In my opinion, most people focus on efficiency and not effectiveness.
They dive into things like time management, prioritization, habit formation really quickly. I did that too - after all, there is so much more content on these topics and it is also much easier to see progress this way (i.e quick dopamine hits when you cross things off your to-do list).
Similarly to looking for a job, most people jump into revising their resumes and sending out as many applications as possible. I think that's human nature - to quell discomfort quickly by doing something, anything to show oneself that "hey, I did something, progress is made! I am ok"
What I am trying to advocate for is effectiveness and efficiency which comes with intentionality. Understanding yourself a lot deeper and define your success metrics BEFORE jumping to the sustainable habits / systems to get you there.
"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." - Lewis Carroll
Some questions you might be thinking of:
- If this is so good, why don't most people do it?
Because it's hard. Much harder to really sit down and dig deep to understand yourself - your values, your motivations, your fears, what you are willing to trade-off. This all comes together to form your own authentic definition of success and not one that others crafted for you.
- Won't my definition of success change? What's the point of defining it?
Yes it definitely might because you as a person will grow and evolve as you go through different experiences. But having a directional sense of where you might want to be is still better than not knowing at all. An analogy I use often to explain this is Google Maps.
- Do you know where you are now? That's point A.
- Do you know directionally where you want to be? That's point B.
- Might point B change? Yes. But chances are if you do continuous self-reflection, travelling towards point B + iterate / course-correct along the way, you still have a higher probability of getting you to where you eventually want to be vs not defining point B at all
- This would also help you in making subsequent decisions more easily because it can be as simple as "does this habit or job etc gets me nearer or bring me further away from B?"
I aim to cover both (I) the awareness (what, why, where) and (II) the tools (how, when) in this session, combining a) what I did for my own self-work (coaching, reading, reflecting), b) using my coaching skills to help sharpen that clarity for you as my own coach did for me and c) sharing what worked for me in terms of efficiency because I am also a big productivity fan.
Note that there will be pre-work as well to help make the session as fruitful as possible for you so please only sign up if you are willing to put in the work.
B) Natalie's Profile:
- Natalie is certified since 2020 by the International Coaching Federation regulated Collective Change Institute's Professional Coaching and Advanced Coaching Programs. She’s also a coach at Google, where she leads workshops and is on the internal coaching panel for her colleagues.
- Professionally, Natalie is part of Google's Large Customer Sales team serving E-commerce clients in Southeast Asia. She also leads up the well-being / mental health initiatives for her org. Prior to Google, Natalie’s other experiences include leading a fast-growing tech start up’s CEO Office as well as a management consultant.
- Post graduating from Singapore Management University, Natalie joined the Young Women's Leadership Connection (YWLC) in Singapore where she was part of the Leadership Development Committee. She organized and led master classes, panel sessions and experiential workshops with leading organizations such as McKinsey & Company, UBS, Bain & Company and has led group sessions for Neverdrift since 2018.
C) FAQs:
1) What's the difference between effectiveness and efficiency?
>> “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right thing." I came across this in Peter Drucker's book a couple of years back. It blew my mind and really changed the way I looked at most things in my life since.
>> Another analogy I really like is by Stephen Covey - I remember coming across his quote when I was reading one of his books and thinking about my career path. “If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster" where the former is essentially referring to effectiveness and the latter referring to efficiency.
>> Given that I really took pride in being efficient (and hence am a big fan of all things productivity related), this concept really made me re-frame my perspective and reminded me to consider quality of outcomes, not just quantity.
>> This is hard hence most people prefer to go for quantity to get the dopamine rush which I came to realize is more short-term thinking vs long-term and hence my approach to my own life has changed since (I try my best at least haha).
2) Is this in a group setting or 1-1?
>> This is a one-time session in a small group setting of <10 pax. I think there are pros and cons to both formats - it really depends on your goal / season at the moment. Small group settings has been the core format of the Neverdrift core group membership the past 5 years. When I ask members why they stay for years, it usually boils down to (1) being able to meet growth minded people outside of your colleagues & close friends to hear new perspectives and (2) also realizing that you are not alone in the challenges you are facing.
>> 1-1 coaching is more for those who have a time-sensitive or significant goal / issue to work and prefer very deep and personalized help to achieve or resolve something quickly. For 1-1 coaching to be effective, people typically go through 3 sessions across a time period of their choosing and also continue to work through issues discussed between sessions. I am both a certified coach and also a coachee for the past 4 years and have seen first-hand how coaching has helped significantly for sizeable goals as we will confront many deeper issues that have been holding oneself back.
>> Regardless of format, my intention and hope is to help people gain more (a) clarity and (b) connection through Neverdrift in different ways that's most comfortable for the person as I think those are 2 essential aspects of living an intentional life.
3) Are there other dates that will be available?
>> Yes there will be - this form is just for people to indicate interest and I'll contact you directly to get your preferred availabilities :) I have been and will continue to be reach out to all responses in the next few days!
D) Expected Outcomes:
1️⃣ Give yourself the time and space you need to think about the whats and whys of your life (essentially deepening your self awareness) as I understand its easy to get caught up in the day to day
2️⃣ Accelerate that with my personal sharings on what I have learnt and gained through my own inner work in the past few years + a guided workbook to pen down your own reflections
3️⃣ Hear new perspectives from other growth-minded people who are more often than not going through the same challenges as you so you don't feel alone in your journey
