Dissecting Always in Pursuit Part 2
-Being Always in Pursuit is not a destination, it’s a mindset-
A guide to remaining “Always in Pursuit” of your professional life. Let’s start simple. How are you going about your day? Do you show up to work with a plan for the day or are you simply reacting to tasks and events as they happen?
Sometimes the latter is unavoidable, that’s just the nature of life and of being a leader. It cannot be your strategy though. There needs to be a constructed and thoughtful approach to your daily endeavors. Especially as a leader, how can you provide direction, motivation, and purpose if all you do is work out of a defensive stance?
Here are some questions that I ask myself and tips that I use to stay on track any given day:
-What needs to be done today that shouldn’t wait until tomorrow, especially when it’s something I really don’t like to do?
-What can only I do, what should be delegated? Especially items that would be great professional development of others.
-What connections are programmed into my day that will enhance the organization?
-Time to reflect, access or develop strategies
-When am I getting out of my office to build rapport with my colleagues, employees or supervisors?
I come to work early; I have for the last 15+ years. I need to for a couple different reasons:
1. It’s when I do my best thinking
2. I need time to myself to look at previous, present and future days.
3. A cup of coffee and quiet time is my nirvana; once people start showing up that won’t happen. So I always start my day with something for me. A lot of times this is when I end up with reading, writing, and contemplating.
One key factors is the being a master of the margins. There are times when you are sitting in idle. During those times do you mindlessly scroll on your phone? I keep an article, book or have something bookmarked on my phone that I want to read or research. Minutes equal hours and with items prepped it allows me to read 12-20 articles, a book, and listen to close to a dozen podcast episodes every week. It’s important to do this with a notebook, something repository for my thoughts, ideas or notes from all the information I consume.
This is about being organized and purposeful with your time. If you end your day without the ability to recount what you accomplished, then it’s safe to say you went in without a plan and accomplished little.
There are apps and other forms of technology that can help with this, I’m sure. I’m a notebook and digital calendar kind of guy, so that is what I use. Again, adapt it so that it makes sense for you.
Lastly, preparing for the next day. Before you leave work, look at what you didn’t get to or the things that you need to follow up on and write them down. This is important so that you can stay on track into the next day. The goal here is to link efforts from each day to the next. This will help so that you don’t find yourself dropping the ball.
To highlight the point, the idea to write this article came to me on a Sunday evening while talking with Korey Cress, our graphic design and creative expert. It immediately went into my notebook along with a generic outline. On Tuesday over lunch, I knocked this out!
If you missed week 1 of this series, find it here:
Dissecting Always in Pursuit Part 1
If you haven’t gotten a chance to read my definition for Always in Pursuit, check it out here:
What Does Always in Pursuit Mean?
