(by 7 people)
In today's busy and connected world, it is hard to get and stay focused. Let's explore the topic together! I have offered several resources here. Please let me know of any others you think I ought to include.
Being focused goes beyond mastering your to-do list. In fact, traditional time management techniques might be getting in the way of focus.
My definition of focus? Spending time on tasks that will make the greatest difference, are aligned with your goals, and that produce results. Doing these tasks in a way that is energizing and promotes life balance.
Focus Like a Laser Beam
10 Ways to Do What Matters Most
This is my book about focus. Keith Ferrazzi, of Never Eat Alone fame, wrote the Foreword.
- Info about the book.
- Click here to go to the webpage for Focus Like a Laser Beam. You will find a description, links, and excerpts.
Ways to Focus
I coach and train leaders and here are a few tips that help busy professionals focus.
- Stop attending lousy meetings.
- Stop holding lousy meetings.
- Do at least one great thing every day.
- Stop multitasking - chunk your time instead.
- Learn relaxation and energy management techniques.
- Say NO more often.
- Don't let your mile long to-do list rule what you do each day.
- Energize the work environment - create pace and excitement.
- Become a master conversationalist and improve the level of your team's dialogue.
- Do big things with tiny pockets of time.
- Let go of projects and tasks that no longer make sense.
- Build deep relationships fast.
- Focus on work that makes a real difference. It is not enough that something has always been done.
- Tell provocative and evocative (provo-evo) stories.
- Hire rock stars.
- Have courage to do what's right and remove or leave situations that are not right.
Focus Quotes
Hocus focus, here's food for thought!
- "Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives." Anthony Robbins
- "Concentration is the secret of strengths in politics, in war, in trade, in short in all management of human affairs." Ralph Waldo Emerson
- "Concentrate all your thoughts on the task at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus." Alexander Graham Bell
- "Nothing can add more power to your life than concentrating all your energies on a limited set of targets." Nido Qubein
- "Do not let what you can't do interfere with what you can do." John Wooden
- "Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves." Dale Carnegie
- "It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?" Henry David Thoreau
- "Only when your consciousness is totally focused on the moment you are in can you receive whatever gift, lesson, or delight that moment has to offer." Barbara De Angelis
- "Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally." David Frost
- "The first requisite of success is the ability to apply your physical and mental energies to one problem without growing weary." Thomas Edison
- "Don't waste time calculating your chances of success and failure." Guan Yin Tzu
- "If you've lost focus, just sit down and be still. Take the idea and rock it to and fro. Keep some of it and throw some away, and it will renew itself. You need do no more." Clarissa Pinkola Estes
- "Often he who does too much does too little." Italian Proverb
Blog Posts About Focus
Here are several blog posts I enjoyed reading about focus.
- Focus is Foolish: Why Entrepreneurs Must Minimize Multitask Overhead
- From Rob at Businesspundit
- Dishing The (Research) Dirt on Multitasking
- From Adrian over at the Coyote Within.
- Poll: Multitasking behind the wheel?
- From Lifehacker - read the comments, too, they are interesting and telling.
- Multitasking makes us stupid?
- From Kathy at Creating Passionate Users.
- Getting Things Done
- A good post with lots of links about David Allen's Getting Things Done.
- Bruner Time Management Corollary
- A funny post from Rick at Executive Summary.
- What's Better: Time Management or Energy Management?
- From Anita over at the Worthwhile Magazine blog.
Stop Multitasking, Start Chunking
I get lots of excellent feedback about my practice of chunking. Here is a brief article.
Go, go, go. Buzz to one meeting and then another, but soon the day is gone and your to-do list is still a mile long. When the going gets tough, the tendency is to turn up the speed and start multitasking. What if multitasking is the problem?
"Even in the face of the mounting scientific and anecdotal evidence (not to mention individual blood pressure and stress levels) that multitasking doesn't work, companies cling to it like shipwrecked survivors to flotsam. They believe that asking employees to multitask saves them money and time when chances are good that it will do neither." That's what Megan Santosus wrote in the September 2003 issue of CIO.
She's not alone. Joshua Rubinstein, Ph.D., David Meyer, Ph.D., and Jeffrey Evans, Ph.D. studied patterns in the amounts of time lost when workers switched repeatedly between tasks. They found that subjects lost time when they had to switch from one task to another, and that time costs increased with the complexity of the tasks.
In Critical Chain, Eli Goldratt wrote, "Multitasking is probably the biggest killer of lead time, I say. And we all suffer from it. Call it meetings, call it emergencies, call it other jobs. The impact is the same. Lead time inflates."
Multitasking wastes time, energy, and concentration, but it is a natural outgrowth of today's busy work environment and broader job descriptions. Fortunately, there is a better way.
