Buffering…

When you get busy does your mind feel like the “spinning wheel of doom” – the icon that accompanies a frozen screen?

All that tweaking, overthinking, and compulsive quadruple-checking is costing you time, productivity, and, potentially, your sanity. 

Here are some tips to help you take action and get out of your own way:

• Build templates for recurring tasks and projects. With an outline in place, there will be less room for error, and you’ll spend less time working from scratch.

• Work in a new space. Right now, that might be easier said than done. But clearing the clutter, rearranging your #wfh office, or opening a window to let in the natural light can act as a mental refresh.

• Take a break. A quick ‘headspace’ or ‘calm’ breathing exercise can help clear your cache.

How do you stop your mind from buffering?

The Uncertainty Continues

The only thing we’re certain of right now, is that we’re uncertain.

To help your team through change;

• Talk about how people feel. Change stirs up lots of emotions (fear, frustration, and anxiety, to name a few). Hold regular meetings for people to express what they’re worried about, and encourage them to be honest.

• Tell stories. Stories can be powerful examples of how people overcame challenges. Think about the challenges your employees are facing, and share stories that relate to them.

• Ask “What if?” questions. “What if we built our workflows from scratch — what would they look like?” “What if we were all freelancers — how would we solve problems differently?” Use change as a catalyst to rethink the ways things are done.

• Treat mistakes as learning opportunities. Everyone messes up, so encourage people to talk about how their mistakes have helped them grow. Build a culture that rewards employees for taking smart risks.

How have you embraced change within your team? Let us know at ann@wardcertified.com.

Power 10

Remember before? Yes, before, when we worked in the office? We would run- or dial- into our next meeting immediately after we finished up the last one. 

Are you still doing that? Meanwhile, now there are people, pets, and chores knocking on your door, looking for attention. This combination of meetings and personal needs have us stretching like a rubber band: We need to take the tension off once in a while or else we'll snap.

We're in a new world. We're flexing, pivoting, and creating new habits. Let's change this back-to-back meeting habit.   

Schedule 50-minute meetings vs. an hour. 

What could do you with 10 minutes between meetings?

• Check-in with the kids

• Make healthy snack vs grab out of the pantry-snack 

• Pop a squat

• Look out the window 

Take back your power 10 and let me what you do with your extra time. 

Pivot

Pivot, pause, rewind, refresh, or double down… It’s what businesses are doing right now.

What are we doing?  Well, Ward Certified has gone completely virtual.

Some might call this a giant pivot. We call it an epic throwback!

What major changes are you making?

Share your Schedule

Back in the day, offices had a board like this in the reception area. Switchboard operators (and everyone else) in the organization knew who was in and who was out of the office. 

That’s not going to work now. With no such thing as “out of the office”, it's more important than ever to keep everyone in the loop about who's working from home and who is done for the day.

Have you tried using Slack, Google Hangouts, Whatsapp, or a simple group text to keep the team in the loop?

Use this as an excuse to have some fun. At Ward Certified we use emojis to indicate who’s doing what:

How do you stay calm, cool, and connected?

Our coaching calls continue Today. Stop by!

10 am CT - Team Members click here

11:30 am CT - Managers  click here

Play

Yay right, play…

Doesn’t seem like that’s what should be happening right now. Or is it? We’ve been hearing that you fall into one of two categories: You’ve either overworked and extremely busy, or you are bored and have finished Netflix. Both are frustrating, and both suggest the need to play.

Last week on our coaching call we talked about how to play at work. It’s a great motivator!

The inspiration came from an HBR article with a dog in the post (So of course, we read it!)

Play allows us to keep our spirits up when times are down. Play means fun, yes, but also collaboration and community.  

Here are some ideas we shared:

1. Phone a work friend and leave them on the speaker while you work.

2. Add a scavenger hunt to the database clean up. 

3. Post a mood chart in the office space or in a Slack channel. Have team members choose the emotion they identify with as they start their day and again later in the afternoon.

4. If you're taking turns in the office, build a puzzle together, separately.

How are you collaborating and connecting virtually with your team one day at a time?

Our coaching calls continue on Wednesday, April 29th. Stop by!

10 am CT - Team Members click here

11:30 am CT - Managers  click here

When you book a time, make sure to click the Add to Calendar link in your email confirmation.

Motivate Me

If you’re like me you’re riding the waves of motivation.  Sometimes you’re surfing high, feeling great and smiling, the next you’re down and about to hit the wall.

Q: How are you supposed to manage the team?  If you’re not motivated, how can you motivate your team? 

A: Take care of yourself first.

Try one or more of these:

• Breathe, deep belly breathing.  Breathe out longer than your breathe in.  Check out Calm or Headspace for some help.

• Do something nice for someone else.  Take some food to the foodbank, buy giftcards for a small business in your area, or support your local zoo.

• Exercise, eat something healthy, and get some sleep. 

• Think of 3 things you are grateful for, write it down, or tell someone.

 You might be saying, “Ann, these sound hokey.”  I’d like to remind you that we’ve been focusing on metrics and logic, and that’s not working. So give these a try- it’s time to do the hokey pokey and turn your mindset all around!

Feel free to join us again for a free coaching call or pass this along to someone else you think might be interested. Remember:

· Log-in, turn on your camera (we need to see faces, beards, backgrounds and bad hair days)

· Type your challenge or concern into Chat

· NEW! Our meetings will require a password, which will be listed in the invite.

I’ll give you insights and practices to take back and use right away.

Wednesday, April 15th

10 am CT - Team Members click here

12 pm CT - Managers  click here