Wrap up your week with this 10-minute practice that will have you satisfied and inspired.
Most ambitious goal-oriented senior executives I coach have a regular practice of planning their week. They look back at their week and notice what went wrong and what they still need to do — with a commitment to doing better in the future. They focus on their goals and bridging the gap between where they are and where they still want to be.
How can anything wrong with such a solution-focused goal-oriented approach?
The problem is, too many executives have little sense of satisfaction or achievement when they go home at the end of the week. Their trap is that however much work they do, there is always more for them to do; whatever problems they solve, there are always more for them to solve; and for every stretch target they meet, there is always another bigger stretch target to be exceeded.
In the words of the Rolling Stones, they “can’t get no satisfaction” despite working hard and making progress towards worthwhile goals.
Teresa Amabile says:
Of all the things that can boost inner work life, the most important is making progress in meaningful work.
Making progress on meaningful work is not enough. If you want to boost your inner life at work and experience satisfaction, you must also notice and acknowledge the progress you have made.
Some years ago, when I was running a software start-up work felt like I was in front of a springloaded plate dispenser (you may have seen these in a self-service restaurant or cafeteria). As fast as I could get one to-do plate done, another would appear.
If I worked faster and pulled off more plates per hour, the plate dispenser kept up and gave me more. If I worked smarter by choosing the most important plates and dropping others in the recycle bin, the dispenser still gave me more. At the end of each day and at the end of the week, my to-do plate dispenser was always full, and I was exhausted.
I felt like I had far too much to do and no strategy to get it done.
My experience of work (and life) changed when instead of looking at the full plate dispenser at the end of the day, I looked at my desk and took notice of the pile of completed plates. I acknowledged the achievement if I had progressed just six plates towards my business goals. If I assessed that with a little more focus, I could have achieved seven, then the next day I would try for seven but not for twenty-seven.
My goals for the week became realistic while still challenging, and I started accepting there would always be an infinite stack of work plates I would not get to. There would always be more sales calls I could make, more software improvements I could design, and more learning I could do.
I started to accept that as a human being I was finite and could not do everything.
I adopted the practice of looking at the pile of completed plates on my desk on Friday afternoon and acknowledging what I had achieved. Only then did I reschedule the work I had not done and plan the week to come.
Look back and notice your progress for satisfaction. Look forward to what you say is possible for inspiration. Take action, learn, grow and make your corner of the world a better place.
A powerful and simple practice to help you notice progress and get some satisfaction
Inspired by Kerry Gleason’s acronym “WRAP” in his book “The personal Efficiency Program” and David Alan’s weeky review (“Getting Things Done”), I like to wrap up my week on Friday afternoons with a Weekly Reflection and Action Plan (WRAP). I look back to notice progress and sources of satisfaction; I look forward to notice my goals and capacity for action in the next week.
First, look to the past for progress, satisfaction and a lesson learned.
- What did I do well last week?
- What did I achieve last week?
- What did I progress even if I did not complete it?
- Who was I Being as a leader and manager when I was most effective?
- What did my team do well I could acknowledge them for?
- What is one thing about how I worked and led (or about who I was Being) that I will change next week?
Second, look to the future for possibilities and commitments
- What is my context — why am I doing what I do and what possibilities am I inspired by?
- What is the most important thing I need to get done next week?
- What is still on my calendar or to-do list from last week that I still need to do?
- What have I promised next week, or do I need to do next week to meet a future promise?
- Where am I at with my projects — do I assess I am on track, and if not, what do I need to do?
- What might my customers expect of me next week that they have not made explicit?
- What am I relying on from my suppliers?
- Does anything need to be moved to or from my ‘someday-maybe’ list (Another GTD idea from David Alan)
- Who do I want to Be as a leader next week to better take care of what I care about?
- Do I have the capacity to meet my commitments and if not, with whom do I need to communicate?
Over to you
- What questions will you ask yourself when you wrap up your week, so you get satisfaction from your achievements and inspiration from your possibilities for a better future?
- What would it take to make asking these questions a habitual weekly practice?
- What difference could it make to your life if you did?
PS
Knowing what to do is not always enough. I support executives and entrepreneurs to be more productive and lead their teams or organisations more effectively. I help them master the ‘human factor’ by breaking down leadership and collaboration into learnable and actionable elements. If you want, book a free 30-minute strategy session with me or jump on the waitlist for my next Executive Leadership Program.
