A Full Plate

Thanksgiving is coming and many of us are reaching for the elastic waistband pants, in order to partake of all the yummy foods. Or, maybe not. In the last few  years; with a focus on health, many of us have become more targeted with our food. To avoid over eating, we limit what we put on our plates. I find it interesting that we may do this with our food, but not life's "plate." The expression "my plate is too full" is said frequently, and with honor. However, much like the Thanksgiving Day plate, having too much on the metaphoric plate of life, is dangerous and unhealthy. To help people clear their "plate" I like to do the Plate Exercise; an exercise I learned in my previous career.

Grab a pen and a paper plate (in reality you could use a piece of paper, but the plate is a great visual) Start writing everything you need to do daily. I mean EVERYTHING! Don't edit yourself. If you are a business owner, returning e- mails and unlocking the doors in the morning may seem like no brainers; but list them anyway. Next we want to look at this list and identify the top three things on it, in relationship to three key groups

1. What is the most important thing to your customers?

2. What is the most important thing to your boss?

3. What is the most important thing to the share holders?

If you are a business  owner this list may be altered to be customers, employees and co-owners/you. You could also substitute family for share holders. These three things become you main focus. They are the most important things you do everyday. Other things may be on the plate, but these three are of upmost importance. Continue to prioritize the tasks that feed into these areas of focus. Everything else is evaluated for the following:

1. To be delegated

2. To be eliminated.

Let's look at an example. If you are charged with Employee Development, you may have made this tasks one of your top three.(and I am sure your employees are pleased!) Other tasks, such as one-on-one's with employees, continuing employee education,  team building, etc; would stay on your plate and be a priority as they directly feed into Employee Development. What about other important employee functions, such as schedule, processing payroll, or making sure they have office supplies. All important! However, they are not directly related to your key task of Employee Development - so it is time to either delegate or eliminate them. On Thanksgiving, as you sit down to the table think about your priorities and find ways to clear your plate.

I hope you and yours have a blessed Thanksgiving!