Think you simply have no time for personal development?

One of the biggest roadblocks I’ve seen over my 20 years of executive coaching is the idea that personal development is another job on top of your current job. It’s the idea of “I must do this on top of that” versus “I can work on my personal development during the course of my normal workload.”

Switching your mindset to the latter can allow you work on your personal development without throwing your current schedule into disarray (because, face it, none of us have any spare time, right?). However, it’s not enough to just switch your mindset. You have to use ‘deliberate practice’.

 

Pick a very small, very deliberate and specific, measurable goal for your day.

For example, go into your day with the goal of building rapport with your colleagues, or asking open questions whenever possible or being assertive in the workplace. Whatever the exact goal is doesn’t matter so much that it is deliberate, specific and purposeful.

Then, you tuck it away in the back of your mind to practice throughout your day, over the course of interactions you would be having anyway. Make it a part of what you’re already doing, rather than another task on your to-do list.

 

On learning anything, there are zones you must be familiar with, read here. And learning soft skills naturally takes time, we expounded on this with a Vlog, watch here.

For more tips, visit the Engaging Executive Vlog.