What Will You Do Differently?
It was a rough weekend at the Gibson house last weekend. It was one of the few free weekends between now and summer, and there was a huge outdoor to-do list looming over our heads because Wisconsin spring is about 3 weeks behind schedule.
Our rough weekend included overextending our physical abilities and then pushing forward even more to complete all the stuff that had to happen because several deadlines all converged into this week. The result? Crabby parents. Crabby children. Sore muscles. Short tempers. Conversations about, “It’s not enough to be sorry, what will you do differently next time?” (Aren’t you sad to not be part of our family?!)
Well, as one of the grown-ups in the house, I have to ask myself the same question I asked my kids. What will I do differently to keep us from the unhappy state we landed in over the weekend? It’s only fair I look inward first, then after making my own changes, talk with the others about their ideas for change.
This question doesn’t only apply to me, it also applies to many of us as we examine our work and home lives and find ourselves in a state that makes us all unhappy. What will we do differently next time? It’s an important question, and there’s another component to doing something differently, and that’s – taking action.
I can ask myself what I would do differently but never make any changes. I can identify what I want my life to look like, but if I don’t do something to move myself toward what I want, I go nowhere. And by not purposefully planning, I see no change and repeat the vicious cycle.
What can I do or you do as an individual, or as a team, to end the cycle and move forward? Here are a few things you can do:
- Identify what you can and can’t change. I can’t change all of the end-of-school events happening in May. I can be better at meal prep so we don’t get hangry and say things we regret.
As a team, I can’t change the speed of business. I can report to my manager or team when I’m feeling overwhelmed and ask for help or prioritization.
- Eliminate unrealistic expectations from your life. If your daughter is at an all-weekend sports event in another city, and you are traveling with her, let go of thinking the house is going to be clean by Sunday evening.
Many of our expectations aren’t based in what others expect of us, it’s based on what we expect of us – and guess who gets to choose to act differently in that scenario? Yep. We do.
- Choose 1-2 actionable steps that will give you an easy win. Maybe you can’t change the system or established process for client work, but you can change the order in which the process is done, which would give you a greater lead time.
Or maybe you can start with a simple step of writing your to-do list for tomorrow in the last five minutes of today, so when you go home at night you aren’t thinking about and losing sleep over what’s on the agenda tomorrow.
Start small by being intentional and acting on the things you can control. Give yourself permission to eliminate as much of the extra as you can. It’s not easy, but it’s rewarding.
As for our house, what will we do differently? I’d like to not do more than 4 hours of physical work on a Saturday, which means I have to give myself permission to stop, let something be unfinished and purposefully plan something fun or restful for the rest of the day.
Can I do that? Yes. Will I do that? I’m committing to it in front of all of you. And, I am also giving myself permission to occasionally do what needs to get done, but I understand the cost to everyone involved, so the exception needs to be the exception, not the norm.
This week I’m grateful we’re in this together through it all. Let’s encourage one another to action in small, easy wins to make the changes we most want and will benefit from!
Keynote speaker, trainer, and consultant, Sarah Gibson, helps organizations leverage the power of communication, teamwork and diversity to improve engagement and transform teams. To buy her book or inquire about her speaking programs, please visit www.sarahjgibson.com.
