I admit it – I’m a list maker. I’ve even been known to add something to my list that I just completed, just for the pleasure I get from marking it off. That’s a perfect example of how lists can become distracting.

Of course, that’s not the kind of list Atul Gawande is talking about in The Checklist Manifesto – How To Get Things Right. A “checklist” is not the same thing as a “to do” list. A checklist is used for routine or repetitive tasks, where getting it right makes a difference.

The Checklist Manifesto is a scientific examination of how checklists can help. Gawande is a surgeon, so he was looking specifically at how using checklists for medical procedures or processes could make a difference in terms of accuracy and care. He shares some rather remarkable statistics – such as how implementing a checklist for one routine procedure in one hospital reduced infection rates from 11% to 0%, saving 8 lives and $2 million in costs.

OK, so it makes sense to use checklists in order to get things right when you’re talking about people’s lives, right? You can see how it would be helpful to use them in medicine, fire prevention, airline pre-flight checks, etc.

But what about for regular people living regular lives? Can using checklists actually make enough of a difference to matter? Are there really noticeable benefits to using checklists?

Think about how much you have to keep track of every day – from your personal life to work (or even running a business). “Know-how is often unmanageable,” Gawande says. We know so much, have so much information, that even if we have a great deal of practice with something, things can slip.

“The volume and complexity of what we know has exceeded our individual ability
to deliver its benefits correctly, safely or reliably.”

Gawande doesn’t state this outright in the book, but using checklists can reduce stress. If you don’t have to keep track of something in your mind, how much brain power or mental “bandwidth” does that free up for focusing on what really matters? In this world of more information, more overwhelm, it’s helpful to use tools that can let you breathe more easily.

Honestly, some things are too complex, or too important, to be left to the memory of one person. Sure, you may have done the “task” a hundred times yourself, but does that mean you always remember every step? What if someone had to step in and do it for you? Would they know how? Would they get it right the first time, or end up using extra time because they have to do it over?

I started using checklists when I was a university administrator. We used them for events, hiring speakers, hiring staff, running an entire Freshman Orientation program, etc. Using the checklist meant we didn’t have to worry about whether someone did what they were supposed to. Not only did using them save untold amounts of stress, having a high quality checklist for the Freshman Orientation program meant the entire program went off without a hitch even when the key staff member left right before hand. That saved time and stress, as well as many thousands of dollars.

We use checklists everyday at PersonalGrowthPrincess.com. We have checklists for steps to follow when contacting and following up with authors, preparing for interviews, crafting book summaries, welcoming new members, renewing members, etc.

For example, when a new annual member joins Personal Growth Princess, they receive a welcome basket. The basket consists of a number of delightful gifts, and is prepared in a very specific way. Why? Because I want members to know they matter to us, and I want to be able to focus on the delight and joy included in each gift, not stress over whether it is being sent out on time or if everything was included.

The welcome basket checklist helps us make sure the baskets go out on time with everything included. We even get as specific as indicating the length of ribbon that is used in wrapping the gifts. While that may sound a bit over the top, consider how much simpler it is to just cut 24 inches of ribbon each time and know it will come out perfectly, rather than guessing and estimating and ending up with either not enough ribbon to make it work, or wasting tons of extra ribbon. Both of those outcomes ultimately driving up the expenses, which frankly, is something I don’t even want to be thinking about when I’m sending something for the purpose of delighting you! If I don’t have to think about how long the ribbon should be, I can put my focus on other things that do matter – such as the personal note that is enclosed with each gift. By using the checklists, I have confidence it is getting done correctly, and I can focus on creating more meaning.

So how can checklists help you?

Think about the activities you do that are repetitive but that you have to think about. For example, washing the dishes probably doesn’t require a checklist – unless you are teaching your teenage kids how to do it, of course. In which case, a checklist would be super handy, and possibly a mother-child relationship saver!

