“It only works if you do.” Sound familiar? It’s a phrase we often hear in dieting, exercise, and any kind of life-changing, routine-modifying, habit-breaking system.
The implication is that the system is there to support you – it has all the tools you need to be successful – but that it is ultimately up to you to implement the tools, to work within the system, in order to see the desired results. The same can be said for MyObjectives, our engagement- and productivity-boosting program. With the first game period of the year at an end, and your organization now staring down the barrel of the second quarter, how will you make it work (cue Tim Gunn’s voice ringing in our ears)? How will you fully utilize the system to see the results you and your organization are capable of?
Before we get there though, let’s switch gears back to dieting and exercise. Oh, you thought that was just a cheeky anecdotal reference? Think again. There’s a connection, and we’re getting there, we promise. Remember the end of the final game period last year? Right around that time when you were making your New Year’s resolutions? How are those going so far? Well if you’re like any person in the rest of the world, “improving your diet” and “making exercise a priority” were two likely resolutions at the top of your list. However, if you are further like any person in the rest of the world, you’re making a living by working, and that often translates to confinement to a desk, or some other kale and Pilates antagonizing environment.
So, what do you do? Make it work. You have to do the work to see the results. Which means getting creative about how you can find time to take care of yourself. Here are a few workplace diet and exercise tips from our “experts.” Okay fine, it’s from Bob in Accounting and Cynthia in Project Management, but hey … they know what’s up.
Diet in the workplace:
- Eat breakfast at home
- Stagger your lunch – half lunch around 11:30 am, another half lunch at 2:00 pm
- Keep healthy snacks in your drawer, or in the fridge
- Prep your meals for the week ahead and then bring a container-full for lunch
- Drink water. Lots of water. And then drink more water
- Stay away from sugary snacks and drinks in the vending machines
Exercise in the workplace:
- Take the stairs. Always. In the morning, when you leave, and in-between
- Make it a habit to get up from your desk and walk around. Once an hour should do it
- Have a gym on site? Use it! You don’t have to go crazy. 20 minutes on the elliptical at lunch can make a world of difference
- Do some desk-ilates. Stretch your neck, arms, wrists, shoulders, back, and legs (from your chair)
- Break up the work day with mini-circuits. Calf raises, squats, lunges, and jogging in place can all be done from your cubicle
- Replace your chair with an exercise ball. Sitting on a ball for extended periods of time improves core-engagement, posture and balance
Seems manageable, right? We think so. And it’s quite simple too! All it takes is knowing “what to do,” and then committing to actually doing it. It only works if you do. So do the work. Results will follow.
Making MyObjectives work for you:
The same is true for MyObjectives. You simply need to know “what to do,” and then commit to actually doing it. If you do the work, results will follow. So what work is there to be done exactly? Well, at this time of the year, you are transitioning from the end of one game period to the beginning of the next (if you are on the quarterly cadence, as most of our customers are). That means there are a few things you need to do to set yourself up for success in the coming game. Close out the last game, set up the new game, and go! Here are a few tips to help you do the work:
- Close out your last game. Make sure that all actual scores and forecast scores match, any final details are added to the notes sections, and any unfinished objectives are rolled forward to the next game period
- Draft your individual objectives
- Meet as a team to discuss individual objectives. Add, subtract, and consolidate until you arrive at a number that works for your team (30 is a solid number to aim for)
- Enter your objectives in the scorecard. Certify that they are S.M.A.R.T., link them to organizational goals, and assign roles to all contributing parties
- Get started!
- Login regularly (at least once a week), to update your progress on your objectives. Flag areas of risk, adjust actual and forecast scores, and keep your focus on the highest-priority work
- In the last two weeks of the quarter, identify the remaining areas where progress can be made, do the work, and if you’ve done the work and hit the success zone, check in with another team to see how you can help bring them across the finish line as well
- Wash, rinse, repeat
As you can see, whether it’s diet, exercise, or MyObjectives, the truth is simple: it only works if you do.
Now, before you say it, we’ll say it first: simple and easy aren’t the same thing. True. Many seemingly simple tasks in life turn out to be not-so-easy after all. But we’ve found, and we hope you have too, that with consistent, mindful, goal-oriented action, simple concepts become easy with time. Before you know it, you aren’t having to “make it work,” you’re just enjoying the process of letting it work for you.
So cheers to you! To your success with diet, exercise, and MyObjectives.