Wow! It seems like many of you are focused on starting 2014 off right. I appreciated hearing back from lots of readers about last week's discussion on coaching and micromanaging. While I'm sure we all understand the value of coaching and mentoring, sometimes it can be hard to describe and even harder to implement. Here are a couple of things you shared with me about what makes a great coach/leader.

Coaches...

• understand business, but they're more interested in helping you grow than giving you quick fixes.
• know their stuff, but they're more interested in putting ideas into practice than being right.
• don't strive for perfection, because they know that the best thing is not what we get done each day, but who we can be.

And my favorite..."coaches are people who are interested in what's 'real', who accept their limits but keep testing them anyway."

A big thanks to everyone who shared thoughts with me, so I can share them with you.

So, all this talk about how much time we spend walking the tightrope between coaching and managing and micromanaging has me thinking about that other big issue... "multi-tasking."  Have you heard of "chunking" some people call it "batching", but I like "chunking" best. It's a time management tool for getting more done with fewer interruptions so you don't have to repeatedly refocus your efforts. And there's real science behind it. Here's what I like about "chunking"... it works.  I admit to being a huge multi-tasker.  And that's ok for things where the brain doesn't need to focus, like brushing my teeth, while picking out what I'm going to wear in the morning. But for tasks that require more of the brain's capacity, multitasking really doesn't work as well as many of us like to think. Chunking on the other hand makes more sense...the concept is simple - break up your day into larger chunks!

Start small. But be determined. Be willing to be a little more "scheduled" than you may feel comfortable with at first. Over time you may find that you can "chunk" more and more! I know it's part of my 2014 plan to do more "chunking". How about you?.

Come join our discussion on our blog, or I welcome your feedback through email.