Sharpen the Saw - Habit #7 of Highly Effective People

Sharpen the Saw- Habit #7

We have arrived at Habit #7 of Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Sharpen the Saw.  He calls it the principles of balanced self-renewal.  I call it self-care. And I don't care what anyone calls it - it is 100% necessary for all the other habits to be possible, yet it is the habit most overlooked.   Covey breaks it down further into four dimensions of renewal: Physical, Mental, Social/Emotional, and Spiritual.  I'm sharing practical ways to sharpen your saw in each of these.
 

If you don't work, nothing works

You are not an endless resource.  You need maintenance and fuel in order to run.  You've heard about self-care for decades, you know what you should do, but many of you don't do it often enough. 

And you are paying the price.

Just as the man in the forest feverishly trying to saw down the tree who doesn't want to stop to sharpen the saw.  It will make his job easier, he will finish the job sooner with less effort, but he doesn't want to stop. 

Sound familiar?  You know you should eat at lunchtime, but if you just get out these two emails, you can be done!  You could take an exercise class in the morning, but joining that call feels more pressing.  You could clarify your strategy, but jumping in and doing something feels more productive.  Plus who has enough focus to strategize anyway?  We all have so much to do!

You are stressed and not where you want to be because you refuse to sharpen the saw. 

You bought into the lie that your productivity is based on what you do for others, instead of what you do for yourself.

Time to stop believing what society tells us.  Time to stop lying to ourselves and start implementing the habit of self-care.  As in make a habit of it, a recurring, mindless thing that is so integral to our being, we don't even have to think about it.  

The little things you do every day will have a much larger impact on your health, happiness, and success than the big things you do once in awhile.  Annual yoga retreat is great.  Twenty minutes of yoga 3xs a week is much better.

"Sharpen the saw" basically means expressing all four dimensions of our nature, regularly and consistently, in wise and balanced ways.  Let's break down Covey's four dimensions of renewal:
 

Physical. Exercise, Nutrition, Stress Management.
Sleep is required for renewal, clarity, and focus. Most of you could vastly improve your lives just by getting more sleep. Nutrition and activity are also required for focus, although they won't do much for you if you don't have enough sleep. And stress management, when implemented regularly, will add quality and years to your life!

So what habit can you instill to get more sleep? Setting a bedtime, removing all electronics from your room, saying no to super late/early meetings when possible, and not turning on the TV are a good start. Taking a melatonin supplement might help (check with your Dr. first).

What one healthier food habit can you take on right now? I'm not talking about full-on meal planning for the whole week. While that is awesome if you can handle it, most can't right away so they do it for one week and then never again.

In my early 20s I cut sugar out of my coffee. I hated how it tasted without sugar, but realized I was gaining weight. And based on the amount of coffee I drank back then, it was really helpful to cut it out. I think often about how that one habit changed the last 20 years of my health in a positive way!

How can you incorporate activity? Can you start holding your 1:1s via phone while you walk or stretch instead of being on video? What is the easiest thing to add into your existing routine?

Mental. Reading, Visualizing, Planning, Writing.
Much of our mental development and study discipline came through formal education. After we left school, many of us let our minds atrophy - we don't do any more serious reading, we don't explore new subjects in any real depth outside our action fields, and we don't write - at least not critically or in a way that tests our ability to express ourselves in distilled, concise language.

Instead, we spend our time on social media and watching TV.

Yes, I know you can learn a lot from YouTube videos and educational programming. But you can develop your mental capacity much more deeply through reading, visualizing, planning, and writing.

I started reading again 15 years after graduating college. It has opened my perspective and knowledge to so many things that I wouldn't have otherwise known, which has deeply benefited my parenting, my career, my relationships, and my overall understanding of how to deal with my own challenges. I read in the evenings before bed (many nights, but not always), on planes, and when sitting on a beach on vacation. In general, I've made it a habit to always have a book with me and to leave it out and accessible on my nightstand to help enforce my habit.

I have a vision board that I look at every day. I add to it as new visions excite me, and I've made it a habit to refresh it at least once a year. Almost everything on my vision board from five years ago has come true! Talk about a habit that has literally changed my life and made my dreams a reality!

How can you build time into your daily schedule to read and write? When can you set aside regular time to visualize and plan how to get closer to your goals? Is there an accountability partner you can enlist to visualize and plan with?

