All in Achieving Goals

Are you, or someone you know, working towards a career move?

Are you, or someone you know, working towards a career move?

Dawn Fiske
Achieving Goals, Available Help, Become a Go Getter, Career Coaching

Working with a career coach will give you the edge over the competition and put you ahead. Career coaching helps you decide, find, and win your next job, quickly and without stress.

Career coaching is for all ages, from school leavers, university graduates, or those looking to climb their career ladders. Learn how to conduct a job search efficiently, write an eye-catching and productive CV, and receive tailored coaching to improve your interview techniques and help you to communicate with real confidence.

Is When As Important As How? Some Time Management Tips To Improve Your Results

Is When As Important As How? Some Time Management Tips To Improve Your Results

Dawn Fiske
Achieving Goals, Personal Improvement, Time Management Advice, Time Management Tips, Time Management, Timing, Worries

Researchers have known for some time that 80% of us commonly experience a peak in our concentration and focus in the morning, a trough soon after lunch, and a recovery period sometime before the close of business - or put another way; an up-down-back up.

It might not be too surprising to learn that certain types of tasks are better suited to one phase than the others and if we are aware of this, then we could use it to our advantage. Analytical work has been found to be much better suited to the ‘peak’ phase, or the first part of our working day. Brainstorming and creative tasks are often better performed in the ‘recovery’ part of the day, whereas mundane and un-demanding tasks, such as admin, are much better suited to the post-lunch dip phase of the day.

A shocking finding came when Danish researchers looked at two million standardised test scores in Denmark. They found that students who took the test in the morning scored significantly better than students who took the test in the afternoon. In fact, they found that taking the test in the afternoon is equivalent to missing two weeks of school.

Research reveals that time of day explains around 20% of the variance in how people perform on cognitive tasks, highlighting the importance of not just writing a plan or to-do list for our day, but crucially to also consider when we carry out those tasks. If we are able to consciously block out time in our calendar for certain tasks in order to fully maximise our peak concentration and focus phase, and again to ensure we get as much out of the ‘recovery’ phase as we can, we will find that our overall effectiveness and productivity will enormously benefit.

But what if we have no control over the timing? What if we have an important interview, an aptitude test, driving test, exam, or meeting that has been scheduled for us and we cannot alter the timing? Thankfully, there are things we can do.

People given a 20 to 30-minute break during which they ran or walked around outside, were found to not only improve their performance scores, but they were even higher than tasks carried out in the ‘trough’ phase without the opportunity to first have an active, outdoors, short break.

Furthermore, a 1 or 2-minute break was found to be better than none.

Moving was found to be better than stationary.

Outside was found to be better than inside.

What I take from this is that my daily to-do lists of high priority tasks are still very important, but if I go a step further and plan when I am going to carry out the highest priority and/or highly cognitive or creative tasks, I will surely maximise the amount of time I have, improve my productivity and get better overall results. Not only that, but if I build in a walk around the garden with the dogs immediately after my lunch, I will counteract the ‘trough’ or post-lunch dip, and will use all of my time in a much more efficient way - it is all about task and self-management.

I’ve always said that ‘time management’ is a myth, because we can’t actually manage time at all - it is a fixed commodity and we all have the same amount available to us in any one day. But what we can manage is ourselves and what we do in the time available to us and by making small changes, we really can make very large improvements.

8 Easy Steps To Improve Your Willpower

8 Easy Steps To Improve Your Willpower

Dawn Fiske
Achieving Goals, willpower, Self Discipline

This is the time of year when many of us are working to improve parts of our life, lose weight, quit smoking, get fit, build good habits or change/stop bad habits. But it is not always easy, and whilst some may be struggling a little, others may well have given up already and reverted back to their old, familiar habits and behaviours.

It is our willpower that makes all the difference to our success - the inner strength that enables us to persevere with whatever we are working towards achieving or attempting to resist. Plentiful stores of willpower are essential for making any change, enabling us to reject immediate satisfaction, pleasure or comfort, in order to gain something better, even if it requires effort and time to gain.

WHY STUDENTS SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED TO 'FAIL'

WHY STUDENTS SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED TO 'FAIL'

Dawn Fiske
Achieving Goals, Achievements, Coaching For Young People

Failing Is A Good Thing - Here’s Why

I have had the pleasure of working with many teenagers over the last few weeks. Most of them are 16 years old and are working with me as they approach their GCSE Mock Exams. Many of them are struggling with low confidence and self-belief, some are also trying to improve their focus, motivation, and organisational & time management skills. All of them fear failure!

