WorkStyle Tip - Countdown Calendar

I asked Kim Wood to share with WorkStyle by design readers her Countdown Calendar, as it worked so well...

'Early last year, I was counting down the days until I left paid employment and started my own business. Thursday 24 January 2008 was my last day at work, but by the middle of December 2007, I had just about completed everything I needed to do, and time really started to drag.

Belinda suggested I create my own advent-style calendar to count down to my final working day, scheduling in celebrations and any other fun things that would make that time enjoyable and memorable. This worked brilliantly. I planned out those last six weeks, making sure I didn’t go more than a few days without something fun to do. As well as the usual pre-Christmas celebrations, I added a few not-so-well-known feast days. In December, I celebrated Our Lady of Guadalupe Day and St Lucia’s Day. In January, I held an Epiphany dinner. Courtesy of my SARK calendar, I had a Bed Picnic Day, Nap Day and Day of Reading. The Summer Solstice was observed. (I also scheduled work-related things, but I have forgotten the details - selective memory!)

My Countdown Calendar changed my focus during those final weeks at work. Rather than wishing the days away, I had a time of fun and celebration – a fitting end to a significant phase of my life.'

Kim's Countdown Calendar came about as she wanted to shift her focus from low energy to gaining energy. Using Kim's example above, a Countdown Calendar simply put is one month's worth (or 6 weeks in Kim's case) of ideas that give you energy. Many of us, or our children, have come across Christmas Advent Calendars where each day in December you open the little paper door and behind it is a picture, words (or even a chocolate!) to support you in the countdown to the arrival of Father Christmas. An Energy Countdown Calendar is basically the same. Each day you are reminded to have an energy gainer (or to turn off an energy drainer). What could some of these be?

• walk outside at lunchtime
• drink a big glass of water
• kiss your partner, play with the kids, pat your dog
• light an aromatherapy candle/oil burner
• prepare double the amount of dinner and have it for lunch the next day
• put a time limit on checking your email
• tidy up one drawer in your office desk
• stop frowning (have you seen your face when you are at your computer??)
• better still, smile
• or, what I do, walk the labyrinth (see WorkStyle by design issue 48)

If you are a visual person, you may want to draw or place images to remind you to take action to replace low energy with actions to increase your energy. The image at the right is one that merrymentality client, Dr Edwina Wright, gave me - it is Dorothy's Red Shoes reminding me that I can change my energy/being/state/outlook quickly and simply as I have the tools right here!
 

Spotlight on... Heather Linaker

I’m Heather Linaker and I am Managing Director of publishing company John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd. We have 300 staff in Australia – with offices in Brisbane (where I am based) and Melbourne, and about 6000 worldwide. We publish books for three main markets - high schools, universities and professionals /consumers (our best known brands are For Dummies, Jacaranda and Wiley) - as well as journals for the research and scholarly communities. To relax, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, going to classical music concerts, visiting galleries, and watching sport.

How would you define your WorkStyle? (work + lifestyle = WorkStyle®)
Balance: both between work and personal time, and also between planning ahead and living in the moment. My style at work is to be firm but fair, approachable, accessible and compassionate, and I am a great believer in building strong and lasting relationships. I live by several mantras, and talk about these frequently with my colleagues: follow through on your promises; manage expectations; communicate well and frequently; don’t encourage bad behaviour. And I have found great resonance in one of the sayings of our global president, which is that we are 'People first, Professionals second'.

Since becoming Managing Director six months ago, I have become even more acutely aware of the importance of two other things: be true to yourself; and confront issues as soon as they come up and don’t leave them to fester, however difficult it will be to talk with someone about them.

How did you discover your WorkStyle?
It has evolved over time: I have been with Wiley for 17 years, starting as a member of one of our sales teams, and then having roles in marketing, business systems, and technology, before becoming Managing Director. During this time, my responsibilities have changed from managing territories, projects or functions to primarily managing people, and now to leading an organisation.

Has it changed over the last few years? Why?
Yes, it has changed as I have moved from roles in which I have worked pretty independently or in only small groups, and generally with a lot of focus on detail, to more recent roles which have involved much more collaboration with colleagues, both in Australia and overseas. As Managing Director, I have a contact with a lot of people every day, which I find both stimulating and satisfying. I am very fortunate to have an excellent team of General Managers. My approach with them is to leave them to run their areas unless they ask for my help or if I need to be onvolved because there is a project or issue that will affect many in the local organisation.

