Many people have asked me how I get so much done in a short time. Well, my secret can be condensed in two simple words:
Self awareness
Does it look spiritual? May be & May be not. For me, it is about knowing my strengths and weaknesses in and out. It helps me focus my energy at the right place at the right time.
I put my skills in 3 categories:
Natural: What comes naturally to me. Inbuilt talent Eg: Planning.
Potential: I have potential but I need training. There is some in-built talent but need to build up on it. Eg: Archery
Time wasting: I have absolutely no interest or talent in doing that task. eg: Cooking
If I am a natural in something, I invest 20% effort and achieve 80% result. If I have potential, normally it is about 100% effort for 90% result. If I take anything more than 100% and achieve less than 90% result, I am surely a time waster. I spend twice the time as my hubby to cook the same dish and in addition make a mess in the kitchen!
Knowing this helps me in investing my time and energy efficiently. If I invest the 1 hour I battle in the kitchen in planning a software release, I would perhaps make thousands of dollars which can be used to hire a chef to cook for me for 1 month 🙂
Besides, when I am aware of my weaknesses, I am able to accept them, find humour in them and cope with them better.
Another benefit is that you don’t develop low self esteem issues, when you know yourself really well. An Indian woman is “expected” to be good at house hold work which I am totally not. Whenever I am compared with other women on this, I used to wittingly ask, “yeah, how many books have they written?” or “How many people are they managing?” Even when people focus on your weakness you naturally move into your strengths and find humour in potentially caustic comments, when you stand in your awareness.
I use this strategy in hiring and building my team as well. Coach them to find their strength and play by it. At the same time ask them to be aware of their weaknesses and build coping mechanisms around it.
If you don’t know where you are, how can you go where you want to go? This is my simple logic 🙂
How much do you know about you?
Would you like some techniques to develop self awareness? I’ll write an article, if there is enough interest!
