The Rules of Focus
Does this sound like a regular day: You sit down to write an important email response and you get an IM from a colleague. Context switch. Back to the email and your phone buzzes with a text message. Context switch. Before you know it, you’re 60 minutes into a 5 minute response wondering how it’s already lunch time.
Multitasking is a myth.
We know this. There is no such thing as true multitasking. It’s simply context switching back and forth between two (or more tasks) in small bursts. So, you’re not wildly effective at creating quality results in any of them.
Multitasking kills productivity, reduces value and, worst of all, can leave you feeling exhausted and unaccomplished at the end of the day.
So, what’s the “cure”? The opposite of multitasking?
Focus. Which, the Google defines as “the concentration of attention or energy on something.”
I won’t pretend I have the secret to end the need for multitasking. The world is full of distractions. A life of singular attention is probably not possible, or, quite frankly, all that interesting.
But, we still have goals and a drive to achieve and obtain fulfillment. So, let’s pull up a comfy chair, grab your drink of choice, pick that “something” in your life that’s worth your concentration, and schedule a well deserved date with…yourself. Enter: Focus Time.
Focus Time
Focus Time is a time period, you choose, where you commit to focusing your attention on a singular “something”. You’ll schedule a date with yourself directly on your calendar to do this work while eliminating any distractions that might pull you in different directions. This will be non-negotiable time to bring focus to what’s most important to you.
Focus Time can be used for a number of things:
Plan for bigger picture thinking to elevate your career or your life
Look at your yearly goals and choose the activities that will start to get you there
Learn something new that aligns you to where you’re going
Make time for high priority tasks or deadlines
Brainstorm ways to convince your husband wallpaper is back and deserves a place in your home (maybe this one’s just me…)
You choose what deserves your focus and why. Decide on whatever you think will move the needle in your life and leave you more excited and fulfilled on the other side.
The Rules
Listen, I’m a type A people pleaser. So yes, of course I like rules.
These are the rules in the game of Focus Time:
Commit to a cadence of regularly scheduled Focus Time and schedule it on your calendar. This could be daily for 2 hours. Once per week for 45 minutes. You decide. Find the cadence that works for you. Just schedule it, stick with it, and be consistent.
When in Focus Time, turn off ALL notifications. This means your email, IMs, cell phone…etc. I actually put my cell phone in a different room to remove any temptation for distraction. Resist the Instagram force.
If you have an office with a door, shut the door. If you work in an open office, find a phone room or other space you can hunker down in. Or, put a “Do Not Disturb” sign on your desk so colleagues know to leave you alone. (Have fun with this one. Check these out.)
Give yourself a result you plan to achieve at the end of the Focus Time so you know exactly what you want to achieve:
Proposal completed and ready to send
3 time management course modules completed
5 talking points with photo evidence of beautiful uses of wallpaper ready to present to husband (er…okay, just me again)
5. Achieve the result NO. MATTER. WHAT. That may mean you’re accepting B- work. That’s fine. Done is better than perfect.
You now know how to play. But how do you get to expert mode? Read on.
Honoring Your Time
You’ve gone through the motions listed above. But to truly be an “expert” at Focus Time, you must actually believe that this time with yourself is valuable and the quickest way to make progress in your life. Your priorities and goals matter. If you had a lunch date with a valued colleague, would you cancel at the last minute or just not show up? Of course not. So don’t cancel on yourself.
Once you are fully respecting and honoring your own time, now you must protect your Focus Time from others. It may be an adjustment period to educate those around you that this time is non-negotiable. Many of us are in the habit of jumping on the needs of others and putting ourselves last. Not in Focus Time.
But it is not someone else’s job to respect and honor your time. It’s yours.
If you consistently run into conflicts with people scheduling meetings over your Focus Time, there are a few “hacks” you can try:
Label the meeting invite as something else: “Discuss Annual Review”, “Go Over Q1 Budget” or mark the meeting invite as a private event where a title isn’t visible. Basically, no one needs to know it is a date with yourself. Let them believe what they want.
Auto decline meeting invites that come in during your Focus Time. You can even add an auto-responder explaining the decline.
Manually decline the meeting conflict but offer different slots you may be available or provide an alternative way of communicating the meeting subject matter. Perhaps the meeting isn’t really necessary and could be handled via email or maybe you can delegate to someone on your team.
Finally, if you see others in your organization trying to leverage Focus Time, return the same respect to them. Don’t schedule over that meeting or expect responses from them during that time. Spread the end of multitasking.
If you are consistently getting to the end of your days or weeks with nothing to show for it except a frazzled brain, I challenge you to commit to a week of consistently scheduled (and executed) Focus Time. It could be the difference between staying where you are or getting to where you want to be.
Looking for tips on organizing your full calendar and to-do list? Check out Banish Overwhelm with Time Blocking.
Are you tired of feeling overwhelmed? Do you feel like there are always important tasks left undone, hanging over your head? It's time to take control of your productivity and prove to yourself you can accomplish anything you put your mind to.
Check out the 7 Days: Consider it Done! guide to transform the way you approach your to-do list.
Say goodbye to procrastination and unfulfilled goals and hello to a sense of control and reignited passion for life. Consider it done!
