Here we share some of our tips and tools for your professional and personal development. We publish new posts quarterly, at the beginning of every Season: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.
With the changes of every season, nature requires us to adapt to the transformations taking place around us. It reminds us of the perpetual circle of life, as well as our own growth and development, and how we can adapt to and learn from each season.
Spring: Time to Plant your professional Bulbs and Seeds
Spring is the time for gardeners to plant their seeds and to pick the bulbs they want to grow. In many countries people do their “Spring-cleaning”, “Frühjahrsputz”, or a “ménage de printemps”, clean up all the dust, useless material and clusters, and refresh their home and environment.
What do you have to do to plant your seeds for your career and personal life? How do you grow your professionals bulbs? How can you best manage your time, so to grow professionally and personally? How can you successfully see the fruits or flowers of your labour?
3 steps how you can simply ensure, that you are planning your time in an efficient and productive way, to reach the most important Top Objectives and Big Goals in your life this year:
1. List your Top 3 Objectives
Identify the Top 3 Objectives of your Life this year. How do you do that? Ask yourself, what is it that you want to reach in three years from now? What gives you a deeper sense of purpose and meaning, once accomplished? What are those far away life objectives that are most important to you in the long-term? Professionally, these could be material and tangible long-term objectives, or they can be immaterial and intangible objectives. These are your larger professional achievements, roles or responsibilities you want to reach. Take some quality time alone, to reflect upon these.
These are your “bulbs.”
2. Plan weekly goals: the 3-6-9 method
Rather than following a traditional daily ‘to-do’ list with bullet points and starting every day to act upon urgent matters, write instead a weekly list of goals. Preferably do so on Monday morning first thing. If you want to have head start into your workweek, some of the top Managers I know, do their weekly plan on Sunday night.
Then use the 3-6-9 method: Firstly, plan and spread throughout the week to accomplish just 3 “Big Goals”, or your weekly priorities. These might be some very important, yet not urgent issues, which bring you long-term satisfaction. Organise these 3 “Big Goals” first in your week, and create time for them. Secondly, plan to do 6 medium goals, the standard “to-do’s” or “must-do’s” and put them somewhere around the 3 “Big Goals”. These are the smaller seeds, or some urgent yet very important tasks you need to do. Thus you want to stray them around the bulb. Spread them around the week. Lastly, leave some time for 9 smaller tasks, you like to accomplish during the week, the “nice-to-have’s“. Organise them at the very end.
3. Focus one hour every morning
How do you derive your 3 “Big Goals”?
Once you know your Top 3 Objectives, you reflect and break down several goals that contribute to or help you work towards these objectives. From your Top 3 Objectives, create a longer list of goals. Look at these goals every month, and every week. Once you picked your 3 “Big Goals” for a particular week, focus and actually start every morning on tasks towards those goals. Spend one-hour of concentrated, uninterrupted work towards achieving your 3 “Big Goals”.
This is the daily water that your bulbs need. Take care of your bulbs, once you planted them. Water them. Regularly. Every morning. Even if only for a short period of time.
Start your Springtime
Take some precious time to think about the Top 3 Objectives of your Life, organise your week around 3 “Big Goals” you want to achieve, spend one hour every morning towards those goals, then plan 6 medium goals around it and finally do 9 smaller tasks.
Plant your sees and focus on your bulbs. Water your bulbs daily.
This is Springtime!
Nexus Consulting 