Last week we reflected on who we became as a leader over the last year and how it helped us achieve what we have so far.

This week we focus on how to achieve what we want for the next year (our "one thing") and how you can create weekly actions to do so.

Your resulting "one thing" and the weekly actions you can take should leave you feeling inspired and motivated to get started on becoming yo...

The way we see our role as a leader relates directly to the way we use our time and the impact we create.

It also relates to the level of overwhelm and burnout we experience.

Based on some common misconceptions, I am sharing how you can make the most impact as a humanitarian or development leader.

You'll learn two shifts in perspective that will help you focus your time and prioritize what w...

Another year is almost over, and if you're like me, you may be asking... where did my time go?

And better yet, what have I accomplished?

Depending on how much you respect your own time, you may find yourself either doing urgent work for others, or doing important work for yourself.

What's interesting is many of us don't even realize when we are not respecting our time.

We think we are being...

Are you being a team player?

You may be surprised by the answer.

I see many aid worker supervisors saying "yes" to take on more work, so they can be a team player.

But ironically, many times by doing this they are doing the opposite.

They are not being a team player - they are actually letting their team down.

There is a small difference between REALLY being a team player and not being one...

"One the Annual Report is done, I will develop my team."

"Once we hire the new person, I will take that course."

"After the year end close, I can visit the community."

See a pattern here?

The pattern is thinking that later is better- and that we don't have enough time right now.

And the thing is - once "later" comes (after the annual report, year end close or new staff hire) we STILL say "...

Even though development and humanitarian work is unpredictable, there are some things that we know will happen.

When I was in South Sudan, these included:

- Delayed procurements

- Last minute government meetings

- Late liquidations submitted by partners

I knew these things were going to happen, and yet, I planned my time as if they were not.

Looking back on this, I find it so fascinating ...

Last week we looked at how to become aware of how you're using your time as a leader (in part one here).

This week we will now look at how you WANT to be using your time so you can make the impact you're seeking.

This means looking at how can we use our time more effectively?

There are many ways to do this, and in this episode I share some of the ones that I find aid worker leaders struggle ...

What can you do with four more hours in your work week?

What if I were to tell you that you can get more done NOW without having to add more hours?

That you can step closer to "work-life balance" and not working on weekends?

It all has to do with HOW you manage your current time - not the amount of time you have.

After coaching many aid worker supervisors, I can tell you there are certain b...

In last week's episode, Chen Kadungure and I talked about how to create focus and eliminate distractions so you can do more focused or deep work.

Once again deep work is focused, uninterrupted, undistracted work on a task that pushes your cognitive abilities to their limit.

Examples of this include——writing or reviewing a donor report, proposal writing, strategic planning, or creating a new w...

“If you don't produce, you won't thrive—no matter how skilled or talented you are.”  Cal Newport, author of “Deep Work”

Noisy generators.  Crowing roosters.  Loud music.

Working in the aid world can be very distracting!

Not to mention all the email, texts and other notifications.

Sometimes it's hard to create an environment for focus.

So you can do the IMPORTANT work.... concentrated work....