​This week’s Weekly Journaling Prompt is “If I could choose one resource to add for our current challenge, what would it be”? Consider the elements which would help you, individually or as a team, move forward.

If you haven’t joined us for other Weekly Journaling prompts, be sure to check out the Journaling Prompts from the last six months here. 

Why Journal?
“Writing in a journal reminds you of your goals and of your learning in life. It offers a place where you can hold a deliberate, thoughtful conversation with yourself.” – Robin S. Sharma[1]
Here are 10 reasons why journaling can be a valuable process:

1. A place to capture your ideas
2. Clarifying your thinking through writing
3. Reflective pause
4. Prioritization
5. Connecting one dot to another
6. Slowing down the pace
7. Reframing issues
8. Thinking things through via a variety of different perspectives
9. Summary of what’s going on
10. A clearing space to get ideas out of your head into a place you can review at a later date

Think about what benefits journaling would have for you.
​
Enjoy your writing!
Jennifer

[1] https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/benefits-of-journaling/, accessed 11.15.18

This week's #FlashbackFriday takes us back to Teams365 Blog Post #1432. Read it here or below:

"This week's weekend quote comes from Winston Churchill who wrote "Some people dream of success while others wake up and work hard at it". Is there a  project you have been wanting to complete for a while but haven't found the time? Would an extra hour a day move that project forward?

This past month I participated in NANOWRIMO for the third year. It's National Writing Month and by getting up early (a little more than an hour earlier than my usual) I was able to get on paper a new book for virtual team leaders and team members. While many hours of editing lay ahead, to know that it's there to be molded is a great feeling, and one that will let me rest this holiday season. I've come to appreciate the "focused push" I create for myself in a limited time window, so that important projects get attention, and don't swamp every day. Last year's NANOWRIMO project was my latest book, Effective Virtual Conversations. So stay tuned in later 2018 for the new, new book!"

Flashforward to end of 2018...what's interesting is that I've just wrapped up NANOWRIMO for the 4th year in a row. While the manuscript from last year is still in draft form, it spurred on two other publications this year -
The Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner AND
The PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner

I have been enjoying taking professionals of all kinds through 4 hour virtual retreats, supporting them in creating a pause of plan, tackle important projects and consider how they want to track it going forward. Join us for an upcoming PlanDoTrack Retreat and learn more about them here.

What project would you like to move forward? When might be a good time to do a focused push on this?"

Best,
​Jennifer

As we wrap up the year, it’s likely that you may be moving into some of your last team meetings before the holidays.

This week’s Team Building Tip asks you to consider the question “Our greatest impact this year has been….”

Think about the impact you had. You might consider:

• Projects
• Impact on customers
• Impact on internal stakeholders
• Impact on team culture

As you discuss what impact you have had also consider writing it down and having it visible in a place you all can view – ie. Your Intranet, ScreenSaver, or on your project management software.

Best,
​Jennifer

​Welcome back to the 2nd of 19 posts entitled 19 Productivity Hacks
Yesterday’s Productivity Hack #1 was to have a clear vision. Going hand in hand with this is knowing where you are getting your results. Since launching the Coaching Business builder workbook and planner in August, I’ve been hosting a series of month end reflection and planning sessions in a one-hour format. They are turning out to be a popular and focused way to create a pause real-time OR on-demand in a tight process. Learn more about these programs here (and join me for the end of December month end reflection session).

Productivity Hack #2 is about knowing clear of where you are getting your results.

This week it could be useful to do some stock taking of your year. Consider these questions:

• What were your key successes this year?
• What key learning did you undertake?
• What were key relationships which helped you to do your work?
• What accomplishments do you want to note?
• What helped you with your work?
• What metrics do you want to note?

Today I would invite you to grab a pen and notebook and take stock of your ideas. If you prefer to use a device, go ahead, AND note that things are retained differently when done by pen, rather than digitally. Put your reflections in a safe space so you can refer back to them at a future date.

