Momentum Monday – In the Buffet Called Business: Are You Filling Up on Pickles and Cheese?

When it comes to buffets, I’m what you would call the Zen-master. We’re talking buffet pants (stylish and yet expandable, but not in the maternity-wear kind of way), the keen ability to find the yummiest goodies in amongst the overwhelming selection and the Yoda-like know-how to pace myself so as not to induce a vomitous state.

The #1 rule in Zen and the Art of Buffets is skip the pickles and cheese!

Think about it. Restaurants put the pickles and cheese right up front knowing that people will load up on them before starting their main courses (the good stuff that costs them way more). Plain old ordinary pickles and cheese does the job of filling you up, making it impossible to eat the Filet Mignon or Crème Brule.

Why the heck are you talking about pickles and cheese and what does this have to do with business and momentum anyway?

It’s simple: pickles and cheese are like all the nasty administrative tasks that we unthinkingly fill up on at the beginning of our day. Checking and sorting email, filing papers, cleaning up desk clutter or whatever other trivial tasks you busy yourself with. Before you know it, the day is over and you feel like you haven’t done anything. You haven’t got to the Filet Mignon of your business because you filled up on pickles and cheese.

Zen and the Art of Managing the Buffet called Business

#1: Put on your Buffet Pants – Give yourself enough time to complete the tasks required by your business (with a little extra stretch room).

#2: Scan the Options – Take a look at all the options, including dessert, and decide what you want and in what order (and if that means eating dessert first, baby – go for it!). Start your day by looking at your calendar and your task list.

#3: Choose Wisely – Just as there’s a limit to how much you can fit in even the best buffet pants, there’s a limit to what you can accomplish in a given week. Following the buffet rules, skip to the good stuff – the Filet Mignon tasks that bring home the bacon!

#4: “Eew…Yuck!” means Leave it – It happens in buffets and in business – something that you thought was going to be extraordinary just plain sucked. Leave it on your plate and move on!

#5: Don’t be Afraid to Jump to Dessert – No need to wait your turn like a nice girl – if it looks yummy, don’t be afraid to jump straight to dessert! In business, that means skipping ahead to the end result.

Want to get more out of your Mondays? Tune in every week for a new Momentum Monday featuring momentum building tips.