While life may throw her share of stress and challenges our way we also do a fine job of creating more adversity in our own lives than may be necessary.

In meeting with some business-coaching clients this past week I heard things like “I’ve really have to attend all those meetings. I’m the only one who can understand all the facets of the business,” and “I don’t know how I am suppose to respond to 200 emails a day and get anything else done.” As we discussed these challenges the idea of simplifying their days began to emerge. Here are some ideas we came up with in our discussions that you may want to try out:

• Do a one-week time study to see how you do spend your time. Which meetings are really essential and are you building in time for “thought and reflection.”
• Manage your emails by (1) deleting yourself from unread newsletters (except Resilient Wednesdays) (2) write shorter emails with a header that establishes the request (3) devote specialized time for emails and don’t stop your work when one pops up.
• Stop back-to-back meetings and if you must have them, finish up 10 minutes before so you have time to get to the next.
• Block out time in your schedule for “strategic thinking”
• Forget about perfection unless you are building bridges or doing brain surgery. A “B” is an excellent grade and will suffice for most of our work. The extra 20% towards perfection does not yield a great ROI.

You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how making a commitment to simplification will eliminate anxiety and stress before they even happen. Getting ahead of challenges is the ultimate resilience.

© Richard Citrin, All rights reserved, 2016