Joe Burton On Creating Mindful Leaders

‘Multi-tasking feeds stress.’

‘If you regularly drink wine to manage your stress, that’s not mindfulness. Sometimes, that’s called alcoholism.’

‘When the subject comes to the sharing economy, you have to play to win. Bringing teams together regularly can help surface employee concerns in a transparent way.’

‘You can tell a lot about a person by what they reveal in their life stories. Uncover common ground by asking your colleagues interesting questions.’

‘If you’re looking to ‘crush it,’ ‘kill it,’ ‘not freak out,’ and so on, you should feel good in doing what’s right for you.’

‘We’re actually many ways at different points in our day, let alone in our lives. When we’re open to others occurring to us as jerks in one moment but as smart, funny, clever, or charming in other moments, then we actually give those moments a chance to appear. We give ourselves the chance to enjoy the many dozens of ways that others can occur, if we’re open to it.’

‘Doing good is good for you.’

‘Sitting is the new smoking. Rather than destroy your health or turn into a keyboard hunchback, set your smart watch or a timer to get up and move at least once every hour.’

‘Getting stuck in a culture of us versus them is all too easy. Real discourse requires patience, openness, and curiosity. Is your business having an impact on society or simply being impacted.’

‘People don’t leave jobs; they leave managers. When the subject comes to your culture, start with your own wellbeing as a leader and you’ll have a better chance of improving the inner workings and emotional culture of your team and organization.’

‘Talk yourself up. A ‘growth mindset’ relies on self-talk that is positive and encouraging. Practice becoming aware of the messages you give yourself when you are feeling stuck or challenged.’

‘Leaders spend countless hours putting complex measurement and data feedback loops in place. How much time do you spend creating data checkpoints for yourself? What’s your personal optimization plan?’

‘Giving your brain time to recover and repair is necessary for your mental and emotional wellbeing, performance, relationships, and sleep. Being a leader has to start with self-care.’

‘Mindfulness … isn’t about 5 to 10 minutes of meditation practice each day. It’s about a way of life. It’s about changing the negative and unhealthy routines that create the disease states and career states that erode your happiness and performance that can take years off your life. It’s about changing the conversation with your inner critics-that pushy board of directors in your mind.’

‘Learning to catch yourself when you’re distracted and coming back to a point of focus may be the single most important life skill for modern living.’

‘Life can be hard. Don’t take it all too seriously or too personally. The truth is, you’re perfect the way you are. And you could be a little better.’

Source

Joe Burton (2018). Creating Mindful Leaders: How to Power Down, Power Up, and Power Forward

How To Work More Efficiently

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Productivity is not about doing more of what you do not want. Productivity is not about activities. Productivity is about values. It is about focusing on what is really important you.

No matter how busy you are, if what you are doing is not what you are supposed to be doing, it is like doing nothing. You are busy, but you are not adding value to your life. You are busy doing things, but you are not living.

When it comes to work, progress keeps you going. It keeps you alive.

Being busy is the opposite of what you want. Being busy is not being productive. Being busy keeps you stuck. It takes away your freedom. Because you are always doing, but not getting better. You are always doing, but not growing. You are always doing , but you are where you are.

If you want to really make progress, if you want to be productive, according to John Caunt, ‘Identifying the reasons why you are currently not as organized as you might wish.’ Growth comes from doing the things that you are supposed to be doing. If something is not adding value to your life, you have got to stop it.

‘Don’t allow postponed tasks to build up a head of stream to the point where they become even more difficult to tackle.’ How do you do that? Start by doing what is important to you. Do what is important to your organization. If it is not, then forget about it.

‘Be aware of the way your time is currently spent.’ How you use your time matters. If something is not going to help you get what you want, don’t worry about it. Instead, focus on what is important to you, not what is against you.

‘Work to reduce procrastination.’ Procrastination is a cancer. It is a dream killer. It keeps you stuck. Procrastination is not the problem. The problem is fear. We procrastinate because we don’t want to do the work. That is not good. Because if you don’t do the work, you won’t be able to get anything done.

‘Don’t waste your time trying to gear up for a long-slot task when you only have a short-slot available.’ You can fix this. Don’t take on more than you can do. Before you take on anything, check yourself. Ask yourself, ‘Do I have time for this?’ If you don’t, don’t do it.

‘Change the environment in which those habits you wish to change currently flourish.’ Change is tough. If where you are right now is not supporting your dreams, change it.

‘Recognize those tasks which place the greatest demands on you and schedule them when you are at your most energetic.’ If you a morning person, get to work. If you a night person, then do your work in the night. The point is: Do what works for you.

‘Don’t overcommit yourself.’ Overcommitment can lead to confusion. If something is not worth your energy, stay away from it. Don’t do anything to impress people. Do things because they speak to your values. If you do things to impress people, you are going to be exhausted. If that is what you want, that is okay. If you can handle it, that is also okay. But if that is not what you want, you have got to stay grounded in your values.

‘Free yourself from the belief that you have to be constantly connected if you want to work efficiently.’ If you want to stay in the game, you need to rest yourself. You are a human being, not a robot. If you are tired, rest.

‘Be clear about what you are trying to achieve in your day.’ Plan your day. Work your day. Focus on difference makers, not on time wasters. If you want to get results, start in the morning.

Source

John Caunt (2022). How to Organize Yourself: Simple Ways to Take Control, Save Time and Work More Efficiently