The Extra Mile, Giving it ALL you Got!

There are plenty of other terms we could use like, pulling out all the stops, knuckling down, going to great lengths, putting your best foot forward, leaving no stone unturned or one I had never heard of, “not resting on one’s oars”. You see where I’m going here...it’s giving everything you do 100%. Tonight, giving us a new term and a new perspective will be a very special guest, educator & author, Teri Campbell. She is going to be joining us in the second half of the show and telling us how this idea has impacted her life and why it’s important to never give up.

Now, I’m sure it’s been a long day, you are frazzled from work, the kids, the house, the pressures of life and to even consider you are giving anything less than 100% seems preposterous. But let’s take this hour and get honest. No one is watching you listening to me so you can shake your head and even stomp your feet but whatever you do - you deserve some honesty. Working yourself into a lather isn’t necessarily going the extra mile -I guess it could be giving it all you got, for now.

Somehow we got this in our head that we have to keep every plate spinning to say we’ve successfully managed our day. There are a lot of plates out there….work, school, kids, marriage, church, volunteerism, family, friends, social media,......geez saying Happy Birthday on facebook has become another plate! You feel like, “well dropped that one I didn’t post a Happy Birthday message and out of the 800+ friends she has, she will surely realize I didn’t say Happy Birthday….that’s definitely coming back to haunt me now!”

Wow, the pressure we put on ourselves to manage it all and manage it well. Busy does not necessarily = productive. In sales, I’ve heard “Busy-ness doesn’t always = business”   Why is that….you are doing a lot of stuff, getting a lot of stuff done…..or so it seems. I found a top 5 list from Upasana Bhattacharjee who also wrote an article titled: 10 reasons rubbing a Tiger’s belly will change the way you think about life. So, I thought...she must have all the answers or at least some interesting ones:

 

1. No Clear Goals: Let’s be honest, it’s like waiting for the bread to rise while the oven is powered off. If we don’t know what we are doing or our intention behind it then we really don’t have anything to measure our progress. With goals, there is a clear picture of what you’ve accomplished and what needs to be done. There’s no point being busy doing things that don’t help us achieve anything. So next time you feel like you’ve been busy all week but nothing’s really been done ask yourself if those things were goals set by you in the first place or not.

 

2. Not prioritizing: This is a no-brainer and obviously follows goal setting. As it is, we are bombarded with tons of stuff coming our way from every nook and corner that it gets overwhelming at some point. With goal setting comes the challenge of prioritizing what needs to be finished. Remember, you can’t do everything all at once but one thing at a time. It took me some time to realize this but believe me it’s made my life simpler now. Everywhere you look, everyone is in a hurry. Why shouldn’t we? We’ve got things to do. Tons of things to do! But unless we prioritize, we’ll just always be busy.

 

3. No routine: It has nothing to do with being a late sleeper. If you’re a night owl and feel you get things done more efficiently when your children are in bed then go ahead by all means. And no, it’s not that only early risers get things done well. If you like welcoming the sun and then getting things completed, good for you! It all depends on the person’s preference and biological clock. What is preventing you from not using the time properly is no routine at all. What matters is that you stick to your routine and maintain it for a period of time so it becomes your habit. We all have 24 hours in a day and no one gets an hour extra. Not even a single soul! It’s for us to devote certain extra hours either at night or morning to get things done on our priority list and make space in our schedule.

 

4. Doing a lot: To better explain this let me tell you about a waiter we had at dinner one night. The moment we finished anything, this particular waiter would come and ask us if he could clear the table. Just so you know, the table was plenty big for all the extra plates and glasses. This was a restaurant that opened recently and not many people were around and this waiter kept going and clearing away dishes and glasses from every table whenever he could while the other waiters went only at the end of the meal. Now I know that’s good hospitality but doing it, again and again, was more like an interruption. We just wanted a quiet meal and a conversation and he could have cleared once we were fully finished! This waiter was clearly doing a lot and thus it became a bit disturbing. Does this sound familiar? We find ourselves doing more, thinking the more we do (rather than sitting idle) is the way to be. Doing a hundred things that keeps you busy but not productive is a waste of time. I’d prefer doing five things that mean business compared to twenty different things that don’t.

 

5. Using It As An Excuse: But I really do have genuine things to take care of! It’s just that I am always busy and I get no time. Is this just a case of time management? It’s a sad thing but true that a lot of people have actually gotten into the habit of using being busy as an excuse. Up for a theatre show this weekend? Can’t do, I’m busy. Tried calling you. Oh sorry, been busy sorry I missed your calls! In truth, many are just plain lazy to actually come up with a better excuse. It’s disappointing because it devalues the efforts of people who are actually working hard and are truly busy.

Listen to the podcast to hear Teri talk about the writing of her book and how she leaves a legacy by always giving it all she's got! 

 

Challenge: Before you take on the next project and add another spinning plate, evaluate what you have and how productive and fulfilled you are. What you put forth will come back to you so don’t short change yourself with giving anything but 100%. You deserve it so demand it by giving it first.

 

I know YOU can do it!