You can begin helping yourself and your employees achieve greater focus and productivity by chunking instead of multitasking. In the Effective Executive, Peter Drucker wrote, "In every executive job, a large part of the time must therefore be wasted on things which, thought they apparently have to be done, contribute nothing or little. Yet most of the tasks of the executive require, for minimum effectiveness, a fairly large quantum of time. To spend in one stretch less ththis minimum is sheer waste%u2026 To be effective, every knowledge worker, and especially every executive, therefore needs to be able to dispose of time in fairly large chunks. To have dribs and drabs of time at his disposal will not be sufficient even if the total is an impressive number of hours."
Chunking means carving out time segments to focus on one thing. Turn off your cell and office phone and shut down e-mail. Direct all your energies and thoughts to one task. Talk to your staff and make sure they know when you have set aside chunks. Encourage them to do the same.
Chunking is a beautiful thing!
"Even in the face of the mounting scientific and anecdotal evidence (not to mention individual blood pressure and stress levels) that multitasking doesn't work, companies cling to it like shipwrecked survivors to flotsam. They believe that asking employees to multitask saves them money and time when chances are good that it will do neither." That's what Megan Santosus wrote in the September 2003 issue of CIO.
She's not alone. Joshua Rubinstein, Ph.D., David Meyer, Ph.D., and Jeffrey Evans, Ph.D. studied patterns in the amounts of time lost when workers switched repeatedly between tasks. They found that subjects lost time when they had to switch from one task to another, and that time costs increased with the complexity of the tasks.
In Critical Chain, Eli Goldratt wrote, "Multitasking is probably the biggest killer of lead time, I say. And we all suffer from it. Call it meetings, call it emergencies, call it other jobs. The impact is the same. Lead time inflates."
Multitasking wastes time, energy, and concentration, but it is a natural outgrowth of today's busy work environment and broader job descriptions. Fortunately, there is a better way.
You can begin helping yourself and your employees achieve greater focus and productivity by chunking instead of multitasking. In the Effective Executive, Peter Drucker wrote, "In every executive job, a large part of the time must therefore be wasted on things which, thought they apparently have to be done, contribute nothing or little. Yet most of the tasks of the executive require, for minimum effectiveness, a fairly large quantum of time. To spend in one stretch less ththis minimum is sheer waste%u2026 To be effective, every knowledge worker, and especially every executive, therefore needs to be able to dispose of time in fairly large chunks. To have dribs and drabs of time at his disposal will not be sufficient even if the total is an impressive number of hours."
Chunking means carving out time segments to focus on one thing. Turn off your cell and office phone and shut down e-mail. Direct all your energies and thoughts to one task. Talk to your staff and make sure they know when you have set aside chunks. Encourage them to do the same.
Chunking is a beautiful thing!
My Favorite Tools
Cool stuff that can help you focus!
- Basecamp
- Keep track of projects and what's most important. Teams can track progress together.
- FreeConference.com
- Don't fall into the trap of back and forth email. Get everyone on the call and settle things quickly. And it's free.
- Levenger
- Get focused while being in style! I love their bleachers for keeping important ideas front and center on my mind.
- Moleskine
- Get inspired and record your thoughts and ideas while away from home. Enjoy a reflective cup of joe and let your mind wander (important for staying focused!).
- WaterRower
- Does your mind get a bit foggy at about 2pm? I love this natural wood water rower to reduce stress and perk up my brain cells. Finding a way to do just a bit of exercise during the work day is important. Ten minutes on this machine will do the trick (and it sits up so it does not take up a lot of space when not in use). I use mine twice per day - the sound of the water is sublime.
Focus Stuff on Amazon
Here are a few items that might help you get focused!
Focus Like a Laser Beam: 10 Ways to Do What Matters Most
This is my book! :-) It's focused on helping readers focus and offers many targeted ideas.
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 07/26/2008)
The Power of Focus: What the Worlds Greatest Achievers Know about The Secret of Financial Freedom and Success
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 07/26/2008)
Focus: The Future of Your Company Depends on It
Amazon Price: (as of 07/26/2008)
Focus : Achieving Your Highest Priorities
Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 07/26/2008)
H.I.M.M. - High Impact Middle Management: Solutions for Today's Busy Managers
Amazon Price: (as of 07/26/2008)
Free Your Breath, Free Your Life: How Conscious Breathing Can Relieve Stress, Increase Vitality, and Help You Live More Fully
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 07/26/2008)
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
Amazon Price: $9.00 (as of 07/26/2008)
Management Craft
My blog about management and leadership.
I write often about focus.
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- A blog about how to generate breakthroughs.
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- A blog for people who are 40+. I am one of several bloggers on this site.
- Management Craft on Allbusiness.com
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