Do you have control of your own time?

by Darryl Stewart, Head of the Herd

Have you ever had the feeling:

That you are doing exactly what you were supposed to be doing right now?
That you are supposed to be doing something else right now?

For the past few years, thankfully, I have been having the first feeling much more than the second.

The reason is simple. I have put in place a simple and effective system for planning my time. Sounds boring right? Surprisingly my life feels much richer now than it ever has. Spontaneous, fun and interesting things still happen. The fact that I am reaching many of my goals just makes those things more enjoyable.

It saddens me to see people around me letting life control them, instead of taking control of life. We all yearn for control of our lives and for the feeling that we are accomplishing something (moving ahead everyday). My life is very far from perfect, but taking command of my time has made it better.

As I travel the country delivering my free workshop on employee engagement, I see true passion for the things I talk about, but often not much action and maybe even worse, lots of guilt about taking little action.

One of the biggest hurdles in the way of action is the fact that many of the people charged with leading in our workplaces are disorganized and over-reactive. Especially younger and emerging leaders. In this state otherwise great people often seem unable to follow through on the changes they themselves would like to see happen. They seem to feel they have no control.

A new passion is building in me. A passion to teach, write about and promote effective personal management in addition to how to be an engaging manager.

Am I on the right track? Do you see the same things? What can we do about it?

IBEX Payroll extends our profound respect and immeasurable gratitude to all the ancestors and keepers of the land on whose traditional territories our work takes place. We acknowledge that we are on Treaty 1 territory, the traditional gathering place of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene people and the traditional homeland of the Métis people. This land is sacred, historical, and significant.

Every time we acknowledge this truth, we have an invitation and an opportunity to reflect on the wrongs of the past, what we do in the present, and what we can do to continually honour the people whose lands and water we benefit from today.

This statement only acts as a first step in honouring the land we reside on and its peoples, and must be paired with education, understanding and informed action.