Decision Making – Page 4 – mardihumphreys.com

Assess Your Success

This is the final installment in the series, Stop and Think. For the last three weeks we’ve talked about reflecting on how you spent your time, energy, and attention on your work for the first half of 2024. This week, let’s stop and think about the money you make.

Your Decision

Society uses money to gauge success. But that does not mean you have to. If you make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, but have no time or energy to spend them the way you want, is that really success? Success is not actually about the money. It’s how you feel about the money. If making a lot of money is important to you, ask yourself why. What does the money you want buy you?

Our culture trains us to believe the more money you have the more options you have. While that can be true, it is also true that with more money comes more expectations. You have to figure out the balance between how much money is enough to reach your goals and what you’re willing to do to get it.

Think about that in relation to reflecting on your goals half way through 2024. Has your definition of success changed since January? Maybe at the start of the year you were focused on financial gains, but now a flexible schedule is more important to you. Update your definition of success and adjust both your goals and systems accordingly. Here are some questions to help you rethink your definition of success.

Is management happy with your job performance?
Is your family happy with your work-life integration?
If you have given your best effort for the last six months, what are three things you are most happy about accomplishing?
Are your original goals still relevant? For example: Did you discover a new skill in the last sixth months and you want to get certified in it? If so, then it’s time to rethink your original goals.

Your Climb

Success is more like climbing a tree than like climbing a ladder. You may need to move laterally, switching branches, before you can climb higher. For example, you may have to change jobs or acquire new capabilities. Moving in reverse or taking a different branch of the tree can often lead to your desired destination more effectively than sticking to your original goal. It may also reveal a new destination you were not aware of that you want more. For example: Is your definition of success more money or is it more control of your lifestyle? Do you have rare and in-demand skills that would allow you to work the hours that you dictate? Time is more valuable than money. You can always make more money. You cannot make more time.

You do not have to wait six months to reflect on your progress, alignment, systems, or success. If you normalize rethinking when new information warrants it and embrace the change then your self-awareness will grow. Periodic realignment keeps you motivated and helps you pursue what type of success truly matters to you.

How do you define success? Please share in the comments.

Assess Your Systems

This is part three of four in the series, Stop and Think. In part one, we talked about reflecting on how you spent your time during the first two quarters of this year. Last week we put some energy into applying the insights you gained to update your goals for the rest of 2024. This week, let’s take your newly iterated SMART goals and turn our attention to your systems for reaching them.

What is the Difference?

SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals help you break down big ambitions into manageable tasks and set a timeline for reaching them. Goals are the results you want to attain. Developing systems focuses on your process to achieve those results. Now that you have updated your goals for 2024, you also need to update your systems. I’m thinking here of a quote from Atomic Habits:

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
James Clear

Reflecting on the last six months, do you see where your current routine led you to where you are now? How far off target are you? Gradual improvement is key to reaching your SMART goals. The purpose of your habits should be to help you keep making incremental progress. Flexibility and adaptability ensure that your incremental progress is in the right direction. Adjust your habits so they give you both the consistency and direction you need. For example, let’s say you got reassigned to a new department in May and are getting acquainted with four new team mates. Having a system to build relationships with them so that you can get to know, like, and trust each other will not only enable your team to complete work assignments faster, but also increase the quality of your projects’ results. Your system for getting to know your four coworkers is asking them how their weekends went during your project status meetings, so progress is slow. To get to know them more efficiently, calendar a 30-minute coffee meeting at the beginning of the workday every Tuesday for a month with a different team member. If during one of these coffee talks you discover it’s going to take more than 30 minutes to get acquainted with a certain team member, then schedule another coffee for next month. Experiment with your systems and adjust them to serve your goals. This helps you remain agile and open to change. Adaptability is crucial to your success at work. It is essential for navigating the challenges of your current responsibilities. It is also a highly sought after power skill.

What’s Next?

Let your manager know you have updated your goals and systems in your next one-to-one meeting. Give them a brief summary of your reflection including what you noticed was not working well, your updated goal, and your new plan to reach the goal. Tell them you intend to implement this process through the end of Q3, then report the results back to them at the beginning of October. This not only helps you be accountable, it also lets your manager see you are self-motivated, take initiative, and are a leader.

