A few months ago, we read a great article on “Calming Your Monkey Mind”. Click here if you want to read it too.
As employers, it’s an interesting concept. A monkey mind is exactly what it sounds like. Monkeys jump from tree to tree, are energetic and often unpredictable. Rather like a monkey, our minds can operate in this way too.
How often do you set your mind to complete a task, only for it to move relentlessly to the thousand other things that are on your plate? Some of us can even become addicted to the chaos, only thriving in times of high-stress, until we reach our breaking point. “Multi-tasking” as some would call it, is not always productive – it can often mean starting and never completely finishing projects and tasks.
Here are a few tips we think work for us to calm our “monkey mind”:
1. Keep a “Task Tracker”
There are so many different ways to task track, from using a daily journal, to sticky notes, etc. A task tracker might seem like more work than its worth, but the more you make a habit of writing down your tasks, the easier you’ll find that it is to actually accomplish them.
2. Plan!
For 20 minutes every morning, go through your daily list of projects. Can you quadrant them into items that are high vs. low priority? Which items can you immediately cross off your list? We recommend getting the quick tasks done first. When you cross things off, you’ll feel like your achieving your objective!
3. Use Agendas
Don’t walk into a meeting without a plan. Get an agenda together and send it to everyone in advance. Commit to keeping on topic and not falling victim to side-conversation. If there were take-aways from the meeting (things you have to achieve), make sure you write them down to add to your task tracker, send yourself an email, and/or record them in the minutes to keep everyone on track.
4. Create Objectives for Every Month
What do you want to actually achieve this month? If you write it down and reflect on it at least weekly, you can keep yourself on track and accountable to your goals.
5. Evaluate Yourself
Don’t be afraid to ask yourself the tough questions every month. What did you do really well this month? What did you maybe not do so well at? Did you still find yourself falling back into old habits? Give yourself the credit where it’s warranted and use your areas of weakness to set next month’s objectives.