It’s the time when many of us are wrapping up for the Thanksgiving holiday—and some of you may already be on vacation. It’s cold enough here in DC that I’ve got my cranberry sauce chilling on the deck. Wednesday will be a half-day for me, and I’ll be making these with the 5 year old. But, but, but, while I will try to be wrapped up by tomorrow at noon, there are still some things I’d like to accomplish over the break. Just a few things both personally and professionally. . . Enter the Post-it note.
My feelings on Post-it Notes are fairly well-documented around here. Whether we’re talking about analog Post-its or digital stickies, they are not portable, easily lost, and generally known to lead to feeling frayed or scattered.
BUT… I think Ron Gubitz, a principal in New Orleans, also known as the Inbox Pause guy, may have convinced me of at least one way to harness the Power of a Post-It—especially as the way to keep a limited vacation or weekend list.
Ron has an outstanding Meeting with Myself process. He calls his meeting “Ron vs. Ron” because while the habit “takes discipline, I find that if current Ron can wrestle with himself and do it, future Ron gets the hook-up.” Amen, Ron. Or Rons.
Ron described the powerful impact of his Ron vs. Ron meeting: “This last weekend, I finished my meeting with myself on Friday, and took home a Post-it Note with the four things I needed to get done written on it. I then scheduled that time with my wife. It was the best weekend I’ve had in a while because I wasn’t anxious or thinking I had all this work to do. I knew exactly what I needed to do and when it would be done!”
I shared Ron’s insights with a current coaching client, who applied the idea to her nightly second shift. Here is her Post-It for the evening:
As for the impact? “I completed the tasks – and I alleviated a lot of stress by knowing exactly what I had to do that night after I logged back online.”
OK, fine, I’ll break the Post-it rule for this! I’m making my Thanksgiving Post-It right now! Have a great one, and this is a wonderful read about gratitude.
PS – Tips for accomplishing your weekend to-do list