What modifications can you make to your routine to improve the systems that support your goals? Please share in the comments.

Assess Your Alignment

This is part two of four in the series, Stop and Think. Last week we began our discussions on reflection. We talked about how you spent your time at work since January and how you can use that information to decide how to spend the rest of your year. Given that insight, let’s spend some energy thinking about why you should adjust your current work goals for the rest of 2024.

Everything Changes

Last week you saw how far you’ve come and how much farther you want to go. This reevaluation is crucial. Do not feel bad for rethinking your goals. They should not be static. They should progress as you do. If your reflection revealed that some of the goals you set in January for 2024 no longer align with your values or circumstances, then adjust them. Here are some things to think about.

Have your circumstances changed? For example, Did you get reassigned to a different department? If so, then it will take some time to acclimate to your new tasks and team.
Has what you accomplished in the last six months influenced what you want to do next? For example, did exceeding your key performance indicators every month for the last six months prompt your manager to give you a high visibility project? To do well on the new project you may have to push pause on other goals.
Have your priorities shifted? For example, have you taken on a caregiver role at home? This may require you to negotiate for a hybrid or remote work situation and flexible hours.

You Have Options

The answers to these questions do not mean you have to abandon your ambitions. They ensure your goals serve you instead of you serving your goals. For example, let’s say one of your goals in January was to complete a degree or certification by December. Here you are in June and your progress is slower than you expected. Are you going to rush through the material and accept barely-passing marks so you can graduate by your original deadline? Or are you going to extend your graduation timeline into 2025 so you can better learn and retain the material, pass the exams with flying colors, and make your completion both more meaningful and more useful?

You Are SMART

You can apply the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) goal framework to help you decide. Building on the above example, let’s say completing a certification was a goal in January then you got reassigned to a new department in April. You can ask yourself if completing the certification by December is a SMART goal. A SMART goal verifies why the goal you want to achieve is relevant, but it does not tell you how you are going to achieve that goal. For that you need a system of processes that support your SMART goals and help you address obstacles. Next week in part three of our series, we will talk about how to use your reflections to create a strategic plan for reaching your updated SMART goals.

How does defining why you need to adjust your goals help you achieve them? Please share in the comments.

Assess Your Progress

As we quickly approach the end of the first half of 2024, it’s a good time to pause and reflect on how far you’ve come since January. This is part one of four in the series, Stop and Think. For the next four weeks, we will discuss taking a moment to assess your progress and set yourself up for a successful second half of the year in terms of the time, energy, attention, and money you spend on your work. First up, let’s look at how you spent your time.

What Did You Do?

If you are surprised 2024 is almost half over, then you are probably caught up in getting your daily life done. It’s time to stop and celebrate the milestones you reached so far. But reflecting on progress isn’t just about recognition. It’s also about understanding how you got it and using that insight to fuel future endeavors. Reflection should consist of both past and future. From where you are turn around and look behind you. What did you accomplish? Here are some prompts to help you think.

Did you reach a significant milestone? For example: Did you get a promotion? Win an industry award? Secure a significant client?
What was your biggest accomplishment? For example: Did you complete a degree or certification? Did a customer contact your manager and sing your praises? Did you fix an outdated process that saved the organization lots of money?
What lessons have you learned from setbacks? For example: How did your coworkers react when they were frustrated? What affirmations did you tell yourself to make the setback a push forward? What process did you use to analyze your result and pinpoint where the setback began?

What Will You Do?

Now turn back around and look ahead at the rest of the year and consider what more you want to achieve. Look at your answers to the prompts in the last section. How will you build on those insights? Let’s take milestones for example. If your most significant milestone was a promotion, what can you do in the next six months to make management feel really smart for giving it to you? If you won an industry award, how can you use that platform to bring awareness to the great things your organization does for the community? If you secured a significant client, how can you leverage that relationship to include mentoring a junior member of your team?

How Do You Do?

Daily reflections may seem excessive, but jotting down thoughts and feelings can provide immediate insights and allow for quick adjustments. For example: What one thing stressed you out the most at work today?

