Tempo. Balance. Focus.

I live in Nashville, TN, and most mornings I am up to walk the dog and work out by 5:30 am CT. My daughter attends University of Southern CA which is on PT, 2 hours earlier than CT. Thus, you can imagine my surprise when one morning in October, I got a text “u up?” from my daughter about half-way through my work-out. I thought to myself… it’s 4:00 am in Los Angeles… oh boy, she’s stressed out. I text back “yes, do you want to talk?” and the phone rang immediately. 

My daughter was half-way through fall semester of her sophomore year. In a matter of a few months, she’d started a new job, pledged a sorority, and added challenging, higher-level courses to her newly decided applied mathematics major. When she called, she had stayed up all night to finish a problem set, study for a midterm, and complete other coursework due that day. She had received a couple not-so-great marks, felt completely disorganized, wasn’t taking great care of herself and could not easily see her way out. I listened for a while and then asked her some questions: How are you managing your time? Do you use a planner? Are you blocking your time? What about the tempo of things? I told her that it seemed like she was frenetic in terms of her tempo, but lacking in balance overall.   In the back of my mind, I was thinking about a tool I had just learned in my GiANT Worldwide training that week: the tempo balance focus tool.

I walked her through the ideas of tempo, balance and focus… success, peace and pace that you can manage does not happen without planning.

People who finish the game or race well don’t just show up, push hard and haphazardly navigate challenges. They are keeping the ball in play, day in and day out…week by week, year by year. They stick to the training plan and don’t jump ahead, trusting the process and the plan. Their moves are rhythmic and repeatable, and their relationships are in balance.  

I advised her to start looking at her life week to week: block out times to workout, to eat decent meals, work hours, sorority meetings, along with looking ahead to block time to do assignments. She agreed to buy a planner the next day and sent me a photo of the first week. We both agreed that for her, focusing on the “week to week” was key for now. 

You don’t have to be a busy college student with open ended days and long-term assignments looming to lose focus of these important element. Just one of them being out of whack can cause chaos, anxiety, angst, or panic. All the successful folks I know plan ahead: they block time, set goals, and master the combination of tempo, balance, and focus. 

As we start the new year, and everyone is making goals and resolutions, I challenge you to reflect on these elements at play in your life.  What daily, weekly and monthly patterns do you have that are helpful and repeatable?

So how is your tempo? Are you sprinting at high speed when you have many more miles to go? How is your balance: Who and what are your priorities and are you spending time on those things? How’s your focus: Is your eye on the ball?

Answer these questions honestly and see where you need to adjust. If you are overwhelmed with where to start, buy a planner or print out pages from your electronic calendar. Add everything that is important to you and make sure to include those things that are already rhythmic and repeatable. Give yourself the ability to see the overall picture by having things directly in front of you. Find peace and a pace you can manage through planning.

For more information about resetting your tempo, balance and focus, contact me at christy@leadershipsanity.com.