In today’s busy world, it’s very common to get on the treadmill of doing, without taking time to stop, and reflect on what’s working and what’s not. While we might not have a full day to dedicate to planning regularly “micro-bursts” of 5-15 minutes regularly can make a difference.
Peter Drucker wrote “ Follow effective actions with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action”  Peter Drucker
Over the last 8 days we have explored:
Take stock of your achievements and successes from the year that was – Day 1. Read it here.
Create a clear and compelling vision of your year – Day 2. Read it here
Be specific with your goals – Day 3. Read it here.
Identify and focus on priorities first – Day 4. Read it here.
Create habits and practices that will support you in what you want to achieve – Day 5. Read it here.
Be ruthless with your time and scheduling – Day 6
Develop a community of support around you – Day 7
In the same vein, building in time to celebrate is 
Consider these questions for today’s prompts:
1.       As you think back to the last 8 days, what have you achieved?
2.       What needs a change from the original goals you mapped out last week?
3.       What momentum have you created for yourself? 
4.       What are you most surprised about?
5.       What have you learned about yourself, your vision and your goals?
6.       What have you noticed about your pace of action and reflection (i.e. when do you do this best – early morning? Late at night? In chunks?) 
7.       What time do you want to build in to make planning, and “quiet reflection” a regular part of your world?
8.         What will you do to celebrate your movement forward?
9.       Complete this sentence, by the end of January I will have…..
10.     By the end of the year I will have….
Thank you for joining me as we kick off January 2018. I will be scheduling in a quarterly virtual retreat throughout the year and hope that you may join me to reflect, take stock and most importantly take action!
Stay tuned for the monthly planning resource templates I am sharing (first one here – the Quarterly Plan)

Time is a non-renewable resource. We can’t get it back when it is gone. Think about last year and how much time was spent in tasks which didn’t add the value you wanted. This might include things like – ineffective meetings, email chains which could have been more effectively dealt with.

Consider these questions for today’s prompts:

1.  Where are you spending the bulk of your time? (If you haven’t done so, track your time using a Time Tracker. Contact me to receive a template around this so you can track your time for a week and see where your time really goes)
2.  As you notice your time usage, what are the patterns you see?
3. What are the activities that are truly giving you the results you want in your work? Note these down.
4.  What activities are not giving impact? What do you want to do with these?
5.   What are any items you can delegate and/or share with others?
6.   What are the activities you need to start saying no to?
7.   What resources could help you get things done quicker, differently or more efficiently?
8.   What do you notice about the time you are spending on proactive and strategic issues (i.e. relationship building, personal development, team development, other)?
9.   What amount of time are you spending on yourself?
10.   What is the one thing you want to commit to doing this year around time? This could be something you continue to do or do differently?
    

Time management and personal productivity is an area I continue to provide teams and individuals support in. Take a look at the past Teams365 posts related to this topic.

We are now at Day 5 of the 2018 Kickstart - 8 in 2018. Check out the first four days of writing prompts, geared to get you thinking about, and into action around, what's important for you in 2018.

Today we turn our attention to creating habits and practices that will support you in what you want to achieve this year. Habits and practices are things we do automatically, sometimes unconsciously, because they have come so ingrained. There are many schools of thought that create a link between habits and success. That habits lead to success.

Take a look back at your first four days of prompts for the 2018 Kickstart, and with this in mind:
1. What will help you be successful this year?
2. What are the consistent behaviors and actions you want to or need to undertake to move you towards your goals?
3. What could amplify, or magnify those goals?
4. What's missing that could make a difference?
5. What small shifts would make a new ripple?
6. What does consistency mean for you around habits?
7. What could get in the way?
8. What is going to remind you about your commitment to your goals?
9. What do you notice about how your mindset is influencing your habits?
10. What is becoming automatic for you OR what needs to become automatic for you in your successful pursuit towards your goal.

I hope that you are continuing to enjoy the 2018 Kickstart prompts.

A reminder that the 2018 Virtual Business Planning program starts this morning at 10 am ET and runs until 4 pm ET online. Join us! More info here.