Weekly reflections help you notice patterns and trends both in your performance and your well-being. For example: What changes would improve your worklife integration next week?

Monthly reflections are good for in-depth analysis and strategic planning. For example: Over the last four weeks, what part of your job did you enjoy most? What were you good at, but did not particularly enjoy? What did you dread doing? How can you do more of the first two and less of the third?

Regardless of the frequency, the key is consistency. What frequency of reflection feels sustainable as well as beneficial for you? Please share what works for you in the comments.

Money Wise

Your plan for keeping your children busy all summer is now in effect. Camps, your library’s summer reading program, maybe a summer job, will keep them occupied and gathering new input they can use during the next school year. Have you factored teaching them how to manage money into your summer plans?

The Sooner The Better

You may feeI they are too young to learn about budgeting, but spending and saving money is not really about money. It’s about how you feel about money. Even if your children’s school gave them an age-appropriate course on money management this year, don’t rely on it to teach them financial literacy. You want to be your children’s guide to managing both their emotions and expectations. By age three, most children recognize money. Between ages five and seven they understand the concept of working to get it, so start teaching money management skills from an early age and prepare to make money an ongoing conversation.

Practice, Practice, Practice

As your children mature, their critical thinking around money should too. For example, give your kindergartner a specific chore (e.g., putting their toys away) and a weekly allowance for it. Help your second-grader create a simple budget by labeling three envelopes: Spend, Save, Taxes. If they receive $10 every two weeks, then $8 goes to Spend, $1 goes to Save, and $1 goes to Taxes. You will have plenty of conversations about those envelopes over the course of the summer. You can introduce concepts like opportunity cost and delayed gratification. You can talk about the importance of thoughtful planning, disciplined spending habits and why you pay taxes. Let your middle-schooler eavesdrop on family finance discussions like, will the household budget allow you to go out to eat tonight? Buy a new car next month? Pay for extracurricular school activities next year? By the time you have a high-school freshman, it’s time to make borrowing money part of the conversation.

Give Them Some Credit

While it can be a powerful tool for achieving financial goals, borrowing requires being a bit of a futurist. You have to teach your teen to weigh the benefits of debt against its risks while simultaneously helping them avoid potential pitfalls. You can do this by teaching them how to manage credit cards. Your bank/credit union/financial institution can add a card for them to your account. You can set a credit limit, monitor their spending, and set their payment schedule. Now you have four years to help them practice determining how much debt is realistically sustainable given their income, expenses, and long-term goals. You expose them to concepts like interest rates and how much it really costs them when they don’t pay off their balance every month. The closer they get to graduating, the more concepts you can introduce. For example, what a FICO score is and how to keep an eye on it. If college is a goal, managing credit card debt gives your children practice for managing student loans. This is also a good time for your family to periodically evaluate your financial strategies, analyze current priorities, and question assumptions. For example, is going to college your child’s goal? What are the alternatives? Gap year? Internship? Trade apprenticeship? Full-time employment? In light of your financial situation, what makes the most sense? This type of discussion is a good example of when managing money is really about managing emotions and expectations rather than finances.

How do you teach your children to manage money? Please share in the comments.

Emotional Granularity

You’ve probably heard the advice that when you feel nervous, like before a presentation, you should tell yourself that you are not nervous, you are excited. By doing this, you turn the negative emotion into a positive one.

You’ve probably sat behind your computer trying to solve a difficult problem and suddenly your body feels like it ran a marathon. You think, “What is wrong with me? All I’ve done for the last hour is sit here and I’m exhausted.” When you feel frustrated, it’s not always because something is wrong, it may be because something is emotionally hard.

There is neuroscience behind these mindsets. For the health of your brain, as well as the rest of your body, take your process for dealing with your fight, flight, or freeze response a step further and recategorize stressful emotions.

What Is Emotional Granularity?

The next level of emotional intelligence is emotional granularity. It is the ability to precisely label your emotions at the time you are having them. This is a coping mechanism that helps you be more spontaneously resilient during a stressful situation. When you can recognize an emotion and label it, you can regulate it. You gain more control over the outcome of the situation you’re in at the time you are in it. While you can’t stop feeling emotions, you can decide how to act on them to create the results that most benefit you.