Social/Emotional. Service, Empathy, Synergy, Intrinsic Security.
The social and emotional dimensions of our lives are tied together because our emotional life is primarily, but not exclusively, developed out of and manifested in our relationships with others.

Because we interact with individuals every day, we have the ability to embed intentional habits around how we interact.

I take care of my mental and physical needs FIRST, so I have the energy and ability to be who I want to be for everyone else in my life. When I have had good sleep, food, and activity, I have the capacity to listen to others more deeply, which is one of the habits I've implemented.

I regularly ask myself if this interaction is 1) creating a positive impact (for me, the other person, or both), 2) genuine and authentic, 3) energizing or draining. Some of my clients have built in habits of always asking a question of others first, before sharing, to help ensure the focus is shared. Others have a habit of evaluating their calendars on a monthly basis to see what interactions are eating up too much time and where they would prefer to spend their time.

One great example of this was a woman who was giving surface level effort to four non-profits, not making much of an impact in either, and always feeling stressed and torn. She recognized that choosing just one to put her time, money, and energy into allowed her to truly serve others in a more effective way while providing more joy and less stress.

What habit can you bring into your daily interactions with others? Can you say "I love you" more to family and friends? Can you start each work conversation with "What's on your mind?" to give others a chance to genuinely connect? Can you create a sense of security to set up the conditions for synergistic conversations? Can you take a deep breath and pause before complaining, so you can switch to more positive topics?

Can you reach out for help and ask for what you need? This is so crucial for your own mental health. YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Make a habit out of asking for what you need on little things so that when the big thing comes (and it always does), you can utilize your connections for strength, support, and uplifting your mental health through a sense of community.

Spiritual. Value clarification and commitment, Study, Meditation.
This dimension is your core, your center, your commitment to your value system. It is a very private area of life. It draws upon the sources that inspire and uplift you and tie you to the timeless truths of all humanity. And people do it very, very differently.

Some practice this habit through prayer, others through meditation, others through spending time in nature. One suggestion is through creating a personal mission statement and repeating it daily, to remind one of their intent each day.

Explore your motives for everything you do. This will take time. Figure out if your motives benefit only you, others, or both you and others. Decide what energizes you and what truly, in your inner knowing, feels "good". Adjust your motives/habits as necessary. (Hint: when one's motives only serve themselves, they become flat and uninspiring over time).

I practice a 10-minute meditation each morning while drinking my coffee and I write down in my planner, "Today will be a day of........" and I fill in the blank. This helps me reflect on what kind of day I am creating. If my first thought is "Today is a day of absolute crap because it's too early and I hate everyone" - I give my coffee time to kick in and I rewrite it. Not even kidding.

This habit has helped me intentionally reframe some of my default negative thoughts that don't align with my values of making a positive impact, connectedness, and joy, into thoughts that support my values.

What habit can you implement to help you stay aligned with your values? Are you clear on your values? (If not, I offer a Life Vision Intensive that can help you, info HERE.)

In conclusion............

You are worthy of self-renewal and self-care.

You NEED self-renewal and self-care.

You can find the time for it if you are intentional about trading screen time (social media, TV, emails) for self-care. Everyone can find 30 minutes - start with that.

If you want to be effective, if you want to live a life of fulfillment, joy, and success - you need to Sharpen the Saw.

There is no way around it.

Cheers to sharpening the saw,
Sharon

Thank you for joining this Summer Series on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People!
If you missed any of the previous habits, the links are below:
Habit #1 - Be Proactive
Habit #2 - Begin With The End In Mind
Habit #3 - Put First Things First
Habit #4 - Think Win/Win
Habit #5 - Seek First to Understand, Then Be Understood
Habit #6 - Synergize

**Note - some of this text is directly from Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I've added context where I saw fit and condensed in other sections. His publisher's website is worth a read for more reference and if you can find the time, read the book. Website HERE.**

Need More Self Renewal?

My expertise is specifically in helping others create work/life success - a fulfilling approach to meeting your needs first while meeting others' needs better (because the better you are, the better everything is).

I help you find practical ways to take care of your health, family, career, finances, relationships, and your community. The first step is defining what success means to you in each of these areas through a Life Vision Intensive.

This 2-hour session helps you unlock your dreams and goals. You leave with your documented life vision, core values, and top five strengths. Click HERE to schedule a free call to discuss how this can help you. Click HERE to learn more about it! I've helped so many people find joy and fulfillment - I can help you too!