Sharing an exercise we do with our staff that has been very beneficial over the years. Before I tell you what it is I want to tell you why. One of the biggest problems we have is telling people what without helping them possess a deep appreciation for why. If people have an appreciation for why then they will have a much greater interest in what.
Our 2017 focus at Destiny is “Love Is Our Source”. Basically we want love to define who we are not circumstances we face or attitudes of others. If anybody or anything can steal your joy then you’ve given it or them too much power. Let love be your source.
In this leadership session I speak of how the lack of organization in our lives leaves us stressed out. Love is patient and love is kind. Stress is neither! We must take an overall look at our lives and how our time is spent from time-to-time to evaluate if we are living according to what we believe are our priorities.
Today I asked everybody to describe their RPM gauge and actually had them text their response to an online poll I opened. This showed that most of our people have a good range of how stressed they are feeling. There were some RPM gauges that were too high and I was able to explain that we wanted to make sure we aren’t burning anybody out so we are going to help you make adjustments.
This is WHY we implement an exercise for everybody on our staff to track their schedules over a two week period of time. The first week is broken down into 15 minute increments. They simply write into the blocks on a spreadsheet that has Sunday – Saturday in seven categories across the top of the spreadsheet. Down the left side of the spreadsheet is a listing of times 12:00, 12:15, 12:30, 12:45, 1:00, etc
Nothing needs to be written in while sleeping but every other block needs to include devotion time, family time, work time, time with friends, relax time, getting ready, driving to and from work and other places, etc. At the end of these two weeks we take all of this information and color coordinate it to get a clear picture of how people are doing.
I’m convinced that in one instance years ago when we first started this exercise I was able to rescue a staff member’s marriage. I was able to see and explain to this person the minimal time they were engaged in their home with their family. Seeing the truth helps us make the change to address the issues that exist.
Hope you’ll invest 30 minutes listening to the session entitled “Love Is Our Source: First Things First“. I think you’ll find it very helpful!