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.)
