My quest for brilliance
Yesterday I started re-reading the excellent How to Be Brilliant
One of the things that I’m particularly keen to be brilliant at is running our business. I want to find the time to follow through on all the plans we have to develop the business as well as keeping on top of our client projects - something that I can see will need quite a bit of work over the coming weeks as we have a lot on at the moment. It’s not all about being brilliant at the business stuff though, it’s also about having a more balanced life - so I’m going to be amazingly brilliant at running the business but also find time to have a life outside of that. Sounds great doesn’t it?
May 18th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
I think we could all do with being brilliant, which makes me wonder if it is as easy as reading a book. However, when people as me how I am I usually say ‘bearing up’, so I suspect that is the root of my problems.
That said, I have been finding work a bit tough recently, and I agree that a positive attitude does help. If you convince yourself it is all going down the pan then it all gets overwhelming- you feel like you are slowly loosing your grip. However, with a positive attitude you feel you are slowly clawing your way back on top. The reality is probably the same but how you feel is much better…
I’m also been reading a time management book from work, and the bottom line seems to be ‘have a plan in your head’ which seems obvious but does help! I would love to be brilliant at time management, but I would settle for ‘ok’
Tom
May 20th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Hi Tom, it’s not as easy as reading the book, alas. You have to do tasks as you read it and then carry on doing stuff afterwards - it’s hard work being brilliant!
Sorry to hear you’ve been struggling at work. It’s amazing what a positive attitude and a bit of motivation can do. Which time management book have you been reading? A couple of really good ones are “Getting Things Done” by David Allen and “Eat That Frog!” by Brian Tracy. I’m re-reading the Frog one at the moment - he reckons it’s not just about having a plan in your head but also having it written down.
May 20th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Hi Emily, thank you for the kind thoughts. I feel a bit better again at the mo but I have way too much to do
I can’t remember what it is called off the top of my head- I’m downloading it off the company’s Book 24X7 account. Its something rather dry from Havard I think… My problem at the moment seems to be getting less done! Well, getting more important stuff done and getting less caught up in the trivia… Now I know why senior people are always so clipped- they know that they could waste a whole day chatting to people! I don’t want to end up like that, but I am finally becoming more aware of the time I waste hanging about waiting for people to come to meetings etc etc. My aim is to try to spend more time at my desk… Not getting to actually sit down and work is perhaps the one problem that afflicts those who work in an office rather than at home!
Tom
May 21st, 2008 at 7:40 am
Yes, I’m sure we get far fewer interruptions working from home and with it being just the two of us. I can imagine how frustrating it is not being able to just get on with things. The Frog book sounds like just what you need - it’s far from dry, very quick to read and has lots of short chapters, each with a particular technique to apply. And it’s all about concentrating on the important stuff and not getting bogged down by the trivia. My problem is that I think everything is important so can’t decide what I should be concentrating on…
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Hey Tom - there’s always an opening for a programmer down here. I’m afraid we can’t offer company cars, company pension scheme, company laptop ……….
May 27th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Emily… I can sympathise with that too! I am lucky working for a large company on largish projects where we can afford to get a project manager and build plans etc, all of which help prioritise work.
Mik… A good offer in all respects apart from the benefits package! Having looked at the jobs market I am beginning to conclude that the only way I could make my job more enjoyable would be to take a cut in salary, and I can’t really afford to do that
Maybe one day…