Daily Influence

It's pretty cool that on the day I am flying to Ireland (my roots), this episode is coming out.  

Roots is just what it sounds like and is the second part of Self-Reflection where we connect the dots to why looking in the mirror and understanding what has influenced us to this point in life is part of our roots. 

We will share stories that contextualize the connections in a positive way and help to understand "Who Am I?" and you may learn something about why you do some of the things you have, are and will do in the future.  

Remember, if you begin to feel negative, anxious or any other negative emotional or psychological issues, call a therapist, doctor or trusted mentor to discuss the issues in a positive way.

This part of our podcast dives into the deeper part of our work: Self-Reflection. 

Looking back at oneself in the mirror and unpacking ourselves can be uplifting and scary.  We will take you through how we self-reflect and how it has been beneficial for us in understanding some of the challenges we have with self, others, focus, slowing down and many of the other aspects we have been discussing 

We highlight that if you find yourself becoming anxious, negative or any other emotional or psychological issues arise, seek support from someone, a professional therapist, your doctor, a trusted friend or mentor to work through them positively.  

"Who Am I?" will be a reflection on the (I)individual that you and/or your team are. We will dive into understanding the individual and we begin with Ego.  

Ego is purely human and offers us challenges to being our best self, as well as advantages when applied positively to creating opportunities.  

We will dive into Ego and its individual aspects that can propel you forward or alienate you and take away the advantages and opportunities one might have when Ego is better understood and utilized intentionally.  

We have spent over a week discussing and unpacking how slowing down and gaining better focus can be an amazing individual advantage and provide for more positive opportunities.  

We started this journey into Focus in Episode 8 with Deliberate Acts and how being deliberate is the ultimate way for individuals to slow down.  

Episode 9 had us discussing the human tendency to take focus too far and have a comfortable focus; an almost hypnotic state where we lose track of our situational awareness and where mistakes, gaps and other things can occur for us. 

Episode 10, Living in the Present, brought us to another way for us to slow down, become more deliberate about our time and how we can better control the outcomes of our actions with proper focus.  

Episode 11, Intentions, is where we discussed how to be more intentional and using intentionality to its fullest advantage.  

Episode 12, Time Flies By So Quickly, is where we dive into time and our individual perceptions of time, regardless of the fact that time is the same for every individual. 

Episode 13, The Turbo Charge of Going to Fast (Multitasking), is where we talk about how multitasking almost never results in more efficiency or faster work and/or progress.  

Episode 14, The Workplace, is about where we choose to work can affect our focus.  It's not just about distractions; it's about supporting whatever influences your individual focus to help you accomplish whatever it is you're trying to do in a given moment.  

Episode 15, S.M.A.R.T., is where we dive into SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely) is not just goal setting parameters. You can focus your tactics using SMART to create a positive influence as an individual. 

Episode 16, Reactions, is how we can focus on how we react to situations to create better advantages and opportunities from those influential moments that have us reacting quicker than we should be. 

Coming up next; Who Am I? Ego.

We each have a different way in which we react to situations. When we slow down and gain focus, we can better understand our individual reactions and ensure that they are more appropriate for the individual and/or situation you are dealing with. 

Key Takeaway:

• Negative reactions diminish or eliminate our individual advantages and opportunities.  
• If you feel you must react immediately, take a brief pause to gather yourself, to provide the best influence through your reaction.  
• If you continue to struggle with reactive tendencies that are getting in the way of your advantages and or opportunities, seek third-party support to help improve your focus and reactions.  

Happy Birthday to my daughter Kristin Jade!

What is S.M.A.R.T.?

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Timely

Many have heard of SMART Goals. We will be reviewing what each section of SMART is and why SMART Goals are just the beginning. 

To be truly SMART in the workplace, you need:

• SMART Action 
• SMART Tactics
• SMART Communication



SMART is not just for work; it's for all aspects of your life.

Key Takeaways:

• SMART is beneficial to you in all aspects.  
• Be specific
• Provide measurement if it's involved
• Ensure attainability by all involved
• Ensure you can really reach the goal, do the tasks needed
• Make sure it's the right time for all involved.

Your workplace, wherever that may be, should be conducive to your focus.   

This is the primary theme of today's Daily Influence.  The human tendency to go too fast can be greatly influenced by their workplace.  

We'll discuss how we challenged a client to encourage his team to slow down 15% to increase productivity; it worked.  

Some environments require ‘speed of service’; think fast food.  

To manage productivity in the workplace when speed is needed, introduce policy, process and technologies that support the human and the mission they perform. 

Don’t get so focused on KPI (Key Performance Indicators) that you create ‘too fast’ moments that invite error, mistake and failure in contextual understanding that leads to failure.  

Beware of procrastination as a tool to manage your ‘go too fast’ workplace environment.

Key Takeaways:

• Speed at work without foundational support serves to reduce overall quality.
• Speed can result in delays if errors, mistakes and miscommunication occur.
• Avoid procrastination to avoid the feeling of needing to go too fast to ensure completion.

Our advice on Multitasking; Don’t do it!

Multitasking is just another way to go too fast and create more work and problems in the future.  

The American Psychological Association states; “Doing more than one task at a time, especially complex tasks, takes a toll on productivity.” (2006) “Multitasking: Switching Costs”.  

We will be diving into the negativity of what is often touted as a positive human trait.  

We challenge that multitasking is synonymous with lying and cheating in many instances.  

We will review how to overcome multitasking and why you should do it short and long term. 

We discuss managing tasks, prioritization, perceptions, and context in battling the urge to multitask.  

Key Takeaways:

• Do your best not to Multitask; it decreases productivity.
• Plan out your day in advance.
• How many tasks do you really need to complete?
• How long do they take, should they take?
• What is the priority?
• Which tasks take more brain power?
• 
  
• Segment your days. 
• Schedule breaks for yourself to be your best self in all tasks.

Does time have to fly by? Isn't a minute the same for everyone?  If yes, why do so many people make the statement; "Time flies by so quickly"?

Did you know the current foundation and use of time and time zones only dates back to 1884?

What did humans do with this new structured time measurement and management opportunity?  

How did the creation of this structure speed up time for humans?  

Perceptions

• "The present moment is your best time to make your best decision."
• Now is the best opportunity for you to be your best, so managing your perception and use of time is critical to your influence being what you hope it will be.  
• You cannot regain the past moments, they are behind us. You can only make decisions in the present.  

Key Takeaways:

• Time only moves at one speed for us all.
• Measure your individual time; understand your use of time. 
• To be in the present, you must control your time.

One of the best ways to slow down is to be Intentional. Setting intentions is making a plan for how to think and act in advance.  

Today, we discuss the difference between intentions and goals. We will share six key intentions used by Brian that may provide better context as to how intentions can be introduced into your daily life.  

Key takeaways are:

• One of the best ways to slow down is to become intentional throughout your life. 
• You will need motivation to guide your intentions. The chaos of your particular area of influence can act to interrupt your intentions.
• Make your foundational intentions a habit.