Do you struggle to focus at times?
I do.
I have a plan for the day and often it goes by the wayside.
I intend for a task to take 30 minutes and hours later, I find I’m still doing the task.
What does it mean to focus?
According to Dictionary.com, the meaning of “focus” is “a central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity.”
According to Cham Tang, co-founder of Authentic Education, F.O.C.U.S. means to “follow one course until successful”.
I love this definition because we can use it to help ourselves defeat overwhelm and procrastination.
When we have too many things to do and feel overwhelmed about getting them finished, often we distract ourselves with meaningless tasks, like cleaning the oven, doing the washing etc. that are not priorities at that time.
If you were to F.O.C.U.S. where would you start?
What is the one thing you could follow through until it was completed?
I was always impressed with Dugnea McGrath when I worked with her and Kip. Dug had a list of things she had to do in a day and she simply started at the top of the list and worked on one item at a time until it was completed, then moved on to the next item. She didn’t leave the office until her list was complete.
Now that’s F.O.C.U.S.
Another way I trick myself into focussing is to set deadlines. For example, I always meet the deadline of sending the Weekly Thought. Sometimes it is written well in advance, other times I just make it. Knowing that it has to go out on a certain day and time helps me to focus to get it done.
What other strategies do you have?
One of my colleagues likes to work on Sunday. His wife works away from home on Sundays so he uses the quiet time to be creative as well as work on tasks that require uninterrupted attention.
We’re all different, so finding your thing is important.
Again, I ask. What’s the one course you’ll follow through to success?
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