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Letter From The Editor

One of the greatest things about life is the unending opportunities to learn and grow, and the last several months have been full of learning for me and the entire Clay Nelson Life Balance team. From creating our blog and producing a weekly radio show to posting audio downloads, and now video downloads of the radio show via the Internet, we’ve definitely stepped out of our very comfortable box. If you had told me 12 months ago we’d have video on www.YouTube.com/cnlb, I’d have said, “U-What???”

Now this isn’t about tooting my own horn, although I’m pretty proud of the way we’re getting out on the planet! It’s about the bigger picture that I want you to take a look at. If you were to step outside of the neat box you place yourself in, how might your life be different? How much more fun might you be having? How much more of a difference might you be making?

Keep in mind you don’t have to be a technophile to break out of your box. You could just start by simply smiling more, getting out into the world instead of just sitting on the couch, and introducing yourself to new people instead of waiting for them to approach you first. When you start with these baby steps, eventually you will find yourself learning more about the world around you and, as a result, growing into who are.

It is my belief that we are all called to greatness. However, we don’t get to where we’re going with a clicker in our hand. Greatness will only find us when we are out on the edge looking for greatness.

I choose to stand on that edge… life is simply more fun from this birds-eye view, and I can’t wait to see you there too!

Clay S. Nelson

Are You a Time Waster?

Every day we hear people complain about the lack of time, and when we take a close look at any one of them there are clearly habits (or ways of “being”) that are enormous time wasters. For instance we have:

The Daydreamer

Daydreamers spend a good portion of their day wishing they had more time to do “fun” things. They tend to put off big tasks by performing smaller, more mundane items while they daydream and wish their time away. Then they end up working all night or on the weekends to meet deadlines.

The Optimist

The optimist is always underestimating the amount of time it will take to accomplish something, resulting in their constantly being over scheduled!

The Bobblehead Doll

The bobblehead doll is a compulsive “yes” person who says “yes” to everything! They don’t know how to say “no” or they are afraid to say “no”. Either way, the result is the same! They have more things piled on their plate than any one human-being can possibly accomplish!

The Perfectionist

The perfectionist crosses every “t” and dots every “i” nearly to a fault. While I advocate doing things right the first time, if you nit-pick, or if nothing is perfect unless it is done by you (or directed by you), your perfectionism is getting in the way of the time you have to do and have everything you say you want to do and have!

The Socialite

The socialite takes their need to connect with human-beings to an art form. While being “related” is a good thing in and of itself, it is be a detriment when it gets in the way of the tasks at hand.

The Firefighter

The firefighter is always in a rush. Even when life and business is good, they are constantly frantic, and their forehead is bunched up in knots. Everything is a crisis… even if it isn’t, and their franticness ends up draining a great deal of their time. They have simply forgotten how to slow down!

Do you see yourself in any one of these types of people?

We may actually see a bit of ourselves in each one of these. Some days it may be our perfectionism that gets in the way of our using our time wisely, and the next day it may be daydreaming that stymies our progress.

Good News!!!

The good news is that no matter which category you fit into, the tips for making the best of your time are all the same!

Tips for Better Time Management:

1. Take 10, 20, 30 minutes at the end of each day to put your plan for the next day down on paper!
2. Highlight the most important 3 or 4 tasks to be completed and do those tasks first. Don’t allow yourself to get so bogged down in the “little” things that creep up that you run out of time for the “big” things.
3. Learn to say “no”
4. 4. Before you say “yes” to anything, always check your own schedule and that of your family!
5. Be clear about your priorities; Know what you want and what you don’t want
6. Stay organized; keeping the space around you organized will help to keep your head organized!
7. Take time for you!

And remember, being a better manager of your time isn’t just about how to fit more into one day. It is about enjoying the time you have on this planet. It is about making the most out of the time you have so that you have time to sit back, relax and enjoy this crazy ride we call life! Our day is made up of 86,400 seconds… each one a moment in time that we can’t ever recreate. Each one is unique and each one is valuable. So don’t forget to make the most of those moments… to enjoy those moments… to enjoy your life!

Supervisory Skills… Preparing New Supervisors for Their Role

Part 2

For Part 1 of this article, see the July 2007 issue of More Than Just a Thought.

As we discussed in Part 1 of this article on supervisory skills, going from doing the work to supervising the work is not a leap to be made by the faint of heart, and when you are considering promoting an employee to a supervisor, you have to be really sure they are cut out for the job. Once you’ve determined they have what it takes, you have to be prepared to help the new supervisor get ready for his or her new role.

The biggest key to preparing an employee for a supervisory role is fully communicating what the role entails. They have to understand that they are going to be held accountable for all they are supervising, which requires a higher degree of commitment in holding their friends/coworkers accountable for the integrity of the job. And it does change their relationship with their team members. Newly elevated supervisors have even been known to be thrown out of the employee “fort”, and there are people who shun promotion opportunities for that reason. They simply don’t want to be on the outside looking in.

For those willing to step outside of their comfort zone and into a formal leadership role, training and support is a must!

New supervisors have to learn how to evaluate their team members, communicate with their team members regarding their responsibilities and specific tasks, and how to hold their team accountable:

• Teach them by bringing them into those types of activities as an observer.
• Don’t just throw a new supervisor into the fire, so to speak, and walk away!

You can support and empower new supervisors simply by being there for them when problems arise:

• Always help them in providing a united front when it comes to the team. If there is an issue on which you disagree, it should be discussed privately.
• Teach them by being the question instead of the answer – it will teach your new supervisor how to think on their own and eventually be more confident in their own decision making abilities!
• Finally, let them know that they are not on an island, that there is a chain of command and teach them how to use it!

Being a good worker is not enough when it comes to being a good and qualified supervisor. Just because someone is qualified doesn’t mean they don’t need your training and support to be best prepared for the new role. To be the best they can be YOU need to communicate everything they need to know about their job and responsibilities, support them fully, and teach them what you know!

For Part 1 of this article, see the July 2007 issue of More Than Just a Thought.

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