Maximising effectiveness at work and presence at home

You want to be highly effective at work and present at home.

So you overwork at work to make sure you do a really good job but then struggle to be present at home.

You love your family and home and want to be there fully - for them, enjoying them, making sure everything runs smoothly.

You love your work (except for the often soul-crushing pressure) and want to do a really good job.

Do you want too much? Is this constant push-pull between being highly effective at work and present at home resolvable?

After 6 years gently rebelling against the nonsense that success requires the sacrifice of one for the other, plus coaching others through variations on this theme, I've come to the conclusion that they require the same solution. 

The skill of being able to control your attention.

Being highly effective at work does not require finishing your Impossible To Do List. Nor does it require sacrificing your own health and sanity for others health and sanity. It requires the clarity and focus to get the right things done at the right time. It requires being in a state that allows you to manage the complex demands of working with others.

Being present at home requires the skill of letting go of the working day, of being intentional with your attention so you can focus on what your family are saying and doing. It requires the clarity to know what needs doing so things run as smoothly as possible. It requires being in a state to manage the complex demands of living with others.

This state requires the ability to prioritise whatever maintains your own strength  - health and sanity above all else. Which also requires clarity over what supports you and what drains you and the ability to focus on these things.

Clarity and international focus are vital if you want to reduce the exhausting and tedious push-pull between home and work (and self). Being able to let go of overwhelm and busyness and pressure and be completely in the present moment is a skill worth learning.

It's why people get up at 5 am to sit cross legged on a cushion for an hour and practice noticing when their attention has been hijacked and bring it back to their breath - over and over again.

But Heidi, I don't have the time or energy to get up at 5 am and sit on a cushion for an hour!

I know. I hear you. I forced myself to do it when I was piling on the Self Care Shoulds on my way to burnout. Not fun. Not helpful.

If only there was a way to practise controlling your attention that was quick and felt good…

There is. It’s a one-minute audio that does this and so much more. 

So, I invite you to embed The One Minute Marke into your day.  Save it on your phone homepage and use it to take a mini break between meetings, start your day with it, listen to it on the train..whatever works for you. It's only a minute so you can definitely do it. It's only a minute but repeated over time it works in many magical ways. You can download it here.

I’d love to know how you get on. Just email me at [email protected] or send me a message on LinkedIn or Instagram.

P.S. I was recently invited by Kathryn Crosby, Specialist Legal and Compliance Recruiter, to record a seminar on this theme for legal professionals. If you’re interested, you can watch it here.

Maximising Effectiveness at Work and Presence at Home