Do you travel? If so, are there certain things you know you need to take every time? I used to travel every weekend to lead seminars for a college planning seminar. While I traveled every weekend, invariably I would end up forgetting something critical – such as the extra pair of pantyhose I forgot to replace after using the spare pair on the last trip. (When I was growing up my family went camping a lot. My parents had a camping checklist posted on the refrigerator – a strategy that was developed after numerous episodes of getting a couple of miles down the road only to realize we had forgotten some critical item.)

Are there places in your life where having a checklist would be a good strategy? Where having a checklist would allow you to catch errors, be more efficient, be more effective, help people feel more cared for because you remembered to connect with them?

Party planning? Volunteer work? Your own personal growth?

If you want the ultimate in checklists that help you show people you care, take a look at PersonalGrowthCards.com. This is a very cool service that allows you to send a heartfelt greeting card, written in your own handwriting – yet all handled online -  to someone anytime you get the prompting. You know what I mean…you’re driving down the road and someone pops in your mind and you think “I should get in touch with that person.” Or you hear someone was having a bad day and you want to do something sweet to brighten their day. It’s easy to send a gift or a card that can touch someone deeply, without requiring all the effort (and expense) of driving to the card store, picking out the card, buying the stamp, then writing it and getting it to the post office.

What’s the checklist part of it? The fact that you have an immediately accessible way to go from idea to card sent without having to drive anywhere…specific steps that are super easy to understand. The other checklist part of it? You can create triggers in the system to prompt you to send cards to certain people on certain dates. It’s a way of making sure you do what matters, even when your inclination is to forget about it.

So I’m curious. How do you use checklists in your life or your business? Where are they most effective? Have you ever changed a checklist? If so, how and why? Leave a comment below and share!

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4. Do More Great Work – Michael Bungay Stanier [video] [Book Review]

Have you considered that the same may be true for your approach to personal growth and the payoffs it can have for you?

I came across this concept reading an old post about earning compound interest on your knowledge, by Colin Wright. Here’s what he said:

Consider this: making connections between a new concepts and tidbits of knowledge that you already posses increases recall (that is, you are more likely to store it in your long-term memory if you have some context to put it in). The chances that you will know something that relates to a new concept are increased with every new bit of knowledge you already posses. It would seem, then, that it is in your best interest to learn as much as possible about as many topics as possible in order to achieve an optimal learning situation.

– Colin Wright

Extrapolating from that, it makes sense that the more you connect what you learn about yourself with new personal growth information, the more likely you are to retain it. As you do more and more of this, consistently and over time, the greater the awareness and personal insights grow, and theoretically at least, the more likely you are to apply what you know. This, in turn, produces more self-learning, followed by deeper insights, etc. As this compounds, and you know yourself better and better, the more you will come to appreciate yourself, acknowledging the gifts and talents you have, as well as the inherent greatness within you.

What suggestions does Colin make for compounding your knowledge?

He gives three:

• Be Reading
• Be Referencing
• Be Studying

Since one of the characteristics of personal growth princesses is that we are a bit on the book-junkie end of the spectrum, this fits right in with our natural tendencies.

In other words, it ought to be easy for us to do this.

But it’s not always easy, right? Life is busy. We have a lot on our plates. We might still buy the books, with all the best intentions of reading them, or at least skimming them, but if we’re honest, we’ve spent thousands of dollars over our lifetime on un-read and un-helpful self-help books.

That’s actually why I have such a passion for providing the self-help book summaries via PersonalGrowthPrincess.com. I just had not thought of it in terms of “compounding knowledge” before.

What do you think about that idea? How do you compound your personal growth knowledge and experiences? Or do you?
Leave a comment below and let us know!

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I find that fascinating. Not because a particular name or brand doesn’t appeal to someone – that’s actually a sign of a great brand. It’s good that people recognize themselves in a brand or not.

What I’m fascinated with is the vehemence with which some women react to the word Princess – separate from any association with self-help book summaries. It’s as if it’s degrading.

I’ve got to wonder, when did the word Princess become such an insult?

I think it happened somewhere between childhood (when it was OK to think about princesses) and our first jobs – when we had to buckle down, get serious, and get others to take us seriously.There was no room for being playful and taking ourselves lightly. Believe it or not, I was once told by a colleague that no one would take me seriously because I smiled too much. (I was working in the field of education at the time.) Imagine how much you would start to hide your true nature if you thought that were true!

