Virtually every magazine to which we subscribe sets aside some portion of their December issue to address goal setting. Let’s face it, in December it’s easy to talk about our hopes and dreams for the New Year. It’s only when mid-to-late January rolls around that we confront the awful truth that some of our goals are simply darn hard to reach.

If you drafted your goals at the very end of December, perhaps in the fog of an extra glass of champagne, you may want to reevaluate one or two of them now. To ensure you’ve followed a tested goal setting process, visit the Read Mary section of our web site, www.marycrane.com. Throughout the month of January, our blog discussed a goal setting process that we know works. 

Finding More Time

If one of the goals you set for 2006 includes improved management of your time, run to your local bookstore and grab Cool Time by Steve Prentice (2005). Let me forewarn you, there is nothing new in the world of time management that will help you find an extra hour in each work day. Trust me, I’ve searched long and hard for that secret. The basic principles of managing time remain fairly consistent. They include starting each day reviewing the tasks you must confront. Tackle the hardest tasks first. And, at the end each day, undertake a quick evaluation of what you’ve accomplished and what remains to be done.

I did find Prentice’s discussion of conditioned reflexes, a reactionary central nervous system response to a stimulus, absolutely fascinating. Prentice writes that the ring of a telephone and the little beep for incoming e-mail on a computer, are among the stimuli that often evoke a conditioned reflex. In too many cases, he explains, we hear the stimulus and we respond, even though an immediate response is frequently not necessary.  This automatic reflexive response interrupts our focus and concentration.

The solution? Prentice recommends that at the beginning of each day we create an automatic voice-mail and e-mail response message that includes the following information:

1.Today’s date
2.An invitation for the caller/sender to leave a detailed message
3.A promise that you will reply by a certain time today
4.An assurance that at that time you will give them your undivided attention
5.A closing remark that you are happy to hear from them 
 

Then, Prentice recommends, we only respond to voice-mails and e-mails at designated times, thereby allowing us to maintain focus on priority projects.

By the way, in my interactions with new associates and other new employees, they frequently express the concern that in today’s wired world more senior members expect juniors to always be available and responsive. You may wish to consider asking supervisors to discuss with juniors their reasonable response expectations in today’s workplace.   

Building a Network   

If one of the goals you set includes building upon your network (social or professional), you may wish to grab last month’s issue of the Harvard Business Review and read “How to Build Your Network,” (December 2005), by Brian Uzzi and Shannon Dunlap. The authors provide a method you can use to diagnose the quality of your network. According to their data, your network is not broad enough if it is comprised primarily of people who resemble you, or if it is comprised primarily of people with whom you already spend a great deal of time (for example, people within your department or practice area).

To build better connections, Uzzi and Dunlap suggest we seek out “shared activities” that bring together a cross-section of disparate individuals around some common point of interest. Such activities create the opportunity for us to observe unscripted behaviors and natural responses to unexpected events. We are more likely to observe the true character of a person at one of these events than we are in at a typical business lunch or meeting, where behaviors are proscribed. Additionally, these events allow participants to step outside of their normal business roles and develop new patterns for interacting.

The authors conclude, “Creativity and insight are certainly important, but without an effective network, you may never spark your imagination, reinvent yourself, or declare your sensational news to the world.” 

Managing Workplace Stress 
We’ve all been there. Great piles of work crowd your desk, the phone rings non-stop, your assistant pops into your office and says, “I know you said that one project is really important, but I’ve got to leave the office this minute.” Then you open an e-mail from a partner that tersely reads, “Where’s the Crane memo?” Your hair is on fire, and in fact, you feel you might explode.

What’s the best response? Well, it’s probably best not to scream at your assistant while shooting off an equally terse e-mail to the partner. However, this doesn’t mean you should swallow your irritation. In “Control Your Anger,” Scientific American Mind (December 2005), Iris Mauss, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Denver, writes that research shows “suppressors,” those who typically swallow their irritation, fear or sorrow, are more pessimistic, prone to depression and less self-confident.  

Rather than suppress, Mauss recommends that we learn how to regulate our emotions in healthy ways. For some, this may include meditation. (I found the research regarding Tibetan monks and their ability to control their mental states to be especially impressive.)  Other alternatives may include using imagery to visualize a relaxing experience; relying on logic; or, resorting to humor. And finally, there’s the ever-helpful martini.

Best wishes to you in 2006!