Overcome your Independency

So you like to work alone and don't ask other s for help; you feel like the task will be done and done right if you complete it. Guess what you are on the road to becoming a micromanager. I call this an independency. Having an "independency" can cause stress from work overload, misuse of time, cause deadlines to be missed, and result in errors and mistakes. There are times when we are so independent that we leave others out not because we don't trust them, but because we are so used to completing tasks ourselves. Here are a few tips to overcome your independency:

1. Ask for help. This is the number one solution to independency. If you can avoid it, try not to wait until a deadline is approaching and then put pressure on someone else to assist you in completing the task. You may need to break the task into pieces and have several people complete each piece. The key is to ASK!
   
2. Plan Accordingly. Map a strategy for what you need to accomplish. Break the project down in parts and decide how you can complete each part. Set internal deadlines for yourself. Then reward yourself for meeting the deadlines. For example, I need to clean my closet (Spring cleaning long overdue!) this is a 3-part project – the top shelf, hanging clothes, and bottom half of the closet. This way I am pacing myself and getting rewards.
   
3. Manage yourself first then time will manage itself. If you can learn to manage yourself and eliminate stress, then you will be able to control your time and; therefore, appropriate tasks effectively. Here is a tip on how to manage yourself: Schedule time for YOU! There are 24 hours in a day and you are at work 8 – 10 of those hours, there is time to be spent with family and friends, house chores, school work, etc. Manage yourself by scheduling time to yourself – ½ -1 hour and in that time do something for YOU! Read a chapter in a book, write a poem, stare out the window; do something that is comforting. Then you will be revitalized and can refocus and can get more done; hence, time managing itself.
   

Get the independency monkey off your back and ask for help, devise a strategy on how to approach tasks, and stick to it, and learn how to manage yourself. If you can do either of these suggestions, you are on the road to recovery! I am not only the author, but I am also a client!