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+44 (0) 7976 751 095 dan@danbeverly.com http://danbeverly.com
STOP Letting the World
Dictate Your Agenda 27 April 2017
Have you noticed just how frequently, easily and without resistance we can be knocked-off our agenda? When our plans
were so otherwise set! Here are a few distractions to look out for. And a few thoughts to keep you to your agenda.
How easily are you stolen-
away from your agenda?
Perform a spot-check now of the last few days. And notice
how frequently, easily and without resistance we’re
knocked off course. When our agenda for the day looked
so otherwise set!
This post, for example. I hope, when you opened it up, you
were doing so at a time you’d set aside for browsing
personal development posts. A time you’d marked to get
intentional with your development.
Is that what happened? Perhaps not. Probably not.
(If this post was/is a distraction: I apologise! Stop reading!
Stop reading now! … You’re still reading: in which case,
thank you! I really appreciate you spending your precious
time here … Perhaps I just need to get right to it – to make
reading this time well spent!)
Here are a few
distractions to watch for.
 Email and Social Media. ’nuff said.
 Phone. What was it time management gurus
used to say about the phone being there for our
convenience, not the callers?
 Offers. For a limited time only. Must act now.
This is exactly what you need … and so on.
Moments ago, you had a plan. And now, out of
the blue, an offer’s come forward and you’ve
dropped your plan without a moment’s thought.
 Quick Wins. “I’ll just finish this off quickly, first”.
I’m all for a dose of achievement. But not when it
turns into overdone productive procrastination.
Ask yourself: do you want to end the day with a
few quick wins. Or one massive piece of the
puzzle in place, done and dusted?
 (Over-)Education. Education is seductive. We all
love to learn and better ourselves. It feels great.
And it feels like progress. So it’s an easy out,
when we want to stray (legitimately?) from the
task in hand – or when we just don’t want to
know what to do. Watch for over-education.
Focus only on the knowledge gap you need to fill
to satisfy your agenda.

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+44 (0) 7976 751 095 dan@danbeverly.com http://danbeverly.com
 Some Else’s Agenda. Ah, another big one. And
we’re not talking about your boss of your
employing company. That’s a bit different. We’re
talking about every other agenda you come into
contact with, throughout the day. Is your agenda
standing its ground when agendas clash?
You know what an
agenda-focused day is
You know what an agenda-focused day looks/feels/sounds
like. And it’s not: “I did my email”; “I tweeted”; “I snoozed
my way through irrelevant meetings”.
It’s: “I reconnected with my agenda, got crystal-clear on
what the key pieces are – and set about getting them
done.”
You also know what it
takes to get your agenda
delivered. Here are a few
reminders.
 Get crystal-clear. On your actual agenda. And
just as crucially, why it’s good. What it’ll lead to.
 Make the decision. This is what I’m working on.
This is happening now. This will get done.
 Get focused, 1000%. Write a task list – with
ONE item on it.
 Pre-empt obvious distractions. And turn them off.
Set your environment-up right.
 Practise noticing distractions. Get really good at
spotting when you “drift”. And then, (gently)
move yourself back on target.
 Just Start! Get going on it. It’s much easier to
continue finding distractions from something not
yet started, than it is to stop momentum, in train.
At the start of your day/week/month/quarter/year, you
had a plan. Like a postage stamp to its envelope: stick to
it, until you reach your destination.
Dan Beverly is a leadership and performance coach helping high-achieving,
high-performing professional women PIVOT into rapid career advancement.
His mission is to inspire possibility in others: to help us excel in careers without
compromise; and to leave us feeling energised and uplifted by a new future.
Go online to book your Discovery Call with Dan – and start capitalising on
your pivotal career moments today.
http://danbeverly.com/session-zero