How Can You Use It?

You probably mentally place the label “negative” on the emotions you perceive as unpleasant. But emotions are neither positive nor negative. Emotions are electrical impulses in your brain signaling that what you’re experiencing is something you care about. For example, let’s say you are gearing up for your annual job performance review and you are dreading it. What would happen if you told yourself you feel determination instead of dread? You would be able to change your reality. You would prepare differently. If you dread, then maybe you avoid preparing for the review until the last minute because you don’t like the way it makes you feel. If you recategorize dread as determination, then as soon as your review date is scheduled, you pull out your Atta Baby file and revisit all the goals you met during the last year as well as the praise you received for your job performance. Now you have the documentation to remind the organization of your value. Now you have the confidence to prove your worth. Now that emotion is a force driving you to a more positive outcome.

Why Should You?

When you are in a situation that makes you feel anxious, your body is trying to tell you something. Instead of making a snap decision, stop and ask yourself why you feel the way you do. Paying attention to those feelings and getting curious about what is causing them gives you options for how to deal with them. The discomfort is rolling around in your brain anyway. You may as well catch the emotion, unravel it, and make it work for you.

How do you reframe your unpleasant emotions? Please share in the comments.

Underwhelmed

I was introduced to the concept of boreout in Adam Grant’s book, Hidden Potential, and it’s fascinated me ever since. You’ve heard of, and probably experienced, burnout caused by your job. It’s when you are exhausted by too much emotional, physical, and mental fatigue for too long. Boreout is the same exhaustion, but the cause is different. Instead of being overwhelmed by the stimulation of your job, you are underwhelmed by it.

What It Looks Like

You arrive at work each morning facing the same tasks you mastered ages ago. You complete a monotonous routine that offers no room for growth or innovation while constantly checking the clock and counting down the minutes until you can leave. There’s no challenge and no sense of accomplishment. You go through the motions while your skills stagnate, your creativity dwindles, and your enthusiasm decreases with each passing day. You feel apathetic and frustrated. These emotions can spill over into other areas of your life, affecting your relationships and overall well-being. Here are some questions to ask yourself if you suspect you’re suffering from boreout.

Is your comfort zone too comfortable?
Are you running on empty energy-wise?
Do you procrastinate more often?
Are you disengaged with your work and coworkers?
Is your productivity slipping?
Do simple tasks feel burdensome?
Do you feel indifferent to meeting deadlines or achieving goals?
Are you questioning the purpose of your role within the organization?
Do you feel like a cog in a machine rather than a valued contributor?
Has your job performance suffered?
Are you progressing on your career path?
Are you increasingly irritable?
Do you feel detached from friends and family?

How to Combat It at Work

Seek Challenges: Talk to your manager about taking on stretch assignments. Work with them to identify new projects or responsibilities that align with your capabilities. Ask where the skills gaps are on your team then volunteer to learn the competencies that are missing. Online courses, in-person workshops, and mentorship opportunities all broaden your skill set and keep you engaged. Increasing your knowledge base and your network both expands your comfort zone and breaks your cycle of boredom. Experimenting with new approaches to old challenges promotes continuous improvement, injects creativity into your work, and helps you build relationships. Host brainstorming sessions and collaborations with colleagues to spark fresh ideas and gather diverse perspectives. Explore unconventional paths to solutions together embracing failure as a learning opportunity rather than a setback. Everyone suffers from boreout at some point. Surround yourself with coworkers who inspire and motivate you so you can support and encourage each other when needed.

Set Goals: You don’t have to wait for your manager to give you something new to do. Set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) personal development goals for yourself, both short-term and long-term, that align with your values and career aspirations. Having something to work towards gives you a sense of purpose and direction. Break down larger objectives into manageable tasks, track your progress, and celebrate every completed step.

Establish Boundaries: Strive for healthy work-life integration by prioritizing self-care. Take regular breaks throughout the day to recharge and refocus. Go for a walk or do whatever helps you clear your mind and boost your energy level. Set, communicate, and protect non-business hours so you can disconnect from work to do things you enjoy and be with people you enjoy. BTW, if the only person you want to be with is you, that is valid!