What has been your biggest shift?
Getting a better balance between work and personal time. I enjoy my job very much but I have learned the hard way the importance of putting boundaries around my work time, so that I remain energised and effective. Of course, there will always be occasions when it is necessary to work longer hours to meet a deadline, but I have recognised that it is not sustainable to do this for more than a short period of time.

What one WorkStyle practice has had the most impact? Why?
Putting a limit around my working hours, and sticking to them: I focus on Wiley between 7.30 am and 6.00 pm on weekdays, and I aim to not work in the evenings or at the weekends. This doesn’t always happen, especially when I am travelling or when we have overseas-based colleagues visiting – when there can be quite a few working dinners, in particular – but it is a reference point that I keep returning to because it works for me.

Sticking to this routine has been very important to ensure that I maintain my energy levels. I also try to take regular exercise – walking, running, cycling or swimming – although I don’t always manage to do as much as I would like. Again, I have found it to be all about balance: doing too much exercise can be as detrimental to my overall well-being, and energy levels, as doing too little.

What are or have been the biggest issues for you around WorkStyle?
Sticking to the routine, and ensuring that I am setting the agenda, not letting my work do this to me.

What tips would you give others to improve their WorkStyle?
(1) Talk regularly to people outside your organisation in order to get different perspectives: elicit the help of others, whether by talking to family and friends, working with a business coach, joining a professional organisation, finding a mentor, or reading business books. They are all wonderful sources of ideas and proven methods of success. There is no need to reinvent the wheel – it is all about finding the most appropriate wheel!

(2) Don’t be too harsh on yourself if things get a bit out of balance: be forgiving and be flexible - tomorrow is another day.

3) Plan ahead: not just for the day or the week, but for the month and the year as well. If there are things that you really want to achieve (a holiday in a special place, learning a new skill or starting a new hobby), planning for them makes all the difference.
 

Article from Eric in New Mexico

About three or four times a year I am asked by Coach Inc the world's leading coach training provider to facilitate their 6 day Core Essentials Fast Track program (CEFTP). It is a privilege to lead this coach training in Asia Pacific and I've been fortunate enough to travel to Singapore, Auckland, Seoul, Sydney, and just last month, Hong Kong, to deliver these programs. As you can imagine I meet many people who are interested in the technology of coaching, so much so that some of them go on to set up successful external coaching practices (similar to merrymentality) or become internal coaches within organisations. One of the many interesting people I have met, and stayed in contact with, is Eric Tonningsen of JourneyWorks Coaching . Eric was in the third age of his life when we met. He had retired from his career job and was looking to coach but not sure where or with whom. Now Eric is based in New Mexico and, like me, gives service to the International Coach Federation. Eric focuses on coaching the indigenous peoples of his area. Eric is one of those guys you meet and you just know he has a good heart. So it wasn't a surprise when he recently sent me this:

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work. The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tugged him along and hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on. In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. 

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theatre in Boston where the seats average $100. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvlTuBnpKpc
 

Update from Belinda

Thank you to everyone who contacted me after January's WorkStyle by design to see how my health is. The good news is that since February I have been 110% - fighting fit and full of energy. So much so that I spent 10 days in Hong Kong in February leading a CEFTP (see above), connecting with clients (some I met for the very first time), eating delicious food (!) and YES - I even shopped. I'm not a shopper but did go to Hong Kong with a purchase in mind and I'm happy to say that I now own a beautiful pink patent leather handbag!

My energies are high and need to be! Not only have I enjoyed overseas travel recently, I am also travelling every couple of weeks to see my friend Don at his beautiful farm at Bald Hills, north of Ballarat in the Great Dividing Range here in Victoria. Don lives about a 4 hour drive away via the city of Melbourne OR a 100 minute drive PLUS a 45 minute ferry ride via the countryside. Some WorkStyle by design readers will know Don was my boyfriend while we studied in the '80s at the University of Melbourne, and now he is my boyfriend again! It is still early days and we are enjoying each other's company very much - the sense of familiarity is amazing given we both know each other's friends and families... but this time he comes with 3 teenage boys which is a new dimension to life for me. Of course I'm handing this the only way I know how... using a 'coach approach' and so far so good...

The Victorian bushfires have had a huge affect here in Victoria. Given I live semirurally and Don is in the country, these fires are very real for not only us, but for many many Australians. If you want to help out and live in Australia please join merrymentality and donate money directly to the Red Cross Bush Fire Appeal on tel: 1800 811 700.