The L of REBEL:Limit Scope

Often people come to coaching struggling with an overloaded ‘plate’ of mounting tasks and actions.  ”I just need an extra hour, Cam!” is often the lament.  In addition to letting the mundane pile up, Global Creatives love adding new projects, rarely turning down requests.  The inability to say “No!” is not a character trait (or flaw).  It is related to challenges around prioritizing tasks, projects and requests.  Global Creatives can really struggle here and will often just resort to urgent tactics or the “latest and loudest” approach.

Recognizing we have a glitchy prioritizer (we can make a case for just about any intention) doesn’t mean we shouldn’t prioritize.  The term ‘limit scope’ refers to this prioritizing process not only necessary for timely completions but also necessary for maintaining our sanity!

Recently I’ve been talking about picture frames with my clients.  Frames are a great metaphor for limiting scope, helping demarcate the area where one chooses to make a difference.   This last phrase is important because the struggling GC often has the mindset of “I can do it all!”  Once we let go of this impossible frame of mind then we are free to choose where we focus our attention.   When we actively limit scope we can trade in urgnecy as a motivator and develop tools such as choice and creativity (What makes a global creative a global creative!).  I’ll speak to how limiting scope ultimately leads to ‘mastery’ in a future blog entry.

So if you are feeling a bit overwhelmed then draw a frame around what is essential.  Distinguish the stuff inside the frame from stuff outside the frame.  Natural forces (and colleagues) will try to move items from the outside to the inside of the frame.  Notice this and practice the gentle “No thanks”.  Better yet, confirm your priorities with those who count.

One of my favorite expressions…

When you say No to one thing, you say Yes to another!

Cameron Gott PCC

ADHD Coach