Advance Your Career By Learning How To Focus
We live in world today where being able to multi-task is not just a good skill to have it is now a requirement for success in just about any job. No matter what type of job you’re in, there’s no doubt that at different times during the day you have to focus and refocus your attention on different tasks that all have deadlines.
Being able to focus on the most important task is one of the most important skills you must have in order to advance your career. Unfortunately, very few men and women have the natural ability to concentrate and cut through the clutter and get the job done. The good news is, you can learn how to focus on what needs to be done.
One of the most important keys to success in the workplace today is being able to discipline yourself not to get distracted by the little things and just focus on the most important tasks that have to be done.
The number one enemy of focus is distraction. I’m sure you’ve had many days where you’re doing your job and you get an email or a memo that needs your attention and that is coupled with other things that fill up your inbox and the pressure mounts to get it all done by 5P.M. When you’re workload reaches these proportions, it sucks up all your attention. The result; you get so caught up in what’s urgent you lose focus on what’s important.
If you spend your days reacting to the urgent but often unimportant priorities of others, your career will consist of putting out fires. You may be efficient, but you won’t be very effective. Your top priorities, the things that will help you keep focused, should be you long term goals, the projects that will define you, advance your career, and maintain your passion for the line of work you’re in.
Only your boss gets the luxury of concentrating full-time on what’s important, and that’s only because he or she delegates the urgent tasks to you. If you’re getting stressed with conflicting demands on your time, how can you keep your eyes on what is really important? Here are some ways that will help.
• Think by the week. Most planning tools, such as calendars, daily planners, and to-do lists, help you be more efficient, but you’re only prioritizing your crises each day. You need to organize your life on a weekly basis; this allows you to schedule time for your top priorities and the actions that prevent crises.
• Tell people not to interrupt you while you’re working. It takes the average person 2 to 15 minutes to recover from each interruption. Interruptions are the biggest time robbers of focus. To minimize interruptions tell people something like, “Hey, great to see you, I wish I could talk now. Right now isn’t good, though, let’s talk at 3.”
• Clear off your desk. Is your desk a mess? Keeping piles of papers next to your phone or on the edges of your desk greatly increase your sense of being overwhelmed. This is also the case for papers on top of your filing cabinet. Take the time to clean off your desk and keep it that way.
• Get your life in balance. If your output is down, but your workload is the same, maybe something in your life is out of balance. One of the hardest things to realize is when your own emotions are slowing you down. Pay attention to what your friends or colleagues are saying. For example, if you’ve been feeling frazzled and others are frequently asking you if you’re okay, then, you should ask yourself, “Am I okay?”
• Respond sooner rather than later. In high pressure situations people tend to rush. If something comes up that requires some thought or more information it’s always better to respond sooner rather than setting it aside and thinking you’ll respond later. A good rule of thumb to always remember when it comes to focusing is to try not to pick up the same piece of work twice.
• Manage your time better. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, break your time down. Ask yourself; “What is it, exactly, that I’m not getting to, and how can I get to it?” You need to carve out an hour or two daily or weekly to return phone calls, take care of paper work, and make long-term goals. Once you carve out that time, you need to protect it so that you don’t have to worry about it while you’re going through the day.
• Do some of the easy tasks. Your normal workday will be filled with an array of big projects, short deadlines, interruptions, distractions, and surprises. You need to be able to accept and handle all of these things, but incorporate some of the easy tasks that you can get done quickly into your day as well. This helps you feel like you’re on track and getting things accomplished.
In addition to planning, you should frequently ask yourself this question, “Is what I’m doing the best use of my time?” Asking this question regularly during the day, coupled with planning will help you keep your attention focused on the tasks that are the most important.
Copyright©2007 by Joe Love and JLM & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.
Joe Love draws on his 25 years of experience helping both individuals and companies build their businesses, increase profits, and success coaching programs. He is the founder and CEO of JLM & Associates, a consulting and training organization, specializing in career coach training. Through his seminars and lectures, Joe Love addresses thousands of men and women each year, including the executives and staffs of many businesses around the world, on the subjects of leadership, achievement, goals, strategic business planning, and marketing. Joe is the author of three books, Starting Your Own Business, Finding Your Purpose In Life, and The Guerrilla Marketing Workbook.
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