Structure Builds Confidence
Structure Builds Confidence
strange to be in a new school room with some friends but mostly new kids and
a teacher you had met just that day. It probably didn’t take long to
realize that things would be ok though.
What did the teacher do to make us feel comfortable? She started by
giving each day a structure so that we knew when our group would be
reading, when we had our milk and cookies, when it was music time and when
it was recess. Knowing what to expect each day, made us feel confident
and comfortable.
Just as that structure helped for first grade, a structure in our work
life can help us today. What kind of structure do you have in your
work or job search to make you feel confident and comfortable? Have you
made a schedule that has blocks of time allotted to your activities?
Most people do use a schedule to keep track of appointments with others.
How about using it to keep track of appointments with yourself?
Tom was searching for a new job. When I asked him what he did each
day, he told me the major portion of his day was spent applying for jobs
on line. Tom said he also made calls to his network and followed up on
jobs he had applied for.
He identified all the tasks he needed to do but at the end of the day
he had the feeling he had not accomplished much.
Frequently Tom got caught up in the online application and/or research
process and never got to making calls or follow up. Does that happen
to you?
With a daily schedule Tom blocked out times to do the different
activities necessary to complete his job search tasks. His schedule ended at
3pm so he had time to workout or do something for himself.
Now he could look at his schedule at the end of the day to see what he
had accomplished. In addition he could start the day knowing exactly
what he was going to be doing. Of course it takes commitment to stick
to the schedule rigorously.
Just like the first grade structure this new job search structure made
Tom feel in control and confident. Sure he still needed to find work
and being out of a job was scary but now that he was really focused on
the job search he had confidence he would find something.
Mary became a client because her practice was not growing. She got
some referrals but she never had time to market her practice. She said
she was just too busy doing the work.
The amount of time Mary decided she needed to spend on marketing was
relatively small because she had a good referral base – maybe 3 or 4
hours a week at most. Sometimes the marketing activity was a breakfast or
lunch with a referral source; other times it was a couple of phone
calls to prospective or former clients. She sometimes used the time to
work on writing an article for a publication.
What helped Mary most was to see that she could complete her work if
she stuck to the schedule. Mary chose marketing activities that were fun
for her so that she looked forward to them as a nice break from her
legal work.
I use this method myself. I make my schedule on Monday morning from my
active project list. (My client appointments are already on my
calendar.) Some of my clients choose to make their schedule on Friday before
they leave for the weekend. A few have decided that it is an activity
they can do late Sunday afternoon. Choose a time that works for you and
then create your schedule and stick to it. Another benefit to doing
this is that you’ll begin to schedule outside or client appointments to
allow you to have blocks of time for your desk or computer work.
Take Action
1. Take a few minutes at the end of the day today to decide what you
must do tomorrow. Block out the time to complete the work on your
calendar. See how it works for you? If you feel it supported you, move on
to #2.
2. Decide on a day at the end or beginning of the week to write a
schedule for the whole week. Be sure to look two or three weeks out to know
exactly what is coming up so you do the necessary work.
3. Make a list of fun activities you have wanted to do regularly but
have never had the time. Perhaps it is working out, going for a walk,
reading a book, or meditating. Fit one or two into your schedule as a
reward for yourself. Commit to working the schedule.
4. Systems such as scheduling time are important to every business.
What other systems are necessary for your business? Here is a top ten
list I wrote on that topic http://www.asparker.com/ppts0507.html
Structure Builds Confidence - To learn more about this author, visit Alvah Parker's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Remember the first day of first grade? Scary time! It felt very
strange to be in a new school room with some friends but mostly new kids and
a teacher you had met just that day. It probably didn’t take long to
realize that things would be ok though.
What did the teacher do to make us feel comfortable? She started by
giving each day a structure so that we knew when our group would be
reading, when we had our milk and cookies, when it was music time and when
it was recess. Knowing what to expect each day, made us feel confident
and comfortable.
Just as that structure helped for first grade, a structure in our work
life can help us today. What kind of structure do you have in your
work or job search to make you feel confident and comfortable? Have you
made a schedule that has blocks of time allotted to your activities?
Most people do use a schedule to keep track of appointments with others.
How about using it to keep track of appointments with yourself?
Tom was searching for a new job. When I asked him what he did each
day, he told me the major portion of his day was spent applying for jobs
on line. Tom said he also made calls to his network and followed up on
jobs he had applied for.
He identified all the tasks he needed to do but at the end of the day
he had the feeling he had not accomplished much.
Frequently Tom got caught up in the online application and/or research
process and never got to making calls or follow up. Does that happen
to you?
With a daily schedule Tom blocked out times to do the different
activities necessary to complete his job search tasks. His schedule ended at
3pm so he had time to workout or do something for himself.
Now he could look at his schedule at the end of the day to see what he
had accomplished. In addition he could start the day knowing exactly
what he was going to be doing. Of course it takes commitment to stick
to the schedule rigorously.
Just like the first grade structure this new job search structure made
Tom feel in control and confident. Sure he still needed to find work
and being out of a job was scary but now that he was really focused on
the job search he had confidence he would find something.
Mary became a client because her practice was not growing. She got
some referrals but she never had time to market her practice. She said
she was just too busy doing the work.
The amount of time Mary decided she needed to spend on marketing was
relatively small because she had a good referral base – maybe 3 or 4
hours a week at most. Sometimes the marketing activity was a breakfast or
lunch with a referral source; other times it was a couple of phone
calls to prospective or former clients. She sometimes used the time to
work on writing an article for a publication.
What helped Mary most was to see that she could complete her work if
she stuck to the schedule. Mary chose marketing activities that were fun
for her so that she looked forward to them as a nice break from her
legal work.
I use this method myself. I make my schedule on Monday morning from my
active project list. (My client appointments are already on my
calendar.) Some of my clients choose to make their schedule on Friday before
they leave for the weekend. A few have decided that it is an activity
they can do late Sunday afternoon. Choose a time that works for you and
then create your schedule and stick to it. Another benefit to doing
this is that you’ll begin to schedule outside or client appointments to
allow you to have blocks of time for your desk or computer work.
Take Action
1. Take a few minutes at the end of the day today to decide what you
must do tomorrow. Block out the time to complete the work on your
calendar. See how it works for you? If you feel it supported you, move on
to #2.
2. Decide on a day at the end or beginning of the week to write a
schedule for the whole week. Be sure to look two or three weeks out to know
exactly what is coming up so you do the necessary work.
3. Make a list of fun activities you have wanted to do regularly but
have never had the time. Perhaps it is working out, going for a walk,
reading a book, or meditating. Fit one or two into your schedule as a
reward for yourself. Commit to working the schedule.
4. Systems such as scheduling time are important to every business.
What other systems are necessary for your business? Here is a top ten
list I wrote on that topic http://www.asparker.com/ppts0507.html
Structure Builds Confidence - To learn more about this author, visit Alvah Parker's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Alvah's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Start-Up Capital Estimate Universal Search Business Success By Design Increasing Coaching Effectiveness 25 Facebook & Twitter Tips |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 SEO Posts - 2007
Top SEO Posts of the Year | |
 |
Choose A PR Topic
Press Release Builder | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||