Juggling Elephants Blog

While rushing through the airport last week, a wheel on my roller board suitcase broke. I immediately looked like someone dragging a bag of rocks. I finally resorted to picking up the bag, which was not a pleasant experience either. In the midst of my frustration I heard a voice (inside my head) saying, "Weren't you thinking the other day about the need to do some maintenance on your suitcase-lube the wheels, repair some zippers, etc.?" But so many more important things to do-or so I thought. Now the repair and frustration costs me much more than doing some "preventative maintenance."

As you reflect on your planning for the next few days, what are some areas where you need to perform some preventative maintenance. Is there a relationship you need to nurture, some small task that you need to do at work before it mushrooms into a bigger task? What about that checkup you have been meaning to get to? Remember-if you are proactive you get to choose when it goes into your lineup. If you let it go-you are at the mercy of when the act is ready to scream (literally) into your lineup-possibly wrecking your day, week or even longer length of time.

Labels: interruptions, scheduling, stress

The Training Magazine 33rd Annual Training 2010 Conference and Expo will be held this year in San Diego, CA on February 1-3, 2010. We (Juggling Elephants, LLC) will have a booth at the expo. As a result, we can offer to our clients, customers and friends a FREE entrance to the Expo Hall on February 1-2, 2010. You simply need to register online at www.TrainingConference.com or on site with the VIP Code: EXPE2. Remember though, this is free entrance to the expo hall and not the conference.

If you are planning to attend, please come by and say hello. We would love to see you in person.

How rare are goal setters? There are estimates as low as only 5% of the population have written goals. That sounds low. Organizations probably do better since there are team, department and organizational goals. Earl Nightingale stated a survey (back in 1956) that 19 out of 20 workers had no idea why they worked or even why they got up in the morning.

Mr. Nightingale had some wonderful thoughts. He said, "The moment you decide on a goal to work toward, you're immediately a successful person. You are then in that rare and successful category of people who know where they're going. Out of every hundred people, you belong in the top five. Don't concern yourself too much with how you are going to achieve your goal-leave that to a power greater than yourself. All you have to do is know where you're going. The answers will come to you of their own accord, and at the right time."

Be a goal setter. Be a goal striver. Be a goal achiever. Write them down. Don't be afraid to dream. "All you have to do is know where you’re going."

Labels: goals, self-improvement

One time management challenge is the search for a "big block of time" where we can focus on a large or complex task. For instance, I have a lot of trees in my yard and so I look for a big block of time in the Spring and/or Fall to prune all of our trees. The reality is that finding a big block of time is hard to do. As a result, the trees get taller and the pruning goes undone.

The same can be true for work projects. We want a big block of time to focus on and complete the XYZ project. Unfortunately, our day is full of tasks and other events and so finding a big block of time is difficult. And so, we put the project off thinking that maybe we will have time at the end of the week. As a result, the project goes undone until it is an emergency and we have to neglect a days worth of activities or work a marathon day-late into the evening.

Isn’t it easier to break up a task and/or project into smaller chunks over a period of time? Prune a tree a day. Work on a project for 30 minutes a day (schedule it on your calendar – "Work on XYZ Project, 3:30-4:00"). In most cases, finding a big block of time to get something done is hard to do. Try dividing it into parts and spreading it over a week, 2 weeks, a month, a year, etc.

Labels: goal setting, juggling elephants, time management

I talked with a business associate last week who was so excited about Juggling Elephants. It was ironic because when he first received a copy of the book he was lukewarm to the strategies after reading it. So I asked him, "Why are you connecting so much more with the message now than when you first read the book?" His response was, "When I first read Juggling Elephants I was in a comfortable job and my wife did not work outside the home. My life was running smoothly. Now I am in a new job requiring a steep learning curve, my wife is working part-time and all of our children are in school. I am definitely juggling elephants in more than one area of my life."

His comments reflect similar experiences for me. There have been times I read a book, listened to a speaker or got a piece of advice that just didn't seem to fit the "season" of my work or life. Later, I found that information/advice to be of tremendous value when my circumstances had changed in some way.

What book might be of value for you to read again to gain new insights for your work or life?

Labels: book review, juggling elephants

We had an interesting conference call last week with a chief medical officer of a health care system. While discussing the "elephants" they were juggling, he mentioned compassion fatigue. While the term has been around since the 1950's, it was new to our vocabulary. The CMO described it as a condition that occurs in certain health care workers. It's different from burnout because people enjoy what they do and find meaning in it-they are just so drained from the compassion required in these unique positions.

Wikipedia gives this description of the symptoms:

Labels: burnout, productivity, stress

With an already busy schedule, it is often difficult to include the New Year's Resolutions that we want to add to our lineups. Adding just one more thing to an already busy schedule can add stress and frustration. So, as you consider what you want to add to next year's performance you should also consider what you want to remove.

Think about this quote by Jack Welch: If someone tells me, 'I'm working ninety hours a week,' I say, 'You're doing something terribly wrong. I go skiing on the weekend. I go out on Friday. Make a list of twenty things that make you work ninety hours, and ten of them have to be nonsense.'

Try Jack Welch's recommendation. Make a list of twenty things that make you work long hours. What ten things can you move out of your lineup? How about in your personal life? What activities need to be removed? It's like getting new clothes for Christmas when you already have a crowded closet. It is time to throw the stuff out that you don’t wear or that is out of style to make room for the new clothes.

Now is a good time to make room for your New Year’s Resolutions.

Labels: personal growth, resolutions

Thomas Huxley said many years ago, Do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not. Good quote to start the new year.


Write this quote on a piece of paper or a 3 x 5 card and hang it on your bathroom mirror. This is a great reminder to stay focused on your goals and purpose. It is so easy to live a busy life without focusing on those things that matter most to you - whether you feel like it or not.


Remember there is a difference between being busy and being productive. Mary O'Connor said, It's not so much how busy you are, but why are you busy? The bee is praised. The mosquito is swatted.

Labels: focus