How do you fight boreout? Please share in the comments.

Time is Up

Wouldn’t life be so much easier if it gave us clues when it’s time to change like Peter Brady’s voice? How can you tell when the time has come to change your work situation?

Frustration

Do you feel disengaged in your current role?
Are you unable to use your skills and strengths in your job?
Do you feel like you’ve plateaued and there is no clear path for advancement?
If the answers are yes, is the situation likely to improve?

Toxicity

Do you get the Sunday Scaries?
Is your workplace full of negative energy?
Are you micromanaged?
Is there a lack of communication between leadership and individual contributors?
Does your manager expect you to follow their instructions even if they are unethical?
Do you feel harassed?
These are signs of a toxic environment. How toxic does your work culture have to be before you leave it?

Control

Do you have autonomy over the work you do?
Do you feel adequately valued and paid for your contributions?
Do you have multiple managers who communicate with each other regarding your workload?
Are your boundaries around work-life integration respected?
When you present your managers with documentation of your high performance, do you receive positive incentive to perform even higher?
If the answers are no, is it time to look for a new work situation?

Persistent dissatisfaction indicates you need some kind of change. Figuring out what that change is requires introspection, self-awareness, and a willingness to take action. Prioritize your well-being, financial stability, and long-term goals, then try these steps.

Options: Before making any decisions, take time to assess your capabilities, define what kind of work you want to do, and how you envision your future. Research potential job opportunities and consider how they align with those three things. Use your network to discover what possibilities are available and to help you make connections. Do the research on your personal devices and on your own time. Also, be discreet about whom in your network you trust with your inquiries.

Finances: Health insurance and retirement plans are a thing, y’all. If your current job offers these benefits, weigh the financial implications of leaving against the potential benefits of changing employers. Can you make a move within your organization? Since you’ve done a self-assessment (see the paragraph above) can you craft your own job description that fills current staffing gaps, allows you to work with a new team, and retains your benefits?

Side Gigs: A side gig is both a creative outlet and an opportunity for skill development. Before going public, make sure it doesn’t conflict with your primary job responsibilities or violate any employment agreements. If your side gig shows potential, maybe it’s your next full-time gig. Think critically before transitioning to self-employment. Do you have enough savings to pay your bills for a year? Is there demand for what you do? Is the forecast for that demand positive for the next 5-10 years? Will you grow to hate your side gig if you have to do it for a living?

What would cause you to consider a change? Please share in the comments.

Crypto Crooks

In the wake of the recent Bitcoin ATM scam, I was asked what I know about cryptocurrency. I know just enough to be dangerous. What concerns me the most is how easily and how often it is used in fraud. Here is what I found out for you.

What is a Crypto-wallet?

It’s a digital tool to store, send, and receive cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, etc. As of March 2024, there were about 8,985 active cryptocurrencies you could store in a crypto-wallet. It consists of a pair of cryptographic keys: a public key (your wallet address) and a private key (your password). There are different types of wallets. For example, hardware wallets are physical devices that store your private keys offline. Software wallets are apps or programs installed on your computer or mobile device. Online wallets are hosted by cryptocurrency exchanges or other online platforms. Not all cryptocurrency wallets are equal in terms of security, so do your due diligence. Choose a wallet based on criteria like security features, reputation, and ease of use. Read reviews from legitimate sources. Keep your private keys secure and do not share them with anyone.

What is a Cypto-exchange?

It’s an online platform where users buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies for other digital assets or traditional currencies like dollars. Exchanges vary in terms of security, fees, available cryptocurrencies, and regulatory compliance. Research and choose reputable exchanges that have strong security measures like multi-factor authentication (MFA). If you have a large amount of cryptocurrency consider storing it in a hardware wallet instead of keeping it on the exchange.

What’s AI Got to Do with It?

Scalable Scams: Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered tools automate scam campaigns so criminals can attack a lot of potential victims simultaneously. For example, AI algorithms analyze large, publicly available datasets, like from your social media platforms. If you have significant cryptocurrency holdings or actively participate in cryptocurrency communities, scammers can precisely identify you and tailor their outreach to your preferences.

