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Darren Hardy - Written by Darren Hardy on Monday, March 2, 2009 15:32 - 7 Comments
Workaholics Anonymous—A 12-Step Program of Recovery and Personal Transformation (2nd-Quarter Checkup)
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Time for a midcourse review… Have you been enjoying the journey? Have you started to gain some sanity in the chaos of our always “on” culture? Are you producing more with less stress and bigger results?
Here is what’s important to assess: It’s not what you know, it’s what you do. Information is not power; it is only potential power. What you do, the actions you take on information you learn, is where the power of change and transformation reside.
It is not good enough to just read these posts. You might even say to yourself, “I already know that.” The question is, are you doing it?
This is the major point of the entire series: The questionnaire is comprised of the disciplines, philosophies and strategies that separate the superachievers from everyone else. They are the distinctions between those who build huge enterprises; make gobs of money; have tons of fun; and live joyous, stress-free lives, utilizing the same 24/7 time frame you and I have, and those who don’t.
Most people claim to “know” everything, but their lives don’t reflect their knowledge.
Don’t let that be your reality.
So, let’s review. Below is our questionnaire from our first-quarter review, but I have added questions reflecting steps 4 through 6. (Click the link at end to review the principle in a previous step.)
Answer true or false to the below:
- Since I started the 12-step program, I have checked my e-mail fewer than three times each day. (In Step1)
- Of the 10 projects I have committed to stop doing, I have done none. (In Step1)
- I have written down only two or three major objectives each day and have dedicated more than 80 percent of my time to meeting them. (In Step1)
- I have said no to at least five requests that I would have said yes to in the past. (In Step2)
- I have set boundaries and not tolerated anyone or anything intruding on them. (In Step2)
- I calculated my time-value worth, and I have spent each hour of each day since then on activities of equal or greater value. (In Step3)
- I have not let any distraction intrude on my family/personal time. (In Step2)
- I have stuck to my health-and-fitness plan 100 percent. (In Step6)
- I have not attended meetings that were not in alignment with my major objectives. (In Step2)
- I have not done any personal business during work hours. (In Step2)
- I have stayed out of all gossip and negative conversations. (In Step4)
- I have gotten at least seven hours of restful sleep every night. (In Step2)
- I have watched, listened or read less than 15 minutes of news a day. (In Step4)
- I have improved my E2E ratio; I have spent more time on education than entertainment each week. (In Step4)
- I have disassociated from and limited my association with several people who were affecting me negatively. (In Step5)
- I have found ways to spend more time with smarter, healthier and wealthier people than myself to expand my network. (In Step5)
- I developed professional and personal boards of advisors to support me in my goals. (In Step5)
- I have not let go of the lever on my major goals. I am staying consistent every single day. (In Step6)
What’s your grade? Me: I am 13 for 18, 72 percent – a C. I have some work to do, too.
Now, don’t just leave this site and go on about your chaotic day without making some new resolutions. What three to five adjustments are you going to make this week? Write them down, and commit to doing them.
My goal is to not only enlighten you with these insights, but to actually help you transform your productivity, performance and lifestyle. But that will be achieved only if you actually put these principles into practice.
Do you have questions, observations or revelations to share? Put them in the comment box below. Everyone is invited to help each other with questions and to share personal insights.
Follow Darren behind the scenes of SUCCESS: www.twitter.com/DarrenHardy
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7 Responses to “Workaholics Anonymous—A 12-Step Program of Recovery and Personal Transformation (2nd-Quarter Checkup)”
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As lifetime workaholic, I cannot tell you how much I appreciated stumbling on your articles for recovery. The timing was right and I will apply your suggestion in order to gain manageability in my life. Thank you so much!!
[Reply]
[...] [...]
Lisa,
shoot me an email at sharmas21@yahoo.com. I’ll share my personal experience on how I changed myself from workaholic to normal work life. May be that will change your husband’s priorities.
Sanjay
[Reply]
Thanks for the advice Darren. When it comes to confronting my husband, I can only hope it doesn’t fall on unreceptive ears, to which I believe that Sanjay hit the nail on the head with that one. I think it all comes down to priority and personal goals. I do feel encouraged to know that there are men out there who do hold relationships in high esteem, but put them off as “less urgernt”.. I know we are at a busy stage in our lives (we have 5 small children) and he runs 2 businesses, but my feelings set aside, I am worried about his well being, health and happiness. He really is missing out on so much! If anyone can speak from experience of being a workaholic, does the urge to be such an aggressive achiever change with different stages of life, or is it always a constant presence?
[Reply]
Hi Darren,
My score is 12 out of 18, 66%. Much better than expected. One reason why I am doing better this year compared to last year is that my own success program started few weeks before your 12 step program and I am strictly following it. Interestingly some of your points were already in my program and some I added later.
One question: Do you know why the number of comments have significantly reduced since your first post of this 12 step program?
I think people are too busy in implementing the steps you have suggested (:- to post their comments.
To Lisa:
To be blunt, the resource to deal with your workaholic spouse is nowhere. The workaholic person will change himself or herself when the RIGHT time comes. To work hard or work little is a personal choice based on person’s priority and personal goals.
Sanjay
[Reply]
Do you have any resources for a spouse dealing with a workaholic husband? This would be very useful to me, I am especially interested in something that could help with feelings of anger, frustration and extreme lonliness.. thanks!
[DARREN HARDY] Lisa, did my wife ask you to ask this question??
Talk to him, he might not even know fully how you feel. We (men) tend to focus on what is urgent and important (which work always is) versus what is truly important (which relationships, family and most especially our significant other) to us. If he knows the extremity of your feelings and you alert him to them, you will then enter that important and urgent quadrant. Don’t leave it up to him reading your mind, sit down with him and have a heart to heart, not an argument, rather an emotional conversation where you really reveal your sense of loneliness… that’ll wake him up.
[Reply]
I wanted to thank you for the Workaholics Anonymous series, Darren. Unfortunately, I’ve, uhhhh, been working so hard I haven’t had time to actually read the posts yet. Give me a few weeks and I’ll do this review. Thanks
[Reply]