Is what you're doing really working?

Recently we spoke about too many options and too many distractions and how they cause us to lose focus. The topic of FOCUS, or lack thereof, struck a responsive chord with many. In the following post, Chris Brogan tells you how to use Time Management to maintain your FOCUS and complete your priorities. In his usual style, Chris is clear, concise and just plain makes sense. Janet

Have Faith (But Not In Yourself)

The most powerful thing you can do for yourself is to develop a frame to work in.


Your life works best when priorities are decided for you and by you– not today, but in advance. Last week, when I saw Pay Yourself First I was reminded that you need a decision tree that helps you structure your day, or you won’t feel good about it. If today’s a waste, the feeling it gives you will carry into tomorrow, squandering its potential.



I work best with an empty inbox. Everything that needs to be done is either done right at the moment I read the email or it is deferred to GoodToDo, which I consider the perfect task management system (read Bit Literacy to understand why). Once my inbox is empty, Goodtodo tells me what my tasks are.



The most important thing is that I do not decide. The calendar is sacrosanct– if it’s in the calendar, I do it, and if there’s nothing in the calendar, I go to the list. This makes the decision process very simple, which means that even stupid-me can do it.



In other words, belief in my inability to make good decisions actually leads to making better decisions.



The smart money is on bad decision making and trust in the process.



You can make your system whatever you want it to be, but I’d urge you to consider the following (thanks to Robb Wolf’s book for this important question):



Is what you’re doing really working?



If yes, carry on. If not, consider trying something else for 30 days.



(Photo by JPhilipson.)