No wonder we learn to hide who we really are!

The term Princess is often used by judgmental people (both men and women) to tell a woman she’s asking for or expecting too much. That somehow she has stepped outside the boundaries of what she deserves and is getting picky or demanding. (I remember my sister being referred to as a princess when she bought a 5 year old Toyota Prism, that dared to have air conditioning, to replace her 10 year old, broken down robin’s  egg blue Opal.)

It’s this negative use of the word Princess that sticks with us and holds us back.

That is EXACTLY why a site dedicated to women being fully and authentically who they are, embracing the joys as well as the sorrows, relishing in the light and finding the value in darkness, is called Personal Growth PRINCESS.
(Read more about the true nature of self-rescuing princesses.)

It is because women DESERVE to have what they want.

We deserve the right to invest in ourselves. We deserve the time and resources to learn to love ourselves more, expand our greatness, and shore up any perceived weaknesses we think we might have.

And, dangit, women deserve the right to be selective about who we spend time with and what we spend out time doing.

We have the right to ask for what we want, the way we want it. We just do. That doesn’t make us snooty or stuck up. That makes us people.

Embracing the term Princess is a way of retaking control over how we judge ourselves, what we allow ourselves to experience, and how we let our inner joy and greatness shine through.

Princesses deserve. They just do.

Princesses have the right to make their own choices. They have the right to do what they want, while still honoring obligations. It doesn’t make us less responsible or overly self-indulgent. It makes us women with a bit of pizazz and sass who are committed to our own personal growth because we know that by committing to ourselves, we not only improve our own lives, but the lives of everyone we touch.

If you really want to go for a lighthearted way to re-frame what the term Princess means, take a look at the book series The Princess School. It’s a series of fun stories about the princesses you remember from childhood – Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel, etc. – but with a new, empowering twist. Here’s a quick summary of The Princess School series.

I’m curious…has the term Princess ever been used to make you feel ashamed or to get you to change your behavior? If so, what did you do? How did it affect you? Leave a comment below, or if it’s private, you can tell me privately.

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As you know, I always say “To be someone you are not is to waste the person you are.”
And that’s what Personal Growth Princess is all about – embracing all the parts of you.

So, over the past year I’ve gotten in touch with my inner-geek. Apparently she’s been lurking in there for quite awhile. [superemotions file="icon_eek.gif" title="EEK"]

The result is what has been recognized as an outstanding example of website design.

As a hugely gratifying testament to the quality of the site, we have just been featured as the very first in a “Spotlight” series at The WordPress Chick, a well-known website development, training and review site. To have Kim Doyal, the owner, shout out about Princess is a gigantic feather in my hat – er, crown.

Oh, and in case you’re curious about web design or blog setups, take a look at Basic Blog Setup…my sister site.

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Some might think that a woman who is vibrant and full of herself (as a Princess is naturally) would not have any issues about self-expectations. They might actually think her expectations are too high. In my decades of leading personal growth seminars I have found that sometimes it is the person who appears the most “together” and “accomplished” who needs some help dealing with her expectations of herself. She may look and be successful, but have some gaps in her levels of fulfillment.

You may remember that I personally named 2010 as The Year of Fulfillment. I did this in order to put Fulfillment front and center as the most important thing for me to focus on. (I invite you to do the same.)

Why am I focusing so much on fulfillment?

There are many things in this life we have no control over. Fortunately, fulfillment IS something we have control over. Fulfillment is a feeling, not a deed or action. And the great news is that you get to define what fulfillment means to you – your personal “conditions of satisfaction” for fulfillment.

The trick is to learn how to lead yourself to greater heights and deeper fulfillment without pushing yourself over the edge. It can be a fine balance, but one a Personal Growth Princess is up for. And, yes, you can feel fulfilled even when you didn’t “achieve” what you set out to.

