The most important meeting you will have all week...

...is a weekly meeting you have with yourself. A one hour, reoccurring meeting, EVERY single week. Note : I drafted this blog in March, before our world was flipped on its head. It is even more important now to take time each week for yourself - with the restrictive environment we are currently living in, this is the perfect time to start this self-meeting rhythm and invest in yourself. How many of you have spent time after dinner, when you are tired, running through a list of 'stuff' in your head which quickly becomes overwhelming, especially when it’s almost the end of the week or a deadline looming? Worse, remembering those things that you committed to do however did not do or you are about to head into a meeting that has snuck up on you and you are now totally unprepared?. Who has not woken in the middle of the night on a Sunday, thinking about the crazy week ahead and how are you going to find the time for everything? Whether you are single, partnered, children or no children, finding time to jam everything in can often feel impossible. Even if you are one of those super organised people who manages everything seamlessly without raising a bead of sweat (I would like to know who these people are!) time allocated each week, just for yourself, is just as important. In such a busy world it is easy to find time has passed and all of those areas of focus and self development you had planned have been put on the back burner because you are too busy. You must stop putting yourself and your goals last - trust me you don't get this time back. This was me early in my career - running as fast as I could and working ridiculous hours, just to keep up and get things done. Never stepping back and thinking about whether what I was doing was heading me in the right direction or was I working in the most productive way. I was just too busy with a list of tasks that I was churning through to think about any of that. Have this “weekly meeting with self” to reflect on the prior week, how you progressed / delivered on your goals and what you have in the week ahead. Your short term goals of course will be all about a bigger plan. Longer term aspirations and goals are best broken down into steps or shorter term targets, otherwise may end up just as hopes and dreams. There is nothing better than achieving something you have set out to do and feeling like you are getting closer and closer to that big thing. This meeting will help you continuously reset, keep you on path and help you take back control - you will find that you actually start looking forward to this time each week. So step away now and place that weekly reoccurring meeting with yourself in your diary. Pick a time and day of the week that works for you. We are all different – I am an early morning person so this will always be my reflection time. A Friday morning works well given you are ending your week. Check in, reset and then focus on what is important on the last day of the week - a perfect way to start your weekend! Whatever you do, don't use the time to make a laundry list of things that needs to be done and end up spending your weekend trying to get through it to catch up. Be realistic and prioritise goals/actions without imposing unrealistic targets - you don't need another layer of pressure! Remember to make room for the unexpected - something will always pop out of nowhere - leave space in your weeks and months. If nothing happens how nice - you have some more time available for yourself. One very important thing - your meeting cannot have interruptions or distractions so step away from your desk or wherever you are, go somewhere quiet and ignore emails and calls - It is only one hour a week so make the time count! Try it and let me know how you go . Until next time Lisa