Social Engineering: AI can generate phishing emails, text messages, and websites that mimic legitimate cryptocurrency platforms or services and look extremely authentic. Do not give your Personally Identifiable Information (PII) to anyone or any app during a transaction you did not originate.

Deepfakes: AI-driven deepfake technology produces realistic videos and audio recordings of prominent figures in the cryptocurrency industry. Criminals use this content to deceive potential investors. For example, spreading false information or endorsing fraudulent projects.

Safety First

Your money in a bank has FDIC protection. Your money in a cryptocurrency account has no protection. Cryptocurrency’s inherent anonymity not only makes it attractive to criminals it also makes it easy for them to threaten you into doing something you cannot undo. How can you protect yourself in the cryptocurrency space?

Verify the legitimacy of the institution you send cryptocurrency to before sending it.
Ask questions. For example, if multi-factor authentication is not offered, ask for it.
Remain calm and reject any pressure to make snap decisions. Refuse to give out your PII (e.g., social security number, bank account number, etc.) just because they demand it.
Do not send cryptocurrency to anyone you have not met in person or to anyone (even a friend or relative) who texts or emails you with an urgent need for money. Either call that person using the phone number from your contact list or go see them in person.

What do you think we should know about cryptocurrency? Please share your experience in the comments.

Sustainable Success

What happens when you compare your job performance to your coworkers’ and you are not flattered by the comparison? You feel like you can’t mess up. Ever. You fight to be #1, and discover how hard it is to stay #1. You stick to the routines that proved successful in the past instead of trying new things which stifles your creativity, experimentation, and innovation. Beating the competition becomes more important to you than your customer’s satisfaction. What can you do to turn things around?

Team of Rivals

It’s normal to see your coworkers’ job performance, notice your manager’s reaction to it, and gauge how you are doing. You feel good when you compare favorably and nervous when you don’t. This habit is probably most obvious, and even formalized, in a company’s sales department where top salespeople are rewarded more than bottom ones creating internal competition among the team. Instead of comparing yourself to colleagues, how about setting incremental goals for yourself? Make them flexible so you can embrace change, be open to new approaches, and bounce back after disappointments. For example, using our sales scenario, if you did not reach your quota last month, would another 10 cold calls a day help you reach it this month? Your capacity to adapt will not only set you apart, but also carry you through inevitable setbacks.

Abundance Over Scarcity

Instead of being threatened by your coworkers’ success, how about using it for motivation? Continuous learning is a cornerstone of professional development and identifies you as a leader. Seek opportunities for upskilling so you stay relevant in your ever-evolving market. Make resilience in the face of adversity one of your goals. Swap your fear of not being good enough for curiosity. For example, analyze the differences between you and a successful coworker to discover capabilities you should obtain. There will be enough opportunities for everyone because you will create them. Factor self-compassion into your goal setting. It will help you maintain a positive mindset and reduce self-criticism. Be kind to yourself by celebrating your achievements, no matter how small.

You Are Your Competition

Instead of focusing on competing with your colleagues, how about shifting your mindset to competing with yourself? Strive to become an expert in your field. Set goals focused on personal growth so you are not only valuable to your organization, but also to your profession. State your goals using phrases that describe process improvement. For example, improve on, get better at, grow in. You want to be better than YOU were yesterday not better than OTHERS are today. Set small, specific, easily-achievable goals to quickly boost your self-confidence. Maintain and refine your learning through regular practice. Whether it’s honing your presentation skills, becoming a more efficient project manager, or perfecting your coding techniques, steady progress helps you retain knowledge and discover new skills to learn next.

Measuring your self-worth by whether or not you meet monthly Key Performance Indicators (KPI) does not set you up for sustainable success. When some variables are not under your control, you can try your best and still fall short of the organization’s goal for you. Align your goals with your values and aspirations, not with external benchmarks or the achievements of your team. It’s surprising how often you meet monthly KPI when you set goals that are personally meaningful to you.

How do you prevent comparing yourself to your coworkers? Please share in the comments.