While having greater expectations opens you up and make you more vulnerable to failure, there are big rewards too. It’s worth it in the end because a negative experience is still an experience that you can learn from. A positive experience may provide you with one of those life-defining moments that make you happy to be alive.

Here are some excellent ways for any princess to raise her expectations of herself:

1. Do difficult things. Contrary to popular opinion, princesses do not take the easy way out. Pushing your limits can only be achieved by doing difficult things. You might not find success right away, but when you do, it can be the starting place for doing even bigger and better things in the future. Accomplishing difficult tasks, particularly meaningful, difficult tasks, can’t help but raise your self-esteem, and by association, your expectations of yourself.

2. Expand your comfort zone. We princesses are all about treating ourselves luxuriously. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. Staying comfortable is another way of continually playing it safe. When you expand your comfort zone, you open yourself up to new and exciting things. You’ll then come to expect more from yourself just because you’re comfortable with more.

3. Challenge yourself. Set yourself up with a specific challenge or make a dare with yourself. If you’re dared to do something, you pretty much have to do it!

4. Take a survival course. Taking a survival course can show you how to get back to the basics. These courses are not just about basic survival, they can also teach you about yourself. You can learn more about your abilities and strengths, and then continue to challenge yourself in the future.

5. Learn new things. This is a natural for all Personal Growth Princesses. By definition, we love to learn new things. That’s why we buy all those books, isn’t it? Using your self-help book summaries is an easy way of broadening your horizons, and with new knowledge and skills under your belt, you’ll be able to raise the expectations of what you can do.

Having higher expectations for yourself raise your self-esteem. What you think you can achieve is very important because it decides what you WILL achieve. When you raise the bar, you enable yourself to do more and be more than before.

Try these strategies to help you raise your expectations of yourself and enjoy the pride and fulfillment that come with doing great things!

I’d love to hear what you try and how it works for you. Just leave a comment below!

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We’ve been hard at work sprucing up the castle, clearing out the cobwebs, and getting all the fairy godmothers in order.

As luck would have it, 19 is a lucky number for princesses, so it is apropos that Personal Growth Princess would fling the doors wide on the 19th of March.

This is just a quick little video to welcome you back – and to show you one of the great bonuses you receive in your welcome basket when you become a member of Personal Growth Princess.
(video quality isn’t the best – but you’ll get the picture. [superemotions file="icon_cool.gif" title="Cool"] )

So…what sort of personal growth have you been blossoming up lately?

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If being half of a couple means you have to be less than all of who you are, the cost is too high.

– Dr. Phil

The mission of Personal Growth Princess, in basic terms, is to help women be completely full of themselves.

Princess Dr. Phil?

Not in a smart-alecky, “you’re too big for your britches” way, but in a “who else would your rather be full of?” sort of way. Women spend a lot of time squelching who they are – their greatness, as well as what they perceive to be weaknesses.

Showing up as less than who you are is always a disaster. And quite frankly, it’s dishonest and disrespectful – to yourself and to the other people in your life. That doesn’t mean you have to be perfect. Au contraire! Being FULL of you, all of who you are, means showing up, frizzy hair, warts and all.

I doubt Dr. Phil would ever think of himself as a princess – and would probably have a great folksy quip in response – but it’s obvious he is a prince after our own hearts.

What do you think?

Know of any other unlikely (unsuspecting?) Princesses out there?

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Enjoy – and let me know if you have any more questions about this – or about anything. [superemotions file="icon_cool.gif" title="Cool"]

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Or, if you are an extra savvy princess and would like to do well by doing good, you can sign up for our Princess Partners program. This is an affiliate program, with the added bonus of knowing you are really helping someone out.
All we require is that you absolutely 100% commit to being a great Princess – which means no spam, or even anything that might resemble it – and fill out the Princess Partner registration form.

You’ll see there are a number of other programs identified…that’s because Personal Growth Princess is part of the larger parent company known as Nina East, Inc. You are welcome to share any of the programs you wish, but the real focus is on sharing the Princesshood with other savvy, like-minded, busy women who think of themselves as personal growth enthusiasts, who would really like the idea of reading less and growing more.

Select any category to see more posts.