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NEWS LETTER- August 2016

Lead Oneself

Habit 7– Sharpen the Saw

Sharpen the Saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest
asset you have i.e. you. It means having a balanced program for
self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/
emotional, mental, and spiritual. Here are some examples of
activities:
Physical: Beneficial eating, exercising, and resting

Social/Emotional: Making social and meaningful connections with others

Mental: Learning, reading, writing, and teaching

Spiritual: Spending time in nature, expanding spiritual self through
meditation, music, art, prayer, or service

As you renew yourself in each
of the four areas, you create
growth and change in your life. spiritually. Or you can go through How do you Sharpen
Sharpen the Saw keeps you
fresh so you can continue to
practice the other six habits.
You increase your capacity to
produce and handle the
challenges around you. Without
this renewal, the body becomes
weak, the mind mechanical,
the emotions raw, the spirit
insensitive, and the person
selfish. Not a pretty picture, isremember that every day
it?
Feeling good doesn't just
happen. Living a life in balance
means taking the necessary desire, knowledge, and skill.
time to renew yourself. It's all
up to you. You can renew your-
self through relaxation. Or you
can totally burn yourself out by
overdoing everything. You can WHATS INSIDE? Page
No.
pamper yourself mentally and
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your Saw?
life oblivious to your well-being.
You can experience vibrant Ways to Sharpen your 3
energy. Or you can procrastinate Saw.
and miss out on the benefits of (Physical Dimension)
good health and exercise. You can Ways to Sharpen your
4
revitalize yourself and face a new Saw.
day in peace and harmony. Or (Mental Dimension)
you can wake up in the morning Sharpen your Saw 5
full of apathy because your get up
Ways to apply at home
and go has got up and gone. Just
provides a new opportunity for The story of a woodcut- 6
ter by Stephen Covey
renewal, a new opportunity to
recharge yourself instead of
6
hitting the wall. All it takes is the I Lead Editorial Board
“Make yourself a priority once in a while.
It’s not selfishness. It’s necessary.”

Sharpen the Saw is a
conversation about planning
and continuous improvement.
Sharpen the Saw discusses self
-renewal, self-care, self-
respect and self-improvement.
So, how do you Sharpen Your
Saw?
The pace of change keeps
accelerating, which makes it
even more important that we
focus on improving ourselves
and/or our organizations.
To help us all figure out our
relationship with time,
personal change and
Sharpening the Saw, Stephen
R. Covey balances the concept
across 4 main categories or
dimensions. These dimensions
are:
 Physical
 Spiritual
 Mental
 Social / Emotional
Whether we are speaking of
peopl e, departmen ts or
organizations, Sharpening the
Saw must be balanced across
th es e fou r 'di me n si on s'
otherwise an imbalance will be
created. We can offset an
imbalance for a while, but not
long-term.
Sharpening the Saw is an
ongoing process of personal
change not something you can
binge like your favourite TV
show. You need to define your
own balanced, four
di men si on al li fe to be
successful! If you are a leader,
How do you
Sharpen your Saw?
your role is to help the
people who report into you
and/or look up to you
(your family), explore
these dimensions and
establish goal s for
themselves.
We al l h ave bu sy
lifestyles, therefore it's no
surprise we have to insert
Sharpen the Saw into our
Time Management best
practices and make it part
of our Quadrant II
priorities (Habit 3).
Self-improvement takes
time just like working out
and getting fit. When you
begin working out, a
Stephen says, "It means
exercising all four
dimensions of our nature,
regularly and consistently
in a wise and balanced
way. To do this we have to
be proactive."
trainer will help you
receive maximum benefit
and minimize injury. In
the same way, a personal
coach will help guide your
personal change and keep
you on track.
What Is Your Purpose?
What Are You
Committed To?
If you work with a
personal coach, get them
to help you define what
your motivator is. What do
you want to do/be? What
are your values? How do
your core competencies
need to migrate? What
inspires you? How can you
live with purpose and
integrity following our
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values. How can you stay
focused on:
 Win/Win (Habit 4)
 Listening (Habit 5)
 Synergize (Habit 6)
Sharpening The Saw is
anything that will help
you renew your energy
and keep you balanced.
Again, how do you
Sharpen Your Saw?
keep the four dimensions in
mind. How you sharp the
saw is personal.
For example, what if you
taken one night/week
without TV to get in touch
with your values?
Instead of TV you:
 Read for pleasure (not
work)
 Get a degree or another
degree
 Read for school or a
night class
 Made art
 Cooked all night with
your family / friends because
you love to cook not because
you have to cook.
 Went to the gym
 Meditated
 Went to a play (not a
movie)
 Walked in the park.
 Listened to music
 Wrote a journal or letters
to friends/family.
Stephen Covey suggests:
Targeting 1 hour/day to
focus on Sharpening Your
Saw.
If that works for you then
terrific!

