Coping with Chaos

“I work long days and never seem to catch up. I’m constantly distracted by thousands of things running through my head that need to get done. I’m full of anxiety. Help!”

Many of the clients I coach have experienced this. Let me share a three-step process to bring order to your personal chaos.

Step One: CLARITY. Ask questions that help you become clear on what you want; go deeper into not only your business but also a personal understanding of what’s driving the surface issue. In business you have learned the ‘three-deep’ process for helping clients get to the issue beyond the issue. How about going three deep with yourself? Example: you don’t have the energy to get it all done. What’s impacting the energy? Are you getting enough sleep? How are your eating habits? What sort of physical activity are you engaging in?

Step Two: ALIGNMENT. Focus in on what you’ve gotten clarity on. What resources are available to you to support a change? Identify what your action steps will be as you design a plan of action. Continuing with the same example, you might dedicate one hour, three days a week, to working out (plan of action), and hire a personal trainer (gather resource). You might do 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of strength training each session (action steps).

Step Three: ACTION. In the words of Nike, just do it. Make sure you have accountability. Set benchmarks for progress. Check out a great book on The Power of Personal Accountability written by Mark Samuel.

Finding someone to partner with - be it a paid coach, a peer partner, or even your significant other - in this process will help you reach your goals faster, with adjustments being made along the way as life continues to unfold. Your “coach” will hold you accountable and help you make significant changes.