It’s time again for my end-of-the-week Feedback Sandwich*. They’re transforming how I think about my week. It’s like a pat on the back, wrapped around a wish. Totally magic. Please, join in and make yourself a sandwich in the comments!
Sparkles and Email
I have tossed around a bit more glitter this week. Letting things be fun (or figuring out ways to make them more fun) has helped me keep my sanity with some tedious work I’ve been doing.
While I managed to get my email inbox down to under 40 emails at one point, and I have been fairly diligent each day, it has drifted back up to over 100. (insert sad face here) Although, reading the responses to a poll I have going over on the Perception Studios Facebook page, has me still yearning for the peace of inbox zero. I can picture the possibility now, and that’s always the first step.
The first piece of bread: More good stuff
The last couple of weeks have been full of fine-tuning behind the scenes admin-y type things. I’ve been spending lots of quality time with WordPress, Aweber, Paypal, E-Junkie and Feedburner. This type of work can be mind-numbing and frustrating. I’m really happy with how I’ve kept my sanity, working on this stuff small bites at a time, and keeping good notes about what I want to do, and what I have done.
I’ve also done a good job of giving myself what I need, when I needed it.
Asking for help.
Resting.
Moving.
Time for the meat in the middle
If I could remember even when things get really rough that the chatter in my head isn’t true, my life would be immensely better. Luckily, we’re talking about just this thing next week on the Explore and Play call. (I swear, whatever I plan for these calls, happens to me. Maybe the next one should be on how to have a bikini bod and make a gazillion bucks while reclining on the couch eating bon bons.)
And for that final piece of bread
I like how I’m moving through my days with awareness and noticing things, without attaching a bunch of meaning to things. And checking in with myself frequently.
* * *
*What’s this about a Sandwich?
Well, yes, I am hungry, but that’s not the kind of sandwich I’m talking about.
This time I’m talking about giving myself a Feedback Sandwich at the end of each week. Or major project. Or milestone. Or, well, you get the idea.
I first learned about this concept in my NLP Trainer’s Training. We were learning to train, which included learning to give feedback that was useful. The basic format of the Feedback Sandwich is:
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Bread = Compliment, what the person did well, be specific!
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Meat = Suggestion for improvement
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Bread = Compliment, this time an overall positive assessment to take into the future.
This Sandwich comes with a warning.
For starters, it’s not necessary to create a Dagwoodian monolith of a feedback sandwich for it to be useful. It’s okay to keep it simple with a small, elegant tea sandwich. Also, I encourage carbo-loading in this case. More bread than fillings!
Another danger of the feedback sandwich is that you start getting programmed to know that criticism follows that first compliment. If I notice that I start to cringe whenever I try to give myself a compliment, I’ll probably look at another way of reviewing my week. Until then, I think with heartfelt review I’ll be just fine.
(If you’re in a position where you need to give feedback to others on a regular basis, you might want to skip the full carbo-lover’s sandwich and try this open-faced revised feedback method instead.)
What’s your feedback sandwich look like for the week?
Please share yours in the comments below, or on the Perception Studios Facebook page.
Awesome Thought Bubble photo by Chicago Art Department
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