The BOLD (Focus Shines)
Imagine that your focus is a laser beam. Lasers concentrate the energy of light into a beam that can cut steel. Concentrate your focus and you can cut through obstacles, distractions, and obscurity.
Given that, it is important to pay attention to where you spend your energy to generate that focus. Choose well.
The Whisper (Like a Laser)
There have been studies that suggest that we can exhaust our will-power, our focus. Others assert that we grow our ability to focus when we practice. We await the outcome of this argument but in the meantime, we have to decide how to utilize focus to achieve our cherished aims.
No matter which of these ideas is correct, it remains true that we have a limited resource of time, energy, and focus. It is important, then, that we carefully craft our attention budget. How will you spend your resources?
The BIG Yes: Unless we know what our biggest yes is, we will not have what we need to say our most important no’s. Focus is a function of understanding what is most important to move you towards where you must go. Budget your focus for high-value tasks.
Pick and Choose: We must, then, pick and choose between the activities in which we engage. Consider the assignments you accept, the projects you join, and the agreements you make. It is also important to pick and choose well when moving from a completed task to the next action. Strong focus allows us to make better choices over time and in the moment. Protect your attention budget with careful decisions.
Ditch Distractions: Some distractions are unavoidable. Many distractions, though, are subject to our choices. We can choose our environment and select locations that allow for deeper focus. We can choose your engagement with screens and social media. We may be able to make arrangements to negotiate and perhaps postpone our time with others. Don’t waste your attention budget on the distractions that split your attention and diminish your effectiveness.
Schedule Your Focus: We use our calendars to manage our commitments to others—the meetings that we’ve agreed to attend, the coffee conversations, and appointments. We can also use our calendar to schedule our attention budget. Many rely on block scheduling to ensure the time necessary for focused, deep thinking work.
How will you spend your resources and protect your attention budget?
I hope that you are enjoying a restful, refreshing, joy-filled, and inspiring holiday season. As we contemplate together our move into the new year, I wish you clarity of vision, vigor of action, and livable success.
Happy New Year!
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