Ways to Sharpen your Saw
H ere you’ll discover ten
ways to sharpen the saw
for your physical dimension,
and ten ways to sharpen the
saw for your mental
dimension. That is, you’ll find
20 habits of self-renewal.
Choose the ones that appeal to
you the most, and begin
integrating them into your life,
today.
Sharpen the Saw
Physical Dimension
1. Eat Healthy Meals.
Eating a healthy diet is one of
the best ways to keep your
saw sharp. Healthy eating
begins with the following:
 Cooking meals at home.
 Reducing your fat, sugar,
and salt intake.
Eating three servings of fruit
and five servings of vegetables
daily. Improving your eating
habits is good for your
waistline, your physical health,
your longevity, and even your
mental health.
2. Drink Lots of Water.
It’s vital to drink lots of water
throughout the day. When we
are really busy we are tempted
to ignore signs of thirst. So,
keep a water bottle with you
at all times and take frequent
drinks from it all day long.
3. Do Cardio. Cardiovascular
activity is any activity that
gets your heart rate to about
50–75% of your maximum
heart rate. This includes
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20 habits of self-renewal
walking, jogging, bike riding, unfocused, and even
taking an aerobics class, and irritable. Taking a break at
so on. Doing cardio will do all the point in which your
of the following for you: concentration begins to
 Help you lose weight,
 Make your heart stronger,
 In c r eas e y ou r lung
wane will allow you to return
to your task, after the break,
with renewed focus.
capacity,
 Reduce the risk of several 8. Breathe Deeply.
diseases, including diabetes, Yoga philosophy claims that
and allow you to release we are each allotted a
stress. certain number of breaths in
our lifetime. Therefore, the
4. Lift Weights. deeper you breathe, the
Weight lifting will improve longer each breath will last,
your health, your brain and the longer you’ll live. At
function, and your mood. It the very least, deep
will even help you live longer. breathing relieves stress,
thereby reducing the
5. Stretch. negative effects of stress on
Stretching helps improve your body.
flexibility and increases your
range of motion. It also helps 9. Take a Nap.
you to prevent injury. Find a Dr. Sara Mednick , a
flexibility class such as yoga psychologist at the
or Pilates near your home, or University of California,
do your own flexibility work explains that a 20-minute
for 45-60 minutes, at least nap can improve brain
once a week. functions ranging from
memory to focus and
6. Get Enough Sleep. creativity. Here are three
Most adults need about 7 more benefits of napping:
hours of sleep to function  Napping reduces stress.
optimally. You may be  Napping increases
tempted to scrimp on sleep willpower.
to get more work done, but  Napping has been linked
don’t. Numerous studies have to lower rates of
found a link between cardiovascular disease and
insufficient sleep and serious inflammation.
health problems, such as
hearth disease, diabetes, and 10. Go To a Spa. Every
obesity. once in a while give yourself
and your body a treat by
7. Take Breaks. spending the day at a spa. If
You need to stop thinking going to a spa sounds too
that you’re too busy to take self-indulgent, at the very
breaks. After all, the brain least fill the tub at home
wasn’t made for extended with warm water, add
focus. If you try to focus past scented bath salts, light a
your productivity zone you’re candle, and turn on some
likely to start feeling anxious, slow-tempo music.

