From audio devices in our kitchens and cars, to streaming video replacing many TV programs, this week’s journaling prompt gets you to think about what your favorite book, show and /or song is right now. Why you ask?

When did you last stop and pause and think about what you are consuming? Books, podcasts, screen time?

It can be interesting for us to take a deeper look at what we are exploring in our reading and listening.

Enjoy the writing and if you haven’t had a chance to capture your summer goals yet, now might be a great time.

If you want some inspiration, check out the Quarterly Planning Prompt video I recorded a few months ago. You can apply the questions to any quarter. Grab a pen and view the Quarterly Planning Prompt video here. It runs for 30 minutes. If you want a shorter video – check out this 2.5 minute one I did last year.
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Enjoy!
Jennifer

​In recent years, more and more organizations have become more aware of the importance of growth mindset. Coined by Carol Dweck, growth mindset invites all of us into an ongoing learning insight. To learn more about Caro Dweck’s Work – visit her TED Talk - If you haven't heard Dweck talk about her work on mindset, here is a video.
 
Part of growth mindset, and at the heart of continuous learning is the notion that we may not yet have mastered things YET. As I assert in my writing, growth is about ongoing action, reflection, feedback and iteration. In fact, the tagline for my two recent planners, PlanDoTrack and the Coaching Business Builder, is Consistent Action + Daily Steps = Momentum.

It is through these daily steps and ongoing action that we see what works, and what doesn’t. It means that we are always learning and adjusting as we go.
As a team this week, I hope that you will engage in the discussion of “What haven’t WE mastered yet?”.

What are we still learning from, and learning about?
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Enjoy the conversation!
Jennifer

For those that are in the northern hemisphere, we are just about to the longest days of the year. It’s also the time that we start to take down the pace a bit. With team members going on holidays in the next few months, it can be an opportune time to engage in some of those projects you haven’t had time for.

​Instead of typing today’s post, I thought it would be fun to record a short video for you to watch. Listen in as I zoom into 8 key areas you will want to explore this summer, when (and if) the pace slows down. The video runs for 8 minutes. Please comment below and let us know what areas you aim to focus on:
INSERT Video

Best
Jennifer

Welcome back to another Sunday post here at the Teams365 blog.

Today there are two items I wanted to share with you:

#1 – The latest installment of the #90DaysPlanDoTrack Video Montage. These are a summary of some of the daily question prompts I have shared over at the CoachingBizBuilder Instagram feed. They will be of interest to business owners, leaders and other team members.
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#2 – I also wanted to share another post from the vault here at the Teams365 blog. Given our focus this month on Teamwork in uncertainty, you’ll also want to think about how prioritization can be a skill cultivated with all team members. Whether the team is working remote or in person, when things are changing quickly being able to prioritize work and ask questions to others to prioritize is also a key skill.

Here’s a post I wrote last year on Prioritization and Teamwork in Complexity – Teams365 #1610
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Prioritization is a skill set we draw upon regularly in times of complexity. Prioritization allows all team members to regularly scan and manage their workload.

Key to prioritization is:

• Having the tools to prioritize
• Feeling empowered to make decisions and take responsibility for managing workload
• Understanding what is most important – to the different players of the team, as well as the different time frames you are working on (short term, medium term)

In past Teams365 posts I’ve explored a range of prioritization skills including the Urgent/Important Matrix (we often attribute to Covey), as well as a Decision Matrix where we weight what’s important in making our decisions
 
For more on the topic of prioritization, check out these additional resources:

• This excellent article from MindTools.com - which has an incredible amount of other resources team members and leaders will also want to check out.
• LiquidPlanner.com's article on How to Prioritize Work When Everything Is #1 - Read it here.
• For those that are looking at prioritization through the lens of product design, you'll want to take  a look at this excellent article 20 Product Prioritization Techniques.

​Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Jennifer

​It’s Sunday which means that it is time for another Video Montage from PlanDoTrack. Take a look at this week’s video montage.

In bringing this work out into the world, one of my favorite program offerings at the moment is the four-hour PlanDoTrack Virtual Retreat.  Check it out here.

The program is geared for business owners and professionals who are looking to reconnect or create their vision OR take action on a creative project. We meet throughout the four-hour retreat every hour as a group, leaving you ample time in between our group touch-points to engage in structured activities to help you PLAN, take action (DO) and TRACK your results.

