From frazzled to focused

Posted: October 10, 2012 | Categories: Self-Improvement

It is no secret that we live in a world of boundless instant information and countless distractions.  Kenneth Blanchard tells us that we are exposed to more information in 30 days than our grandparents were in their lifetime.  No wonder we all struggle so hard to maintain our focus.

We need focus.  Today I was reminded of this principle when I received a phone call from a client who was frantic.  His office manager had suddenly resigned and the timing couldn’t have been worse.  Bill was on the verge of closing three major business deals and he knew he must stay with these opportunities until they were officially in the “win” column.  At the same time, he needed to get the invoicing done so that his business could maintain their steady cash flow.

As we talked through the problem, Bill came up with the following action steps:

1. Take a full-size legal pad and write down all the tasks and activities swarming in his head.
2. Go through the list and prioritize by asking these two questions:
   1. How much will I benefit if I do this task?
   2. How much will I suffer if I don’t?
3. Select the top five

After Bill went through these steps, here is what happened:

In writing down all the things in his mind, he was able to relax just knowing he had transferred everything on paper.  Writing can be a very powerful control mechanism.  If you doubt that, consider all the great achievers:  Almost all work from written goals.

By prioritizing, he did come up with his top five.  He then numbered them from one to five in order of their importance. I thought it was interesting that four of the five were related to direct sales.  Without going through this exercise, Bill freely admitted that he would have probably spent the majority of his time doing office stuff, just because of all that was surrounding him

So how did Bill feel after working through these steps?  “I feel energized, focused, and balanced, and I am ready to dive in”.  He did.

Imagine if Bill had not taken a time out to work through these steps.  He would probably still be frazzled, unfocused, and inefficient with his time.  The problems would have just compounded.

When we find ourselves thrown off track or scrambling, let’s remember to take a time out and do what Bill did.  Write it all down.  Determine the top five.  Put them in order of their importance.  Act!

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