Sharpen the Saw
Mental Dimension
11. Read.
you’re a knowledge worker
and your brain is your saw.
And one of the best ways to
keep your brain sharp is by
reading. Specifically, by
reading books that are
challenging. Reading books
that are slightly above your
current level of comprehension
will force your brain to engage,
which means that you’ll be
giving your brain a good
workout. Each time that you
grasp a new concept, you’ll be
pushing your brain up to a
new level. An A+ brain will do
wonders for your productivity.
12. Solve Puzzles.
A study of American nuns and
retired priests found that those
who pursued various kinds of
cognitive activity including
doing puzzles were 47% less
likely to develop Alzheimers
than those who undertook
such activities infrequently.
If you want to keep your brain
sharp, take out your sudokus,
crossword puzzles, and jigsaw
puzzles, and start solving
them.
13. Take Up a Hobby.
Having a hobby has myriads of
benefits, including keeping
your mind sharp, increasing
feelings of self-efficacy, and
releasing stress.
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14. Observe the Secular  Setting goals and
Sabbath. planning how to achieve
Take off one day in seven. them.
The busier you are, the more  Measuring your progress
you need a day of rest. on the achievement of your
Unplug from work, the goals.
internet, your cellphone, and  Evaluating each area of
other everyday demands. So, your life, including health,
what on earth are you going relationships, finances, and
to do all day? Read, solve so on.
puzzles, and work on a
hobby.
In addition, in Covey terms,
ask yourself the following:
15. Take a Vacation.
Is my ladder leaning
Modern life is stressful and
against the right
this stress is likely to take a
building?
toll on both your physical and
mental health. Every once in
a while we all need to hit the 18. Have a Morning
pause button for a week or Routine.
two. That’s where vacations Start each morning by
come in. The idea is to break performing a group of habits
the stress cycle. After your which will allow you to greet
vacation you’ll be ready to the day at the top of your
face your work with renewed game. This can include
gusto. having a green smoothie,
letting natural light shine on
16. Update Your Skills. your face, and writing down
In order to do your best work affirmations.
you need to keep your skills Create a morning routine
and knowledge up-to-date. that’s the equivalent of
Here are some ideas on how starting each day with a saw
to identify the skills or sharpening session.
knowledge that you need to
stay sharp: 19. Have a Night Routine.
 Recommendations from Create and follow a night
your boss and from your routine that will help you
mentor. end the day right, while
 Skills or knowledge that: simultaneously setting you
you need in order to be up for success the next day.
able to step up the ladder.
 your co-workers possess, 20. Exercise Your
but you don’t. Creativity.
you need to be able to Even if your job or the
complete your projects well service that you provide
and effectively. requires mostly logic and
analytical thought, you need
 you need in order to get
to keep your right-brain
additional certifications
hemisphere sharp. After all,
which would make you
you never know when you’ll
more valuable to your com-
need to devise a creative
pany.
solution for a problem or
come up with a great idea.
17. Take Time to Think.
Working on creative projects
Every once in a while you
won’t just give your
need to stop and take time to
right-brain a work-out, it will
think. Specifically, you need
also give your left-brain
to think about the following:
some rest.
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Let’s Sharpen the Saw

TOGETHER as a FAMILY

1. FOR KIDS
Activity Center: Have a place with supplies that kids can
use: arts & crafts supplies, learning games, puzzle, classi-
cal music, books, beautiful pictures, inspirational stories.
Explore the following links:
http://www.netmums.com/activities/fun-at-home

https://www.eduplace.com/hac/

https://intelligentnest.com/2012/12/07/activity-centers-seeing-
play-at-home-from-a-new-perspective/
Words to use:
2. AS A FAMILY
 “ R e me mb e r to
Brainstorm: Discuss ways to Sharpen the Saw in every sharpen the saw.”
area.
 “Are you in
 Body: playing outside, riding bikes, sleep, nutrition. balance?”
 Brain: reading, some educational shows,  “Did you tend all
mind puzzles. your areas?”
 Heart: time with friends, playing with a  “ L e t ’ s t r y
pet, drawing. something new.”
Soul: keep a journal, prayer, time in nature.
 “What makes you
feel happy?”
3. Library: Visit the Library often as a family. Discuss
your favorite stories with your children. Read short sto-  “How have you
ries or articles from good magazines together. tended your
(heart/soul/body/
4. Adventure: Try something new as a family! Museums,
mind) recently?”
new foods, volunteer, new games.

5. Family Devotional: Set aside time each day as a

family for some kind of spiritual connection and
discussion. Meditation, a scripture verse, a walk in
nature.
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could only bring 15 trees. The third day he tried

The Story of a woodcutter even harder, but he could only bring 10 trees.

O
by Stephen Covey
nce upon a time, a very strong
woodcutter asked for a job at a timber
merchant and he got it. The pay was really good
and so was the work condition. For those
reasons, the woodcutter was determined to do
his best.
His boss gave him an axe and showed him the
area where he supposed to work.
The first day, the woodcutter brought 18 trees.
“Congratulations,” the boss said. “Go on that
way!”
Very motivated by the words of the boss, the
woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he
Day after day he was bringing less and less
trees.
“I must be losing my strength”, the woodcutter
thought. He went to the boss and apologized,
saying that he could not understand what was
going on.
“When was the last time you sharpened your
axe?” the boss asked.
“Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I
have been very busy trying to cut trees…”
Reflection:
Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so
busy that we don’t take time to sharpen the
“axe”.
In today’s world, it seems that everyone is
busier than ever, but less happy than ever.

Why is that?
Could it be that we have forgotten how to stay “sharp”?
There’s nothing wrong with activity and hard work. But we
should not get so busy that we neglect the truly important
things in life, like our personal life, taking time to get
close to our Creator, giving more time for our family,
taking time to read etc.
We all need time to relax, to think and meditate, to learn
and grow. If we don’t take the time to sharpen the “axe”,
we will become dull and lose our effectiveness.

I-LEAD
Editorial Board

Designed, Compiled
and Produced by:

Ms. Himali Jain

Edited by:

Ms. Namrita Rathee

Reviewed by:

Ms. Sangeeta Parmar

Email your articles,

thoughts and suggestions
to:

namrita.rathee
@khaitanpublicschool.com

himali.jain
@khaitanpublicschool.com