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STAYING FOCUSED: Getting More Done "Never before have we had so little time in which to do so much." Franklin D. Roosevelt It is still true today that we feel we have so little time and so much to accomplish. Staying focused is the key. Quiet time, priorities, and setting goals are the tools we need to get more done. QUIET TIME: Because we are overwhelmed on a daily basis with information, and because our brains are simply not capable of retaining it all, we have a difficult time setting priorities. Chaos is the state at which our minds run on most days. How can we not feel chaos when television commercials have been reduced to 15 seconds? We are constantly inundated with bits of information. Learning to take 10 to 30 minutes of Quiet Time can greatly increase our efficiency. How, if I waste 20 minutes doing nothing, can I make more time? It is simple. Letting your body and brain relax, free from information overload, allows your brain to have time to digest information. Studies have shown that successful entrepreneurs take 10 to 30 minutes a day of Quite Time. Some meditate, some look out a window, others just close their eyes and take a break. Quiet Time is the first tool and it will allow you to better accomplish the next--Priorities. PRIORITIES: Everything is important, but not everything urgent. No one person can accomplish everything in a day. But taking the time to set up a system to track your Priorities can greatly help. No one said making time was going to be easy, but psychologists state that for an act to become a habit, the average human must practice this act 21 days consecutively. If you can make it through the first 21 days, keeping your Priority system up will be second nature. After Quiet Time, when your mind is relaxed, you will gain a clearer picture of your Priorities and you may find that you have solved some of the problems you didn't have an answer for. Now is the time to take a few minutes to jot down those thoughts. In your notebook, Daytimer or steno pad, (use whatever item is comfortable and by all means be creative) begin to make a list of those things you feel are Priorities. You may find that you are creating one giant To Do list. Perhaps you simply jot down things like mowing the lawn or finding a new printer. Perhaps you have ideas about new marketing materials or even a new product design. List these in your Priority list. These things are important to you, no matter what those things might be. Some may be personal, some may be business related. Your Priority list is your own, categorize the entries as you like. Now, during the day, when something comes to mind, jot it down. Each entry is important even if executing it seems a million miles away. SETTING GOALS: You are relaxed, you have a list of Priorities, you are now ready to take some action. By Setting Goals, we are better able to tackle the Priorities we have listed. One Priority may take five or six steps to complete. Others may take only one or two. Go down the list of Priorities, some may be more urgent than others, but remember that they are all important. Determine the first step and put in on your To Do list. If starting a new business is on your Priority list, do not overlook it time and time again because it is not urgent. Starting a business requires many steps, determine the first step and put in on your To Do list. Making a daily To Do list is easy. It organizes your thoughts in advance. When you finish a task you go to the next item on the list. There is no time wasted between tasks because you have laid it all out. How many times have you finished a task only to stop and spend time trying to decide what to do next? Making a daily To Do list and sticking to it is a time saver. To set time aside to read a chapter in that new mystery novel you bought, add it to your To Do list. If you have a business report due, add the first step, perhaps an outline, to your To Do list. Your daily To Do list will help free up the chaos your brain experiences and allows you to concentrate on one thing at a time. However, things do come up during the day. Be flexible. If you are in the middle of your business outline, and you remember you need to pick up the kids after school, immediately add it to your To Do list. When you have done that, you no longer need to spend much needed brain energy trying not to forget to do it. Your list will remind you. You can get back to work!! Keep your To Do list with you at all times. Keep it updated during the day. When you finish a task check it off. If it makes you feel better, scribble it out! Most importantly, before you start your day, transfer the items you did not accomplish the day before to the top of today's To Do list. Remember that to make changes in the way we think and do things takes time and effort. You will begin to feel the rewards of tackling the above tasks immediately. The steps do not work independently of one another. You need Quiet Time. Make the time. You need the Priority log. Make the time. You need a daily To Do List. Make the time. You will find more time by making the time now to re-organize your thoughts. Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day and your system won't be either. Adjust, be flexible, and stay focused. If your system doesn't work change it; be creative. One thing at a time. Do a little more everyday but do it everyday. You will find that by taking these steps, you will begin to feel less stressed during the course of the day. You will accomplish more and feel good about it. You will find that extra time. Do not be hard on yourself and do not place so much value on the steps that they cause you more stress!!! Pace yourself, change is not easy, but remember to stay focused. Give it a shot. And let us know how it works for you; what systems did you implement and how are they working for you. We'll keep our readers updated. © 1997 Yolanda A. Facio ABSOLUTE FOCUS is a small business dedicated to helping small businesses create and maintain efficiency.
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