Also starting later this month is the Teams365 Leadership Lab - an annual group for team leaders and team members. Learn more here and join us.

With best wishes,
Jennifer

As a leader in my late 20s, responsible for global programming and leading an organization of more than 100 in South America, I learned very quickly that regardless of how many goals were on the place, priorities were critical. I was struck by the concept of Steven Covey’s Big Rocks – or how we need to attend to, and add our big rocks – or priorities first, therefore allowing us to fit in all the smaller things around them.

With this end in mind, I’d like for you to consider the goals you have set out for yourself for 2018.

​As we step into 2018, the first Teams365 series of the year is the Kickstart Your 2018 - 8 in 18. 8 days of reflective prompts to get you thinking about, and writing about what you want to create this year. Check out the other posts in this series here, and I hope you'll follow along by grabbing a pen and a journal (you can start at any time!):

Day 4 questions in the series get you to think about the most important priorities. Consider these questions today

1. Looking at my list of goals (for the year, month, day), what is most important?
2.  What time have I scheduled to get these done?
3. When will I be most effective on working on my priorities? 
4. What could get in the way of me attending to these priorities?
5.   What do I need to say YES to, in order to knock these priorities out of the park?
6.   What do I need to say NO to, in order to focus more on my top priorities?
7.   Who can support me in being successful with these priorities?
8. What other resources do I need for my priorities?
9.   What do I need to delegate, or defer, to get the priorities attended to?
10.  What’s the hard end date to get these done? As we know, many tasks expand to the amount of time we give them. This is commonly known as Parkinson’s Rule.

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A reminder of two resources available to support you throughout 2018:
First, join our Get [  ] Done (you fill in the blank) list and receive a monthly planning template you can use in your own planning. Join the list here and download your first planning item – currently this month’s template of a Quarterly Plan.

Friday I am hosting the  Kickstart Your 2018 Virtual Business Planning Retreat. It will run on Friday January 5th from 10 – 4 pm ET on zoom. Kickstarting the year requires focus and action, and my business planning retreats are geared to get you into action. Each hour has a different theme and includes some group time at the start of the hour, followed by individual activities undertaken offline. Hourly themes include:
·         Creating or refining your 2018 Vision
·         Exploring your ecosystem of strengths, capabilities and values
·         Developing your 2018 Roadmap
·         Taking action on a key project

The program costs $97 US and includes the six hours of structured activities, group calls and a retreat workbook. Click here to learn more about the day and reserve your spot.

For ongoing support, consider working with me in a coaching group (I have groups for business owners, Team Leaders and Coaches) which are held anywhere from 3 – 12 months in length. Email me to learn more about them and/or set up a call with me to discuss. You can book a call here.

Groups for business owners start later this month, coaches on January 5th and 19th, and the Teams365 Leadership Lab later this month (January 26th)

Earlier this week I started the Kickstart Your 2018 – 8 Sets of Questions for 2018. I hope that you will check out day 1 and 2 here.

In kickstarting your year, you will want to make sure that you are as specific with your goals as possible.

Did you know:
​More than 
​About 44% of American's will set goals for the year? (
92% of new years resolutions will fail by January 15th?
One of the most often goal setting studies quoted from Harvard, really did not take place at all?
Dominican university Dr. Matthews was able to replicate the same study and found that three factors helped with goal success:
accountability,
commitment,
and writing down one’s goals
 
Goals, along with writing them down, accountability (ongoing check points) and commiting to what you want to achieve are  all foundational parts of the coaching process and strategies which myself, and other business coaches, use with our coaching clients.

View Dr. Matthew’s goals study report here and link through to the summary – https://www.dominican.edu/dominicannews/study-highlights-strategies-for-achieving-goals

As part of today’s Kickstart Your 2018 – 8 in 18, today’s focus and reflection questions get you to think about your goals, and more importantly getting more specific about them.

