Leading Yourself

Every moment of every day we are each called to be the leader of our own lives. We have the power to make our own choices.

What does it mean to be leading your own life?

Simply it could be taking care of yourself. Making good choices and getting things organized.
Someone has said, that before you can lead others, you must be able to lead yourself.

I think the important question is, how is it even possible to be organized without getting stressed out? When you have a lot of things to do, it seems almost impossible to be well organized and unstressed. The key to this has to be in prioritizing things. It takes a lot of self-discipline.

It's easy to make lists of what you should do and how to take control of your life. In reality it's much more complicated. I don't want my life to feel like a day in the army. Now you do this and now you do that, and in the end of the day you feel exhausted. On the other hand I don't want to be struggling with an endless to-do list, without getting anything done and dreams waiting for their accomplishment until forever.

Well planned is half done. With good planning it's possible to get more time for the things you would like to do. Those things are making you feel relaxed. I enjoy singing, playing guitar and drawing. Still these are something, that I don't have much time to do.

Here are some important points to think about:

Limit time wasting activities

Can you stay away from your phone, when you don't need it? Social media takes easily a lot of time without even noticing it.

Work - life balance

Finding rest, not burning yourself out. Getting the exercise you need and eating well. This has also to do with knowing your own limits. It's good to sometimes push yourself beyond your limits and reach out for your dreams. And sometimes realize, that we are only human. Every moment can not be effective.

Leadership is action
Make good choices. Every action is a reflection of the character. Today's actions are tomorrow's results.

Everything can't be done in one day
You have to take one step at a time.

Life is like walking you take one step at a time. -Taylor Swift

What drives you?

I was running my fourth half marathon last weekend. Somehow I was feeling a bit exhausted already before I started running. Maybe it was the flu season, or the feeling of just not having enough rest. Anyway, I wasn’t feeling full of energy at all. Not a good feeling when you should be running a while.

The running experience was not comfortable, which was no surprise. I went through the run promising myself that I could quit - when I had been running just a bit more. My legs were hurting and finally I was expecting a bird to fly low enough, so I could grab it’s wings and it would fly me to the finish line. That bird never came.

Also I was waiting for the tailwind to blow, so it would push me fast forward. Surprisingly it didn’t happen. Instead I had to run myself. And Spotify stopped playing music. Also Sport Tracker stopped working, so I have no track of how many steps I have been taking.

In the end it didn’t really matter. It didn’t go as planned, that’s for sure. The more important thing is that I finished. And well, I did three minutes better than last year.

A half marathon isn’t the place where the magic happens, a lot of practice is needed.

Practice can be very boring. How about all the health benefits? Increased cardiovascular capacity, reduced blood pressure, learning structured training. Just to mention a few things. Maybe, just maybe, it could be the reason to start practicing for a half marathon?

I guess it needs a bit more than that. 

My motivation has actually not so much to do with the health benefits. Running is something, that can be done anywhere, anytime. It's great to know that it has good effects on the health.

Long distance running has never been anything I've been even thinking about to do. I wouldn't have believed, that I could have the discipline for it. Training is also proved to be increasing self-belief and confidence. 

“With self-discipline all things are possible”

-Theodore Roosevelt

Well planned is half done, part 2

The grass isn't greener on the other side.

The grass is greener where you water it.

That's true. If your neighbour has greener grass, what could possibly be the reason? It's not some magic rain cloud, that has watered only your neighbour's side and left your grass without water.

Planning is good. Many times the harder part comes after that: following the plan. In a garden it takes time to see the growth.

Watering is needed. Without water the plants will not grow. If you are lucky, it might rain every now and then. Usually it rains too much or too little. That's why a watering system is essential.

Weeds have to be eliminated. They are growing fast, and have long roots. If you let them grow whole Summer, they will take over. And the real plants will not have enough space to grow.

The plants also need light and good soil.

Consistency and hard work will bring the results.

A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work. 

-Colin Powell

In a vegetable garden, some things are certain:

1. If you don't pick up the weeds, they will grow big and take over.
2. The vegetables can't grow if they don't have enough space.
3. Without water all the plants will die. Only most of the weeds will survive.

Working alone or with others

If you are working alone in your vegetable garden, you are responsible for everything there. The good thing is, that you know all that should be done. And if it doesn't turn out the way you planned, there is only one person to blame.

When there are many workers, things have to be more organized. Each one has to know what they are doing. And what happens if they don't know?

Things like this could happen:
1. Someone has removed the weeds.
2. Another member of the team has planted the weeds back.
3. A third person wonders whether the weeds should be there or not?
4. If there is nobody doing the decision, they might end up removing the weeds, and planting them back again.

Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. -Henry Ford

Well planned is half done

Plans are nothing; planning is everything. -Dwight D. Eisenhower

There is a difference between having a plan and doing real planning.

Last year when I planted my vegetable garden, I had a plan. My plan was to buy vegetable seeds, and I knew more or less what to buy.

The carrot seeds (and some other seeds too) were so small, that I accidentally planted too many of them. When the carrots (and the other vegetables) started growing I had no idea whether they were weeds or not. This happened because there were not growing in obvious lines. The other challenge was, that they were growing too close to each other and didn't get enough space.