Best, 
​Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized 
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), Coaching Business Builder (2018) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
Coming December 14, 2018 – PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner - Pre-order a copy today on Amazon
Join us for a year-end virtual planning retreat!

​As we round out 2018 and get set up for 2019, I’m dedicating Tuesday and Wednesday posts to a series I’m entitling 19 Productivity Hacks for 2019.

As some of you may know, support around performance improvement – on the individual, team and organizational level – has been a significant part of my work and our focus here at Potentials Realized since 2004. This takes us into a range of conversations from a focus on team effectiveness to discussion around work-life issues to support to project management.

In these 19 posts over the Tuesdays and Wednesdays in December 2018 and January 2019 I will be lasering into 19 discrete focus areas which can be looked at step-by-step or independently. Depending on how you work and what your style is, you may want to look at each one of these daily or on a weekly basis.

1. Have a clear vision.
The starting point for our 19 productivity hacks for 2019 starts with the big picture. What’s your vision? As Seneca wrote during the times of Ancient Greece,
“To the person who does not know where (S)he wants to go there is no favorable wind”

In other words, without a clear vision it’s hard to get where you want to go.
Creating a vision at this time of year is not just a nice-to-do activity, it is an essential productivity measure as it gets us clear on where we want to go.

Visioning work doesn’t have to take a long time, in fact, you might only dedicate 10 -15 minutes to the activity. Since 2014 I’ve offered up a short 10 minute vision audio for leaders, entrepreneurs and other professionals to listen to. Grab a pen and you can listen in here.

If you prefer to free-style it, set your timer to write and complete the statement
It’s December 31 2019 and……

Provide details about what you are doing this year, what you are focusing on, what’s working and what’s not.

You might also want to use these questions as a prompt.  Consider these questions

It is December 31, 2019 and you are reflecting back on the year that was.
Note:

• What your successes have been?
• Where your focus has been?
• What products or services have you been focusing on offering?
• Who have you have been working with?
• What’s been happening?
• What have you taken a stand for?
• What have you become known for?
• What have been the major milestones?
• What goals have you achieved?
• What’s your vision for the new year? If you haven’t had time to think about it, now’s the time?

I hope that you will find a few minutes in the coming days to reflect on what your vision is for 2019, WRITING it down and possibly posting elements of it around you. Some of my clients have been creating visual reminders on their phone, through vision boards and other elements.

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized 
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), Coaching Business Builder (2018) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
Coming December 14, 2019 – PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner 
Join us for a year-end virtual planning retreat!
Pre-order a copy of the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner for Virtual and Remote Professionals on Amazon (Available December 14). Check it out here.

As we move into the 73rd Effective Virtual Conversations tip, we’re looking at another success factor for high performing teams. This week brings us to number two of six in the ingredients which make up high performance – Shared Performance Goals.
In a virtual team it is really important to be clear on what the performance goals are, so everyone knows what they are aiming for, how things fit together, and what success looks like.
The danger in a virtual team when these things are not clear are:

• Lack of alignment
• Lack of understanding of how one goal fits with another
• Competing Priorities
• Differences in terms of quality of output, if end results are not clear
• Spending time clarifying goals, and what success measures are, are critical when team members do not see each other, and may be reporting to multiple matrix teams at any given time.

Goals are the heart of any team, and it is important to spend time with the team in discussion around this. You may want to dedicate an upcoming team meeting to this and have discussion around:

• What are your key goals?
• How do goals fit together?
• What does success look like around each one?
• What are the standards for work on this team?
• What are the minimums in terms of response time?
• What needs to be communicated, when?
• What are the best channels/appropriate ways to keep everyone updated with respect to their goals?

Enjoy your conversations!
Jennifer

​Welcome to the December and January series of 19 productivity tips for 2019. It’s that time of year when we pause and take stock of what’s working and what’s not. One of the number one issues I have heard throughout this year is “how do I become more effective in leveraging my time?”. This can mean different things for different people throughout the year – from being more clear on goals, to managing distractions, to focusing more on those activities which give leverage.

