The Leadership Programme.

If you want to be a better leader you’re in the right place, welcome!

Delivered every Friday and is a minestrone soup of tips, techniques, learnings and thoughts, & the odd disaster, based on my 25+ years of managing teams.

Read time: 1.00007948 minutes

I provide bespoke 1:1 leadership coaching to prevent stress, overwhelm & burnout. When you control your job, you can live your life. Want to find out more? Links and resources below.

1. 1:1 coaching to boost your career: remove limiting beliefs that are holding you back; develop your leadership skills; prevent stress in your role; control your job, so it doesn’t control you. Let’s have a chat, link here.

2. Confidence ever need a boost? My Confidence Build mini masterclass may be exactly what you need. Simple, actionable techniques that have an instant impact. Get more details here.

   Back to normal programming ….

Imagine this.

You're out with a friend for a meal, chit chattering, you’re telling her about your latest escapade.

Suddenly she picks her phone up and starts scrolling.
What do you do?
How do you feel?

This constant need to look at the phone could be a symptom of 'modern stress, called ‘popcorn brain’

It refers to our need to constantly be connected.

For example constantly on social apps, constantly checking your emails, constantly scrolling through your feed.

And what it does is it destroys your attention span.
It makes it difficult for you to concentrate; you jump from one thing to another.

And it sabotages relationships…😶

I mentioned it in a post recently and got lots of messages in return.
People giving their experiences of friends or Significant Other, who have done similar.
> Frantic if they can’t access their phone.

> Hysterical if they lose it.

What is tragic, is that it stops you from being present and fully involved in what you should be engaging in, like:

We’ve all seen it.

I also see that those who do this, don’t realise they’re doing it.
Checking their phone is such an automatic response it doesn’t register.

Let me quickly ask.
Do you know how long you spend on your phone? (Go and look now, does it surprise you ?)

It’s been estimated the average person checks their phone over 2600 times a day.
Yep…
Staggering.

Popcorn brain isn't good, this is how we can start to get over it.

1. Monitor the amount of time you’re on your phone,
if you don’t already.

Aim to bring it down on a daily basis.

Even 5% is a great start.

2. Replace scrolling with another activity.

Note when you are most likely to scroll: what triggers it, eg feeling board, or a specific time of day.

Replace the trigger with another activity. That could be reading for 15 minutes, or doing something active.

3. Turn your notifications off.

I know it's hard, but you don't need to hear that constant pinging. So notifications off. Time block how long you're on your phone for, set the timer for 10 or 15 minutes, then put your phone down.

4. Put your phone where you can't see it.

It could be out of view, in a draw, in your bag>
You're much less likely to be distracted.

5. Don't put your phone near your bed.

You don’t need to pick it up the nanosecond you wake up.

Or last thing at night.

6. Anchor specific times without your phone.

eg

Dinner table - no phone.

Lunch time - no phone

So try those 6 things as a start, and see how you get on.

Need help? Reply to the email and let’s get you sorted.

Let me know how you get on you.

Please don’t hesitate to forward this, to help others learn.

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Action for the week!

Want to have a practice?

If you don’t already, have a look at your phone usage. Smart phones tell you how long you look at each app.

Track your phone usage week on week.

Aim to bring it down.

Holding a meeting? Don’t let others distract you, or be distracted, by having phone notifications on.

The meeting is a ‘no-phone zone!’

Music to get you ready for the weekend!

A mega playlist of supersonic tracks, to get you in the mood for the weekend,

This reminds me of summer. And De La Soul were the first hip hop group I got into, so it’s a nostalgia fest for me too. Enjoy.

When you’re ready, there’s other ways I can help:

1. 1:1 coaching to boost your career: remove limiting beliefs that are holding you back; develop your leadership skills; prevent stress in your role; control your job, so it doesn’t control you. Let’s have a chat, link here.

2. Confidence ever need a boost? My Confidence Build mini masterclass may be exactly what you need. Simple, actionable techniques that have an instant impact. Get more details here.