Often you get to the end of the day and think, “I was busy all day, but what did I accomplish?”
Goals give us
more than just a target to aim for -- they help us change our behavior
today. Do you get the work that is most important to you done? At the
beginning of each day, there are three things you can do to ensure
you're going to gain momentum.
The three steps I’ve found most helpful to regain and maintain focus are:
Determine what has your focus right now. First
you’ll need to admit that something else has your attention. Ask
yourself, “What is a typical workday like?” If possible, have someone
audit your workflow over the course of a day or so. Ask them to tell you
where it seems like you're losing focus and momentum. Knowing what
currently disturbs your focus is the first step.
How much quality time do you have for deep thinking, getting
important tasks done, developing new ideas and building on old ones? Are
you in a highly interruptive environment?
If you find yourself multitasking often, consider the following
five-day-experiment. For just the next five days, schedule -- and stick
to -- a few longer blocks of focused time to get important work done.
Start with blocking just 30 to 45 minutes each day to focus on bigger
projects and move them forward.
Cut "should" out of your vocabulary. You're
better off without constantly “should-ing” yourself. Getting caught up
in things you “should” do is a negative mindset that only clouds your
focus and pulls you away from thinking about what you're accomplishing
in the moment.
Of course we all have lists of things we “should” do. I initially
reduced this list for myself simply by noticing where and when I engaged
in that behavior. Stopping to reflect on one “should” at a time allowed
me to attach an action step to it. That change alone lowered my
anxiety.
If you're struggling to make a decision about what you should and
should not be doing, breakdown the steps you need to take and weigh the
pros and cons of focusing on the specific task at hand.
These focus activities make it easier to decide whether to say “yes”
or “no,” whatever the situation or question. Either way, you save time
and get engaged faster in making your ideas happen, because you’re one
step closer to moving your focus away from asking “Should I?” to “How
can I?”
Remove distractions. Realize that your focus is splintered in the face of distractions -- primarily visual and auditory.
What distractions around you decrease your productivity? Visual
distractions include piles of papers or unfinished projects, and even
sticky notes on your computer. Auditory distractions are generally
sounds that pull your focus from your project. Turn off dings, alarms,
notification alerts, popups and sounds that you can control.
Distractions and interruptions can fool us into thinking we’re being productive, while destroying your focus.
Don’t try to change everything at once. Select just one auditory or
visual distraction and eliminate it. Give these small changes a week and
see what happens. If your focus improves, continue distraction
reduction.
Ultimately focus allows us to complete what’s important to us. With a
strong goal, a clear objective, and 10 to 15 minutes of focused time,
you can move much farther and faster than you thought possible.