​I hope that you will find 15 minutes to reflect on these questions and write them down. First, take a look back at Day 1 and Day 2, and what you have laid out as part of your vision:
1.        What are top five goals for you in 2018? Write these down.
2.       Looking at each one at a time consider how they can be made SMART-E – Specific, Measurable, Acheivable, Realistic, Timebound and, of course, exciting. Take a few more minutes to break them down further.
One of the tools I like to use to capture my goals is a One Page Plan. Click here to download a One Page Plan Template from my newest book, Effective Virtual Conversations, where I share 18 different templates for you to use in your own work.
3.       Imagine the year overall, what will the way each goal connects with the others?
4.       Map out your timeline or what the journey is going to look like for you. You might make it a roadmap, a stream or other….(See my 2018 roadmap)
5.       What’s possible once you complete each goal?
6.       What resources do you need to be successful with each goal? Consider – people, money, equipment, knowledge, etc.
7.         What could get in the way?
8.         What have you done in the past that you could leverage or apply so that you are successful?
9.         What will you do to keep your goals visible? This could include writing them on a whiteboard, putting an alert on your phone, using an app. Check out Elise Morneau’s article on Best Goal Setting Apps, updated a few days ago at: https://www.lifewire.com/best-goal-setting-apps-3485941
10.    What checkpoints will you use the review and check in around the goals. When will this happen? How will you celebrate? Write these checkpoints in your calendar before you go any further!

That’s our ten questions for today….if you have an extra minute, flip through what you’ve noted for yourself over the last three days. What, if any, trends are you noticing?

Enjoy day 3 of the new year!

​Jennifer
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A reminder of these two resources available to support you throughout 2018:
A couple of resources that are available to you in kickstarting your 2018. First, join our Get [  ] Done (you fill in the blank) list and receive a monthly planning template you can use in your own planning. Join the list here and download your first planning item – currently this month’s template of a Quarterly Plan.

Friday I am hosting the  Kickstart Your 2018 Virtual Business Planning Retreat. It will run on Friday January 5th from 10 – 4 pm ET on zoom. Kickstarting the year requires focus and action, and my business planning retreats are geared to get you into action. Each hour has a different theme and includes some group time at the start of the hour, followed by individual activities undertaken offline. Hourly themes include:
·         Creating or refining your 2018 Vision
·         Exploring your ecosystem of strengths, capabilities and values
·         Developing your 2018 Roadmap
·         Taking action on a key project
​
The program costs $97 US and includes the six hours of structured activities, group calls and a retreat workbook. Click here to learn more about the day and reserve your spot.

Welcome back to day 2 of the Kickstart Your 2018 series. Each day until January 8th I’ll be sharing a series of prompts with the encouragement to have you take a few minutes each day to reflect on the questions included.

Day 2 brings us to the arena or creating a clear and compelling vision for your year.

A clear and compelling vision creates a focus for us as individuals and team members. Today’s Kickstart Your 2018 provides you with 10 questions to get you thinking about what you want to create in 2018. Whether you are looking at this as an individual, or team, I trust that these questions will get you thinking about, and dreaming about, what is POSSIBLE this year.

Consider these questions for today’s prompts:

1.  My vision for 2018 is….
2. By December 31st, 2018 I will have….
3. This year I want to….
4.  My major 2018 goals are (think work, team, relationships, financial, health, etc)
5. I will know I have been successful when….
6. Refer to the photos I’ve included in today’s post – select five that you are drawn to as you think about your vision for 2018. As you look at the photos more closely, what do you notice about them. Jot a few notes down about how these can infuse your vision for the year.
7. The one thing that could get in the way of my success is….
8. The antidote to this is….
9. The three words that summarize my aspirations and vision for this year are….
10. My theme this year is going to be….

 
​Share your responses using the hashtag #2018kickstart

A reminder of these two resources available to support you throughout 2018:
A couple of resources that are available to you in kickstarting your 2018. First, join our Get [  ] Done (you fill in the blank) list and receive a monthly planning template you can use in your own planning. Join the list here and download your first planning item – currently this month’s Quarterly Plan Template.