As some of you may know, back in August, I launched an analog (hard copy) workbook and planner for coaches, called the Coaching Business Builder. Many people I spoke with said – I’m not a coach, but work virtually, so can you create one for me?

So… In a couple of weeks I will be launching a new planner and workbook called PlanDoTrack™. Geared for virtual and remote professionals, entrepreneurs and leaders, everyone will find it of interest. Just like the name says – it’s about Planning. Doing. Tracking.
It is about getting focused on what you want to do.
Planning – being clear on what our priorities are;
Doing  - Getting into focused action and;
Tracking the results – What’s working and what’s not.

In leading up to the launch, I am pleased to share a 19 days series I’ve entitled 19 Productivity Hacks for 2019. Over the next few weeks on Tuesdays and Wednesdays we will be focusing on these 19 productivity tips.
​
If you are interested in learning more about the new workbook and planner, the new PlanDoTrack website will be available soon, or you can sign up for the monthly PlanDoTrack newsletter here. 

With best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Effective Virtual Conversations |  Coaching Team Leaders  
Join Jennifer for a year-end virtual planning retreat in the PlanDoTrack Series!
Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
YouTube – Teams365 Leadership Channel
Email: info@potentialsrealized.com
(416)996-8326
Pre-order a copy of the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner for Virtual and Remote Professionals on Amazon (Available December 14). Check it out here.

Welcome to December! As we step into December and also the new year, we’ll be covering a range of productivity tips.

This week’s journaling prompt is “Our most effective team ritual/practice is…” If you are a solopreneur you can think about this in terms of your extended team (any VAs – Virtual Assistants, Graphic Designers, Finance professionals etc) you work with.

I hope that you'll grab a pen and some paper and take note of your replies to these questions.

Enjoy your reflections!

Best,
​Jennifer

​That’s it! Another month has passed and it’s time for our month end reflection and wrap up. This month here at the Teams365 blog we shifted our attention to month end and looked at:

• 5 things to get in your calendar for 2019, right now!
• Planning for Year End Activities for your Team
• Year end productivity reminders – 4 things to keep in mind
• 18 Questions for 2018 Year-end one on ones
• Bringing projects to a close

Given that it ‘s the last day of November, it’s time to grab a pen and take stock of the month that was, and do some planning for the month ahead:
 
As you think about the month of November, consider:

1. What key goals did you, and the team, achieve?
2. What helped you be successful?
3. What worked really well? What didn't?
4. What lessons learned do you want to capture and note?
5. What changes do you want to make?
6. What were key relationships helping you to be successful?
   
   Looking to December

1. What are your key goals and projects this month?
2. What projects need to get completed, no matter what?
3. What else needs to be wrapped up?
4. What do you want to focus on?
5. What do you want to say no to?
6. Where is it important to place attention this month?
7. What else?

Enjoy your reflections this month!
If you have been doing this every month this year, take a look back at your monthly stock-taking.  As you look across the year:
What do you notice as trends?
What has key learning been?
What still needs attention?
What issues or items have come up month after month? What’s significant about this?
What changes, if any, do you want to make?

Best,
​Jennifer

​This week’s Team Building tip is “What’s your best work?”. As you think about everything you have accomplished in the last few months (or the last year or two), what is your best work?

• What are the things that you are really proud of?
• In your work, what can you to do cultivate, or ask for, more work opportunities like this?
• How did this task use your skills?
• What did it do to accelerate your learning and growth?
• What made it so fulfilling?
• Are there elements of that project which can be isolated and magnified in future projects?
• Helping people and teams connect with their best work, boosts engagement and commitment to task. This helps foster a culture of growth and higher levels of trust.
• What can you do to facilitate experiences so that people can bring their best self to work?

Best wishes,
Jennifer