[[:encoded, "If asked, what is the one defining quality that sets great leaders apart from their wannabe counterparts, it would have to be their ability to maintain focus on the important issues.\n\nSure, once behind closed doors, even the most successful leaders probably have moments of indecision, procrastination, and uncertainty, but even the sharpest minds need to take a break occasionally.\n\nFor the majority of us, the power to focus on one task at a time and see it through to completion is not an innate gift. Focus is a learned response, so if we want to achieve the professional, personal and social goals we imagine, we have to first learn how to focus on what we want.\n\nWe now live in a frenetic, activity-filled, multi-tasking, instant gratification society, so it is easy to get lost in the distractions that bombard us from every angle. \n\nHow many times have you found yourself on the phone talking to a client, while reading your emails, hitting the “Reply” button and then typing out a response? Where is your focus while you are completing a number of individual tasks at the same time?\n\nFocus requires that we learn to differentiate between the “urgent” and the “important” tasks. Urgent tasks are distractions that cause us, subconsciously, to put off or delay the important projects. And it’s the important tasks that lead us to our objectives and goals.\n\nResponding to urgent emails, answering the phone, or checking your text messages can all be categorized as urgent tasks. We are conditioned to believe that these urgent tasks require our instant attention because they keep us busy and make us feel important and needed.\n\nWe think, “This will only take a minute,” when, in fact, urgent tasks can often take a lengthy amount of “minutes” to complete.\n\n11 Guidelines for Helping You to Stay Laser Focused\n\nThe power of focus lies in your ability to distinguish the urgent from the important; and concentrate your energy on the important.\n\nThese guidelines will help you to re-direct your focus and prioritize getting the important things done first.\n\n1.\tWrite down the important tasks you have set yourself for the day. These are the results-driven projects that require your complete focus.\n\nPrioritize those tasks according to their importance, as they relate to goal achievement, and then plan a strategy for completing the most important task first.\n\nVisualize the entire process and how it will look once it’s completed. Keep that image at the front of your mind.\n\n2.\tClear your desk of everything except the important project you are working on. If necessary, make a pile of paperwork on the floor. You can always pick it up once your important task is completed.\n\n3.\tBlock out a time in your daily schedule to attend to the urgent matters. Most of us find we are at out lowest ebb early in the afternoon, so this is an ideal time to take care of anything “urgent”.\n\n4.\tDon’t answer the phone. Imagine you are in a meeting and can’t be interrupted. \n\n5.\tTurn off your email client and shut down the automatic email notification system.\n\n6.\tTurn off your cell phone or shift the ring tone to “silent”.\n\n7.\tClose down any programs on your computer that could cause you to become distracted. Remember to turn off RSS feeds.\n\n8.\tClose the door to your office. If you work in an open plan space where there is a lot of noise around you, consider buying a pair of ear plugs.\n\n9.\tWork attentively. If you find yourself getting distracted, re-visualize the project in your head and the action steps necessary to complete them. \n\n10.\tTake regular breaks. Very few of us can remain laser focused for long periods of time without losing the plot, so take a 5 to 10-minute break every hour.\n\nIf you sit at a desk, get up, stretch your legs and take a few deep breaths, do some sit-ups, or push-ups or take a walk around the inside of the office. If you have been working on a computer, re-train your eyes to focus on middle t
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I’m the author of many books, including, Excuses Don’t Count; Results Rule, Live Life with No Regrets, No Excuses, The Guide to Stopping Procrastination, The Power of Visualization, My Gratitude Journal, the Work Life Balance Emergency Kit, and The Roadmap To Success with Stephen Covey and Ken Blanchard, and more.
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Anne Bachrach
The Accountability Coach™
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