a rosie outlook

Life Strategising

This week my department at work was audited.  This involved someone from our central department coming and assessing how effective my business unit is.  In the meeting to illustrate the audit findings the auditor told me (and my boss, and my boss’s boss) that one of his findings, or concerns, was that we didn’t have a strategy.  He said that we needed a strategy to keep focussed, to make sure our work aligns with the ‘vision’, to help prioritise and to ensure people know where we’re going, and what they can do to help.

To take a step backwards, this week has been quite a stressful week for me (not because of the audit).  I’ve had a very large bill I cannot afford to pay, a struggle with a friend as to the amount of time I spend with them, homework for a course I’m attending tomorrow that I’ve been procrastinating over, a shopping list, an empty bank account and the frustration of wanting a particular electronics product but not knowing enough about it to make an informed decision as to whether to buy it.

As I stood aimlessly in my bathroom yesterday, frowning at the stress induced red blotches that always make an appearance on my neck in times of anxiety I began to wonder if, maybe, what I needed was, a strategy.

I mused on this for some time before I decided to dig deeper into my brainwave.  I googled it.  Sure enough, there are 146,000,000 pages extolling the virtues of life strategy.  As if I wasn’t already convinced, the fourth page down cemented it for me by providing me with what could only be any arguments most worthy supporter – Dr. Phil is talking about it! A lady called Barbara even offers coaching on it (and if you were dubious of her credentials – be cynical no more- her e-mail is born2coachu@aol.com).

So now I know that all this time, my lack of direction, my feelings of unfulfillment and poor time management are all because… I do not have a strategy.  So I set about writing one.

Bob Lewis (GuruNet) says that a strategy needs to outline two things; the objectives of the strategy, and the goals which are necessary to achieve these objectives.  He says I need to explain: what I want, why it is important, what will happen when I get there, how I will judge the quality, how I will achieve it, and what needs to happen.

The problem is, I don’t have just one goal, or one objective.  Looking at it loosely, here are my objectives:

1. Spend more time alone to relax, take stock, reflect and be creative.
2. Keep on top of general chores – washing, washing up, tidying, vacuuming, cleaning etc.
3. Save money for trips to Paris and Florida, as well as saving in the future for more trips abroad and weekend activities.
4. Pay back parents money borrowed to buy flat.
5. Spend more time with best friend/boyfriend.  
6. Feel less stressed and more like I am able to cope with problems.
7. Continue to dedicate a lot of energy to doing well at work, being a good manager and an enthusiastic, positive, engaged employee.
8. Read more.
9. Take more photographs.
10. Write more.

So I suppose all of my goals fit into one of two, or one of three categories.  Quite obviously I need to improve on time management and financial management.  The last four also involve me being more creative.

So maybe my overarching goal is:

Reduce stress by improving my own time management and financial planning, as well as dedicating more time to relaxing and being creative.

With that in mind, let’s go back to Bob’s six criteria.   I think I’ve covered the what’s and why’s, so I’ll move onto ‘How will I achieve this?’  I think I’ll go back to my original numbered list and take them one at a time.

1. Spend more time alone to relax, keep on top of chores and spend more time with best friend and boyfriend.

In order to organise my time better I need to look at how I currently spend my time.  I see my closest friend one or two nights a week, boyfriend the same, and often other friends the rest.  I rarely spend time in on my own.
In order to do this I will need to set specific days as days I will stay in, rather than telling people I am available all week.  I need to dedicate this time specifically to relaxing – reading, watching a film or writing – and not getting distracted by the internet, or cleaning and tidying.

My approach to keeping on top of chores will largely be similar to the above – not filling up my week and finding I have no time to keep the flat clean and tidy, but instead dedicating specific times to do so.

In order to spend more time with best friend and boyfriend I need to manage the expectations of friends who I see much less often.

3 and 4. Saving more money

Although I always pay my bills on time and am organised with ensuring I have the money to do so, I have a total lack of organisation towards what is left when this is done.  Some months I splurge on clothes, most months on food and eating out, and almost every month on one choice item – last month a phone, the one before a sewing machine, before that furniture – you get the idea.  I have no spend limit per week or per month, and although I tend to save a small amount this will always be for a specific purchase, and not with the intention of paying off my credit card, parents or for keeping money back for an emergency.  

Therefore from now on I will:

• Place a larger amount in my savings every month – as much as I can afford.
• Cut down completely on clothes shopping and eating out.
• Use my impenetrable money box for ad hoc saving.
• Pay more off my credit card and back to my parents  and
• Set a weekly spending limit of £60.

6. Feel less stressed
This should be a bi-product of the rest!

7, 8, 9, 10 – Continued to be passionate and motivated at work, and be more creative – writing, reading and taking more photographs.

I am not too worried that there is a risk of me becoming disengaged and demotivated at work.  In fact, I feel that I will be able to better deal with stress and be more energised and positive as a result of the new strategy.

I need to set more time aside for writing, reading and taking photographs.

Some objectives:

• Read more before bed – good books, not trashy magazines.
• Set aside time at least twice a week to write a blog or a piece of prose.
• Run a film through my fisheye/super sampler at least once a month.  Upload pictures to Facebook/Tumblr/Flickr

Phew! That was long.
So now I have a strategy, as well as goals and objectives.
We’ll see how I get on!