Three Key Takeaways about maintaining laser focus:
- Schedule dedicated thinking and planning time - Set aside specific time for reflection and planning, away from distractions, to maintain mental clarity and focus
- Evaluate how your goals fit into the bigger picture - Consider how your various roles and relationships need to coexist while pursuing your objectives, ensuring you maintain balance in your life
- Create a daily plan focused on vital actions - Identify and schedule dedicated time for tasks that directly contribute to your larger goals, while eliminating distractions during these focus periods
Finding your focus and maintaining that focus is key to achieving the outcomes you want in life. Telling you to focus is easy for me to do, sounds easy in theory, but is difficult in reality. Life pulls us in many directions, and distractions are plentiful every day.
"I don't care how much power, brilliance or energy you have. If you don't harness it and focus it on a specific target and hold it there you're never going to accomplish as much as your ability warrants."Zig Ziglar
Step 1: Schedule Dedicated Time for Thinking and Planning
I don't know about you, but I often get so busy with everything that I need to juggle, that I forget the importance of finding time to just be still and think. Thinking is crucial for mental health and focus. Allowing your mind to be free from dictated action creates the opportunity for growth and innovation. Warren Buffet, a highly successful investor, is a perfect example of the success that can be found when the freedom to think is built into your approach to life.
How you choose to design time to think into your life is uniquely yours and should fit the life you want to lead. For some, this may mean a day set aside specifically to think and plan the rest of the week. For others, this may mean an hour set aside in a day.
📌 Take Action: Get started by scheduling a set time to think and plan. Aim for at least an hour, but more time would be even better. Inform others that you will not be answering the phone or email unless it is an emergency.
You may need to define what constitutes an emergency 😉. Choose a location conducive to thinking, which may not be your office.
This might feel strange and be challenging initially, but taking this time is invaluable. Remember, this is not a selfish action‼️ Those you love will benefit from you taking this time.
Step 2: Evaluate the Big Picture
You play multiple roles and have many relationships that are important to you. No single goal exists in isolation. Consider the full scope of your life, including the goals you have set, and start to work through how actions need to coexist as you move forward toward your objectives. Pursuing advanced education is challenging and time-consuming, but that doesn't mean you should sacrifice the important roles and relationships in your life.
To ensure that you can maintain the life you want while achieving your goals, it's essential to review the full picture. Not everything can be a focus every day, but finding some time to focus on what is important to you is crucial to your success.
📌 Take Action:
- List the relationships that are important to you.
- Identify the roles you need to maintain while pursuing your goal.
- Create time in your daily schedule to focus on these areas.
Not every role or relationship needs to be addressed every day. Find what works for you and your lifestyle. This requires going back to step 1.
Step 3: Develop a Daily Plan to Focus on the Vital
Our goals define what we view as vital to living the life we desire. Defining what is vital creates the impetus for change. To achieve our goals, our focus needs to be clear—not just on what we want to achieve in a month or a year, although that is part of the planning process. Keeping your focus requires putting a plan in place to focus on what is vital. By identifying steps each day that contribute to the goals we have identified as vital, we maintain a true focus.
The reality is that the majority of our day is not directly contributing to achieving what is vitally important. The trick is finding time to complete your daily work and get things done that are part of a normal day while also making time to focus on your larger goals and what is vital to your success and fulfillment.
📌 Take Action:
- Start with one of your larger goals. Ensure that you have it written down.
- Think through the actions that need to be done every day, week, and month to achieve that goal within your set timeline.
- Determine what you could do tomorrow. This starts to provide you with a method of finding an action to take every day or every other day that will keep you focused on moving toward your goal. NOTE: If you are pursuing a degree, break down your courses and assignments into daily actions.
- Set aside dedicated time on your calendar to work on the vital. This time is sacrosanct and should not be disturbed by other distractions.
Step 4: Eliminate Distractions During Focus Time
One of the disadvantages of our world is that we are connected 24/7. We have technology at our fingertips and can be distracted in an instant. When you are ready to focus on taking action, you need to be fully committed. To maintain focus, you must concentrate on what is vital and ignore distractions.
This can be very difficult when you have a spouse and children who expect and deserve your attention while at home. At work, your boss, peers, employees, and customers expect and deserve your attention. So, how do you balance this to get things done and maintain your focus? That will depend on your lifestyle and circumstances.
📌 Take Action: Start by asking some questions
- Do you have a location in your home that can be designated as a "Do Not Disturb" zone? If so, this may be your best option.
- Is there a conference room or other space at work that you could use outside of your normal work hours?
- Would you find it easier to rent time at a coworking space to work without interruption?
- Keep asking yourself questions until you discover what will work best for you. I also recommend involving your significant other (if you have one) in the discussion. They may have a solution that you haven't considered to give you the time and space necessary to maintain focus on what is important.
Step 5: Embrace Change for Growth
Reaching your goals really means that you must change what you are doing. Keeping your focus and working through these steps requires change—change in your daily habits, change in the way your family operates, and change in your approach to daily life.💡
"If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results."Jack Dixon
Making the necessary changes in your approach and creating space for you to focus on what is important and vital to your success and happiness creates the results you want. The key is to change and continually review what is working. When something stops working or negatively impacts your ability to focus, it's time to change again.
Conclusion
Finding and maintaining focus is essential for achieving the outcomes you desire in life. By implementing the five steps outlined in this article—scheduling dedicated time for thinking and planning, evaluating the big picture, developing a daily plan to focus on the vital, eliminating distractions during focus time, and embracing change for growth—you can create a strong foundation for success.
Remember, achieving your goals is a journey that requires flexibility and adaptability. Regularly assess what is working and make adjustments as needed. With consistent effort and a commitment to focus, you can transform your dreams into reality and live the life you truly want. Start taking action today, and watch as your focus propels you toward success.
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