Here’s what two participants from the April session wrote about their experience:

"The PlanDoTrack session was everything I hoped for and more! These 4 hours were a super useful and productive pause to work on my business vision and goals for the year. It was a hands-on approach, very much helped by the worksheets in the Coaching Business Builder and also Jennifer's guidance.
I would certainly do at least one more session!”
- Rute Silva - Organizational Development Consultant/Executive Coach - PCC 

"Jennifer - thank you for creating a space to allow me to focus on the deep work that I am committed to getting out into the world.  On a normal day, the whirlwind of life would have prevented me from putting pen to paper and designing a problem that could have easily been put off until "someday". Today I prioritized the important over the urgent and I feel so accomplished to have created content that will make a difference. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. If you are committed to creating a program, a business plan, content, or whatever is meaningful to you and your clients, but you do not have the space or time to focus, this program is a game changer. Block the time. You will be thrilled with the outcome and the support along the way.” 
- Jacyln M. Bradley

The next one will be held on Thursday May 30th from 10 am – 2 pm Eastern/Toronto.

I hope that you will join us. The cost is $129 US and includes a virtual retreat workbook, structured exercises to work on during the afternoon and access to me during the 4 hours for some individual coaching.

You need to bring a copy of the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner, OR the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner, an idea of what you want to focus on, and four-hours of dedicated space.

Reserve your spot at the next PlanDoTrack Virtual Retreat – Thursday May 30th here.

Look forward to connecting!
​Jennifer

It is time for video montage 17 from the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series. Take a look at it here.
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I also wanted to reach back to share a number of other posts on Teamwork in Complexity from last year’s blog posts. A reminder that this month I am focusing on Teamwork in Uncertainty – stay tuned for the new posts on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

Teams365 #1610: Teamwork Skills in Complexity – Prioritization – Read it here. 

Teams365 #1604: Teamwork Skills in Complexity – Problem Solving - Read it here.

Teams365 #1603: Interesting articles about teamwork and complexity - Read it here.

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized 
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2019) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development).
Pick up a copy of Volume 1 of the Weekly Journaling Prompts in an digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.

Welcome back to another Effective Virtual Conversations! This week’s post gets you thinking about “recording”.

It’s likely that in today’s remote work environment that someone is going to be late and/or not attend the meeting. While you don’t want to get into the practice of having people miss meetings, making sure that they can be recorded is an important option, particularly as it can serve as a record of the meeting.

If you are going to record, be sure to check out any local legislation and/or policies around recording and privacy and what agreements need to be obtained in order to share the recording. Check out Rev.com and Temi.com, two transcription services that offer low cost options. You’ll want to try out a couple of options to see what is going to work best for you, AND this can save a lot of time which used to be spent on having someone take hours typing in their handwritten notes.

One real benefit to recording meetings is that you can use the transcript from the call to serve as official meeting minutes. It can also serve as a “going back to” place to confirm who is going to do what as a result of the call.

Another consideration is where will things be housed. Consider a common naming system (i.e. date, focus) and also consider how additional materials may be housed. This could include handouts and other items.

What’s important for you to note about recording with your virtual conversations?

Best wishes,
Jennifer

This weekend I wanted to share links to one of my sister blogs, the PlanDoTrack blog which is focused on personal productivity and time management issues, particularly for virtual and remote team members, entrepreneurs and leaders.

For several months now I have hosted a weekly Wednesday series on short productivity hacks - things that you might keep in mind to get more leverage with your time, focus and work. They are posted at the PlanDoTrack blog, and then I also do a quick Facebook Live around them as well.

Here’s what I’ve covered since the start of this series:

1. Pomodoro Technique
2. Color Coding
   
3. Master Minds
4. Accountability
5. Write it down
6. Weekly Journal Prompts
7. Month End Planning Sessions
8. Top 5
9. Themes - monthly, quarterly, annual
10. Relationships

Read more about these here. 

Each Wednesday I post a short blog which often includes a quick activity you might consider undertaking t support your own planning and productivity. Just as the name implies, these are short things you can action right away.

Check out some of the past 3-5 minute Facebook Live posts which include more detail about that week’s hack. If you are on Facebook, do consider liking PlanDoTrack so you can be alerted to the weekly videos.

Wishing you the best,
Jennifer

​It’s Sunday, which means that it’s time for another Video Montage from the #90DaysPlanDoTrack. If you have not seen these Instagram gems before, they are short questions I pose on a regular basis to encourage some consistent action in your work or business, to create more momentum towards your most important goals.

Take a look at the Video Montage #16 here.

If you haven’t viewed the earlier ones, take a look at those posts here.

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Welcome back to the 15th weekly video montage. These are a compilation of the regular posts from the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series.

The #90DaysPlanDoTrack series gets you to think about, and take action on, daily prompts around your work or business.
 
Enjoy your Sunday and share with us your favorite question over at the PlanDoTrack Facebook Page.
 
Given that we are now stepping into a new season be sure to take a few minutes to reflect on the questions included in the Spring Prompts earlier this week. 

Best,
Jennifer