E-mail, voicemail, “got a minute?” interruptions, multiple projects and competing priorities. Whether it is in work or in life, we all understand the importance of “seeing the forest for the trees.” But with so many “trees” competing for your attention, it’s tough to find the forest, never mind spend much time there. The challenge today is not so much time management, but focus management. In other words, if you want to focus on the big picture, you need to manage not time, but focus – yours.
Here are seven Focus Management® best practices that you can begin using today:
1. Plan for success. Do you spend more time preparing for a two-week vacation than planning important aspects of your work or life? If so, take time out to do some short- and mid-range planning of your current goals and projects. Long-range plans are useful for setting a direction. In terms of taking action though, 60-day plans tend to work best. Ask yourself: What high-impact, multi-step goals or projects do I need or want to begin this month and next?
2. Differentiate the forest from the trees – in writing. You make lists and lists of trees. But where do you keep your forest activities? Committing the big picture to writing gives it a fighting chance. Label a page in your organizer or a screen in your PDA: Current Goals & Projects. As you prepare your list, be careful not to mix the forest in with the trees. Doing so forces your subconscious to choose between “develop strategic plan” and “send e-mail.” Given the choice, the higher pay-off activity will lose every time. That’s because the brain skips the “big verb” activities (e.g. plan, coordinate, develop, research, revise, etc.) associated with the forest in favor of smaller, more manageable verbs like “call,” “e-mail,” or “buy” that make up the trees.
3. Put a stake in the ground. The timeline for completing some goals and projects are clear – the new network must be up in two weeks, taxes must be filed by April 15th, the sales report is due at month’s end. Then there are the goals and projects that languish for lack of an externally imposed deadline. Giving each of your current goals and projects a target date to shoot for not only helps you create a plan to reach it, but is motivating as well. Bonus benefit: When your boss throws you yet another big project, use your Current Goals & Projects plan as a basis for clarifying priorities and renegotiating due dates.
4. Keep your list visible. With so many trees competing for your attention, you need to make the forest as conspicuous as possible. Seeing your goals every day also helps make them real. If a goal isn’t “in your face every day,” says Drew Carey, “it’s a wish, not a dream.” Force yourself to tune into the big picture by making your Current Goals and Projects list the first thing you see when you open your paper or electronic organizer.
5. Begin the day by scanning the forest. Use the time while your e-mail is downloading to reflect on your Current Goals & Projects list. Then apply this Big Picture 80/20 Rule which says that 80% of our results – in work and in life – come from just 20% of our efforts. If your goal or project requires concentrated time – for example, connecting with key clients or staying in shape – block out 20% of your day to spend on these activities. If the project requires juggling lots of small steps, make sure that for every 10 trees you fell in a day, at least two (20%) relate to the big picture.
6. Use the Next Actions approach. When you’re juggling five different initiatives, each with anywhere from 10 to 100 steps – it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Yet no matter how large the undertaking, one simple reality remains the same: There may be many steps, but there is always only one “next action.” Say you have to manage a major software conversion. The next action might be to create a project plan. Can’t make a plan until you talk to Fred? Next action: Call Fred. As an ancient proverb reminds us: “To move a mountain you must begin by carrying away small stones.”
7. Manage mental interruptions. Ok. You talked to Fred and have all the information you need to start writing that project plan. You set your phone to roll to voice mail. You turn off email notification. You even post a Do Not Disturb sign by your door. You settle in at your computer ready to go. Twenty minutes into it you’re making real progress. Now imagine that with absolutely no prompting from you, three totally unrelated files suddenly pop up on your screen. How easy do you think it would be to stay focused on your original document? Yet, that’s exactly the way your brain operates! You’re in the middle of one thing when your subconscious pops in to remind you to do something else – like “email Juan.” Here’s a better idea. Rather than risk distracting yourself from your high impact project, address the mental interruption by taking a few seconds to add, “email Juan” to your list of next actions. Or as we like to say, “If you think it – ink it!”
The trees are a constant and sometimes relentless part of life. If you find that the trees are overtaking the forest, the key is to manage your response to the big picture and the details through more effective focus management. Gain control over your attention and you gain greater control over your life.
