Employee Engagement and the One-Do-List
What? Why? How? Now What?
- What? Dr. Edward Hallowell stated: Do what matters most to you. Don’t spread yourself too thin.
- Why? Without focus our minds, energies, and efforts get scattered. Losing sight of what matters most and focusing on everything that crosses our path creates the experience of CrazyBusy and lessens our results as we drown in the plethora of possibilities.
- How? Try changing your lengthy daily to do list into a one-do-list. Ask yourself: What is the one thing if you did today would matter the most to you and make the biggest difference? Once you have your response then turn your mental response into focused action to transform the thought into a reality.
- Now What? Ensure this is more than a one time effort. Start each day off by writing your one-do-list because if you don’t you will find yourself engaged in many things but not engaged in what really matters.
David Zinger is devoted to increasing employee engagement for individuals and organizations. See his latest Employee Engagement course for managers: How to Leverage Engagement Power Tools for Results.
I may have to spread myself thin as mom to teens, growing coaching business and winding down a psychotherapy practice, and volunteer on various boards, but I can have the “one-do” mentality and lose sight of this too often. I wonder if on “one-do” list for each important area in my life (e.g., most important thing I can do in my mom job today, as a wife today, in my coaching business today). This is still a different mentality for the “chicken-with-your-head- cut off” way that I have sometimes felt. Thanks for the post. I will will re-tweet!
Thanks Christine:
Focus may be more important than the list. As the father of 3 children I know how scattered I can get yet how I can also get myself scattered.
David
I like it! Have heard many different versions of this. I find 4 things work for me but I agree David – planning is essential. Having a plan, following it and having that early time in the morning to schedule the day and decide the 4 things that will move my business forward the most really does work. It also helps if we “Eat that Frog” and do the 1 or 4 things as early as possible in the day! Great article! 🙂