Second, consider joining me on Friday January 5th from 10 – 4 pm ET for a six hour virtual business planning retreat. Kickstarting the year requires focus and action, and my business planning retreats are geared to get you into action. Each hour has a different focus and includes some group time at the start of the hour, followed by individual activities undertaken offline. Hourly themes include:
·         Creating or refining your 2018 Vision
·         Exploring your ecosystem of strengths, capabilities and values
·         Developing your 2018 Roadmap
·         Taking action on a key project

The program costs $97 US and includes the six hours of structured activities, group calls and a retreat workbook. Click here to learn more about the day and reserve your spot.

I also have a number of coaching groups that run regularly throughout the year:
For Leaders and Team members: The Teams365 Coaching Group and the Teams365 Leadership Lab. More about our support for team leaders and team members at CoachingTeamLeaders.com. The Teams365 Leadership Lab is new in 2018 and will kick off on January 26th! It's an annual group, rich resource portal at a lower cost (just like you asked for!). Read more and reserve your spot here.

For Coaches and Program Designers – The Learning Lab and Design Studio (Meets twice a month on Fridays from 845 -930 am ET with our 2018 kick off this Friday January 5th). Upcoming focus areas include video-based learning, teams, and tools. Reserve your spot at the LearningLabandDesignStudio.com

For Entrepreneurs and Business owners - The 2018 Accelerate Your Business Coaching Group will start later this month. Email me for more information.

​Thanks for joining me!

​Jennifer

As we get rolling with 2018 and our focus this month at the Teams365 blog shifts to goals, planning and personal productivity, I thought it would be fitting to include a kickstart series for 2018 called “8 in 18”. Over the next 8 days I will be sharing with you a series of questions and prompts to get you thinking about, planning for, and kickstarting your 2018. Whether you are a leader, team member, professional or individual, I think you will find these useful! Enjoy.

Day 1 of the 8 in 18: Take stock of your achievements and successes from the year that was

Success doesn’t usually start at zero. It emerges out of what you have already been doing consistently. In kickstarting 2018, we’re going to start off by getting you to take stock of your achievements, successes and learning from the year that was – 2017.

We can learn as much from what worked, as well as what did not work.

Throughout the KickStart Your 2018 – 8 in 18 I’ll be offering you a series of questions every day to get you to STOP, PAUSE, REFLECT and NOTE your response. Grab a journal (yes, I bet you have a blank one somewhere), or a device, and let your thoughts flow. Whether you take five minutes or an hour each day, my hope that this is a powerful and productive activity for you.
​
Consider these questions for today’s prompts – Day 1 of the Kickstart Your 2018

As you think back to 2017:

1.  What were the key highlights for you last year?
2. What were your major accomplishments?
3. What did you learn?
4.  What worked well?
5.  What didn’t work well?
6.  What supported you in achieving your goals? (think: habits, practices, people, resources, other…)
7.  What didn’t?
8.  What do you want to make sure you continue doing?
9.  What do you want to stop doing?
10.   To make 2018 even better…..

 
For the next 8 days here at the Teams365 blog I’ll be sharing 8 different ways you may want to kickstart 2018. Whether you are a leader, team member, business owner or individual, I trust that you will find these useful. You may want to grab a pen, and a journal, to take note of the daily questions that are coming your way.

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A couple of resources that are available to you in kickstarting your 2018.

First, join our Get [  ] Done (you fill in the blank) list and receive a monthly planning template you can use in your own planning. Join the list here and download your first planning item – currently this month’s  Quarterly Plan Template. Pick up a copy of the template here.

Second, consider joining me on Friday January 5th from 10 – 4 pm ET for a six hour virtual business planning retreat. Kickstarting the year requires focus and action, and my business planning retreats are geared to get you into action. Each hour has a different focus and includes some group time at the start of the hour, followed by individual activities undertaken offline. Hourly themes include:
·         Creating or refining your 2018 Vision
·         Exploring your ecosystem of strengths, capabilities and values
·         Developing your 2018 Roadmap
·         Taking action on a key project
The program costs $97 US and includes the six hours of structured activities, group calls and a retreat workbook. Click here to learn more about the day and reserve your spot.

With best wishes,
​Jennifer