Recently, during a session with one teenager, we focused on her reluctance to put her hand up in class and just have a ‘stab at the question’. Her Mum had already told me that the school had regularly flagged this up as an area of concern, and development.

I asked my young client what was stopping her from just having a go, and she shared that she was petrified of getting the answer wrong……… because it would make her a failure.

We talked at length about how she felt towards her classmates when they answered a question incorrectly, and she realised she had no strong feelings, either way and didn’t pass judgment on them.

We spent a long time looking into her feelings about her own ‘failings’ - something she wanted to avoid at all costs, whether it was failing an exam, or simply failing to answer a classroom question correctly.

I set about re-framing her views on what ‘failing’ meant in her mind. I asked her to recall a time when she had recently answered a question correctly and, other than feeling relieved at knowing the answer, what did she actually learn about the subject by answering the question correctly?” She took some time to think it through and then admitted, “Nothing really, I already knew the subject.”

What then had she learned when she had not known the answer to a question and answered incorrectly or “failed”? There was a hint of a smile when the penny dropped and she had to admit that in fact, she had learned far more by getting it wrong. She had ‘filled a gap in her knowledge,” rather than just confirming what she already knew.

She could clearly now see that by changing how she viewed “failing” she could learn so much more, and that, in turn, would ironically help her to succeed! ‘Failing’ was in fact a good thing. ‘Failing’ increased her chances of ultimately succeeding and rather than see it as the enemy, she can now see it as her friend and ally in learning.

She understands that we have to embrace ‘not knowing’. We have to reframe instances where we ‘don’t know the answer’ as an opportunity to gain new information, and a chance to broaden our knowledge.

I shared with her the words of my teacher from many years ago:

“It is not a bad thing to fail. Instead, see a FAIL as the FIRST ATTEMPT IN LEARNING.”

You Can Throw In The Towel, Or You Can Use It To Wipe Off Your Sweat!

You Can Throw In The Towel, Or You Can Use It To Wipe Off Your Sweat!

Dawn Fiske
Achieving Goals, Achievements

Winners Never Quit, Quitters Cannot Win.

In everything we do, we always have a choice. When the going gets tough do we push on through, remain focused and determined, remember our why, and ultimately succeed with our original goal?

Or, do we look at the first obstacle that comes our way, tell ourselves disempowering thoughts, let self-doubt and ‘problems’ drag us down, and quickly give up?

Ultimately, it is down to what we say in our heads. If we run helpful, encouraging, empowering thoughts, in an open growth mindset we are much more likely push through and accomplish exactly what we set out to achieve.

Or, we allow the negative, disempowering thoughts to win and we throw in the towel. It is our choice both in terms of what we say to ourselves, but also whether we pay attention to it or instead, we ignore/override it, stick with our why, and succeed.

We choose…..!

Don't Fall At The First Fence

Don't Fall At The First Fence

Dawn Fiske
Achieving Goals, Goal setting, Planning success, Writing Goals, Sticking to your goals, Action Planning

At the time of writing, we are just six days into 2020 and I wonder how you are doing with your new year resolutions so far? This year I have committed to both dry January AND Veganuary and was hugely surprised when my husband said (unprompted) that he too would try Veganuary and keep me company. What have you committed to this year? Any new habits, goals, or plans? Or are you trying to stop old habits? How is it going so far?

Sadly, though the stats don't tell a good story. Did you know that 92% of new year resolutions fail within the first two weeks! Why do so many of us fall at the first fence? Where are our resolve, commitment, and determination? Which group would you like to fall into - the successful 8%, or the 92% who give up?

My husband has already joined the 92% - having met with friends in a pub yesterday to share Sunday lunch and opting for the whitebait to start, followed by fishcakes for his main!!

I love testing and challenging myself to find out what I can and can’t achieve and I believe that small, realistic and manageable goals are one of the best ways of doing it. Whether it is just 31 days of sobriety, a couple of months to train for a Half Marathon or a month of totally different food options, we can find out what our strengths and weaknesses are, and I find that empowering, energising, fun, and interesting. I hate just plodding through life and little challenges like these make us feel alive, give us something to focus on, help us learn things about the subject matter (and ourselves), help us feel great whilst doing it (especially when we succeed) and remind us that we are alive. We can also bank our successes (however large or small), in our 'confidence bank' and draw on them in those wobbly moments of self-doubt.

So I say no more sleepwalking through life - add in some new things, challenge yourself, find out what you are made of, your strengths and weakness, and commit to flying over that first fence when it presents.

Good luck!