At that point some of the plants should have been removed and the ones remaining could have received more space. Survival of the fittest.

Although I forgot the planning, my vegetable garden was quite alright last year. It could have been better though.

The challenges were:

• I didn't remember what was growing there
• The plants were not growing in clear lines, which made it hard to find the weeds
• Some plants were removed with the weeds
• The carrots became very small
• I forgot to collect some of the vegetables
• I found some surprise vegetables

The strengths were:

• Peas, potatoes and salad was growing well
• We did eat most of the vegetables (that were identified)

This year I did some things differently.

Before planting there was planning. I sketched the whole area on paper. Planned the rows, what would be growing where and made paths in places, that would make it easier to pull weeds.

Planting sticks worked as a reminder of what what planted.

This year I know at least what is growing in my vegetable garden.

Everyone wants to hear a good story

It's not totally useless to spend time on social media. Even though much of it can be a waste of time. Everyone should have a social media strategy. Especially for a business, building a social media presence is important.

We don't have a choice whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it. -Erik Qualman

Social media is perfect for telling stories. I'm interested in the process of finding the own writing style. How is it possible to tell a story, that will reach the right people? Some companies and organizations have succeeded as story tellers.

A story is nothing without the right images. Somehow it's easy to think about how to tell a good story about a holiday destination. There is sun, a beach, good food. Perfect pictures to take, nice stories to tell. Actually it's not harder than that. You just have to find the right stories about everything.

It's good to think about what people would like to know about your company. I few weeks ago I was looking for a hairdresser with a carchair. It wasn't so easy to find. Apparently they don't have it in so many places. I found one place close enough to home, and they had a picture of it. Search completed. The story is, that my son loved the carchair.

To get started:

1. Identify your audience
2. Pick the right platforms
3. Know your goals
4. Get visual
5. Be consistent

When it comes to telling a story about yourself, or creating something out of nothing, it's much harder. Having a clear idea makes it all much easier.

The questions are still the same:
What do you want to tell about yourself?

I think everyone wants to hear a good story.

Don't forget - no one else sees the world the way you do, so no one else can tell the stories that you have to tell. -Charles de Lint

The art of messing up several things at the same time

After making the decision in the beginning of this year to get myself more organized, I have realized a few things. One thing is, that it takes time to form new habits. Life is a process.

Life also is like a puzzle, you have to get certain pieces in place before you can see the whole picture.

Sometimes it's good to stop, breath and think before acting.

It could be called mindfulness.

When you're in a hurry it's easier to rush forward. Instead of stopping and thinking what you could do differently. Is this hurry something, that could be avoided by slowing down for a while and re-organizing things?

The changes can be very small. Still they can be helpful.

This year I have managed to finish things better than before. It has become possible only by concentrating on one thing at a time. Less multitasking, and more concentration on one task. Also finishing that task, always when it's possible.

It's very simple. Doing only one thing at a time.

Productivity doesn't come from doing more and faster. By doing more than one thing you will become busier for sure. Studies have shown, that multitasking makes us less productive.

Our full presence to the task at hand, the conversation, the true connection is compromised by our inability to unplug and do just one thing.
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/the-one-time-you-should-never-multitask

"You can only breathe out if you breath in" -John Lennon

Communication fails easily

Writing emails is easy. It doesn’t take much time. There shouldn’t be anything new about emails, so
why even bother writing about them?
That’s right. It’s not a new thing. Still everyone can get better in communicating by email.

Recently I have been thinking a lot about writing emails. Firstly, it’s difficult to figure out the perfect
subject line and summarize the nature of your email in as few words as possible. Secondly, it can be
hard to make yourself understood correctly.
Emails are challenging:

1. Some messages are too long. It feels like the writer doesn’t get to the point, or you have to figure out the important information yourself.
2. Messages can also be too short. Additional questions are needed to figure out what the sender wants to say.
3. Emails can be sent at the wrong time. The right timing can be very important. It might not be the best idea to send emails when people are off duty. If there is no hurry to send and email, it can be more effective to send it a bit later.
4. Usually emails need some follow up.
5. Sometimes face-to-face communication would be more effective. It’s always not possible, when people are located in different places.

The interesting thing is, that emails can be easily misunderstood. Instead of sending an email too soon,
it could be important to read it one more time.

Usually it’s nobody’s intention to write a rude email. It can be avoided by trying to think about how the
receiver will understand the message. The tone in emails can be negative or commanding unintentio- nally. Human communication can fail.

The observation about how easily communication fails, was made by Professor Osmo Antero Wiio
in 1978. The fundamental Wiio's law states that "Communication usually fails, except by accident".
According to Wiio, a message, that can be interpreted in several ways, will be interpreted in a manner that
maximizes the damage.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiio%27s_laws

I think Wiio is quite right. What would he have said about email communication? That's even harder
other forms of communication. Emails shouldn’t be the only way we communicate. Real conversations
are important.

“Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.”

— Brian Tracy