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Tag: Focus
Focus On The Thing
Gosh it can be hard to get clear and focused sometimes. There are so many interesting things in life. You need to focus on the thing that brings you closer to your goal though.
You need to be clear where you are heading. Then do only those things that get you there. Remove all the extraneous distractions. Once you do this, you will move forward so much quicker.
This week I am reminding myself of the things I need to reduce or stop. There are many things not on the path to my top goals. Some are fun or enjoyable though. Which make them more difficult for me to remove from my day.
However, in order to win and achieve the goal, I need re-focus and commit.
Is there anything you have been aiming for but not really putting the required time or focus into getting it done? Are there too many emails, requests, unnecessary things, keeping you away from the achievement you want most?
This was coming, but today’s Quote Of The Day Show podcast episode really underlined this idea for me today.
Sometimes the Knowing-Doing Gap comes in, sits down and wedges itself between you and your goals. Get back to doing what you know you are supposed to do.
Focus on the thing.
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Shifting Your Focus
It can seem odd, natural or fantastic. When you are trying something new, it can be a little uncomfortable. Shifting your focus from one space to another can leave most people wanting a way out.
People make big shifts all the time. It just might not seem like it. We all made a significant shift when we left secondary school. Whether you left in year 7 or after A levels, your next move would have felt like a big one. You may have gone to work, or out as an apprentice or maybe even off to university.
Regardless of where you went, the focus shifted. The standards changed. Your perception of yourself and the perceptions others had of you changed. You might have been considered a school leaver or thought of as university bound. It can be hard to reconcile your new description or tag. Sometimes in life, we won‘t like the description we have been given.
It does not matter though. You need to move on faster, both mentally and in the physical realm. The sooner you can adjust your lenses, the easier you may find it comfortable.
I have been shifting in many ways over the years. From banking, to a corporate role, to a property investor, to a full time Dad, to an author, blogger and now content creator on YouTube. All of these new skills and opportunities.
Shifting your focus can bring lots of excitement into your life.
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A Distracted 6 Year Old
Have you ever been distracted or lost your focus? Of course you have. People can easily go off track like a distracted 6 year old. A phone rings, a note reminds you of something, or you just walk into the kitchen and you forget what you were going to do.
This happens to everyone at some point in their life. I know this can happen to me severely times per day. Sometimes it is funny and I laugh at it. At other times, it is a little frustrating to forget something, maybe have to backtrack, or lose 15 minutes and you can’t remember how that happened.
People have good intentions to stay focused. Though there are so many things going on in our days, it can present a reasonable challenge. Remember this any time you hire someone or ask a person to get something done. Assume they are well intentioned but follow up with them. And do that more frequently than you think you should.
This is particularly true when buying a property. It is very easy for people to get distracted with other work or activities and unnecessarily shift things to tomorrow or next week. A friendly call to ensure things are on track is very useful in between milestones. It’s better than an unpleasant surprise at the end.
But maybe don’t tell your friend about a distracted 6 year old theory just before they board a plane. Especially if they’re not a keen flyer…
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Plan Your Day Out
Distractions are your challenge. They may be from friends, work colleagues, children, illness, phone calls, post etc. Plan your day out. Allow some contingency time for distractions. Though it is best to limit your distractions to as few as possible. None is even better.
Take a piece of paper and write out your day. From the minute you intend to wake up until the minute you intend to go to sleep. Write it out in 15 minute intervals. Unless one activity is going to take up a longer period of time. Then write that amount of time. For example:
06:00 – 06:15 Wake up. 6 Minute miracle morning. Change for run.
06:15 – 06:30 Stretch. Loo break. Put on trainers, headphones and prepare apps.
06:30 – 07:00 Run. Listen to X podcast/audiobook/YouTube channel
Allow for ten minute breaks. Sometimes these will be used to relax. Other times they will act as catch up zones. These help get you back on track when a distraction has put you behind by five or 10 minutes.
Allow for one full hour in your day for unforeseen events. These could be phone calls you have to take from a child, parent, boss, tax inspector or a person dropping by your desk or home.
Plan your day out before you go to bed. Track how close your plan is to reality. It’s fascinating.
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Accelerate To The Finish
There are four months remaining until New Year’s Eve and we ring in 2021. That really means we have 3 months to accelerate to the finish. For a lot of people, December is filled with shopping, parties, family, preparations, holidays, school events, Christmas and New Year’s itself.
Given all of those events in December, very little else gets done. So if you are trying to make things happen with a business, strengthen a new habit or finish a project, aim to finish by 30 November.
That gives you 13 weeks to get it all sorted before December descends on us. That is plenty of time to do many things. That is roughly 65 weekdays and 26 weekend days. 91 days altogether. The other 245 days are gone.
However, you need to be focused now. Every minute needs to count. There is no longer any time to assume you can get started later or do it later. You may even have to sacrifice a little! You may need to give up on some of the scrolling, watching and time with friends.
This is your last chance to win back 2020. Make it a great year, despite the unforeseen challenges that Covid brought to everyone. You can accelerate to the finish over the next 91 days and make this year a resounding success.
Plan the details, focus on the outcome and take disciplined action. Go!
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Your Two Week Sprint
Let the games begin! What habits could you start? What changes could you get underway? Your two week sprint starts today! In 14 days you will have lived through what is probably the oddest first 2/3rds of a year in your life.
Your goals may be all over the place, like the airline industry. Or they may be laying in tatters after having achieved them all and then some, like Amazon.
Whichever it is, there are only a couple of weeks left in August before the world tries something it hasn’t done in 102 years. During the 1918 Pandemic the world tried to get back to normal over the summer and through the usual autumn activities. Back to work, school and life in general.
Now what can you commit to for the next two weeks? It’s not forever, its simply your two week sprint. Get yourself in decision mode. Make an unbreakable commitment to yourself. Resolve to do your 14 day habit to put you on the road to ever greater success.
We’re coming into the home stretch of this zany 2020 year. Get yourself into great shape in at least one area you’ve been thinking about all year. My sprint has goals and habits focused on food, fitness, finances, fun and non-fiction.
What are you going to achieve during this sprint?
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What You Focus On Grows
If you want to become great at something or develop a skill, you need to focus on it. What you focus on grows and what you ignore, doesn’t grow.
Back to the farm days for a moment to make this clear. If you focus on planting seeds and tending to the weeds, you’ll be able to grow crops. If you focus on the back porch, the rocking chair and a cold beer, you may not have any crops in the autumn.
Fans of Star Wars have also witnessed how your mind can shift depending on what you focus on. We saw this with Anakin Skywalker when he focused on being the best Jedi. However, after the sad situation with his mother, he began to focus on hate, anger and revenge. This grew inside him until it consumed him, which didn’t turn out well.
Thankfully we can stay in the light by focusing on pleasant things. It really is your choice. Though as we know, it requires effort, patience and time.
Focus on your accomplishments and the success you see in your future. Write these out and review them daily. Add to them whenever you can as well. Remove anything from your day that makes you start to feel negative, whether it is news, specific conversations or situations.
What you focus on grows. Make sure you are building a better you each day.
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Focus On Your Opportunity
The entire world seems to be on an edge with unprecedented events happening weekly. You must search for your opportunity and then focus on it. Make this your moment. Ignore the distractions because this could be your time. Focus on your opportunity.
In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.
Albert Einstein
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