, "Let me get back to you on that." Or, "Thank you for thinking of me for this. I have so much coming at me at the moment, I want to be sure I can really manage this. So let me think about it off line and get back to you." THIS BUYS YOU SOME TIME.
Once you have bought yourself this time, you can think about the issue in question, talk about it, sleep on it, do whatever you need to do in order to respond appropriately. Most overcommitments are made on the fly. Save yourself from over committing or agreeing to something you don't really agree with by taking some time and responding later.
It's a fairly conventional option that a lot of highly effective people forget they have, I find. So consider yourself reminded.
Copyright 2006 Sharon Teitelbaum. All rights reserved.
| Sharon Teitelbaum, author of "Getting Unstuck Without Coming Unglued: Restoring Work-Life Balance," Master Certified Coach, and motivational speaker, helps high achievers re-claim their work-life balance. Her interactive coaching process provides a powerful catalyst towards greater career and life satisfaction. Sharon's work has been featured in national publications including The New York Times, Forbes.com, and Working Mother Magazine. Visit Sharon's website at http://www.stcoach.com and subscribe to "Strategies of Change" to receive practical tips for work-life success. |
