HOW CAN YOU STAY FOCUSED:
Once you have a handle on what you should think about, you must decide how to better focus on it. Here are five suggestions to help you with the process:
- Remove Distractions
Removing distractions is no small matter in our current culture, but it’s critical. How do you do it? First, by maintaining the discipline of practicing your priorities. Don’t do easy things first or hard things first or urgent things first. Do first things first- the activities that give you the highest return. In that way, you keep the distractions to a minimum. Second, insulate yourself from distractions. I’ve found that I need blocks of time to think without interruptions.
I’ve mastered the art of making myself unavailable when necessary and going off to my “thinking place” so that I can work without interruptions. Because of my responsibilities as founder of a leading women fellowship by God’s grace, however I am always aware of the tension between my need to remain accessible to others as a leader and my need to withdraw from them to think. The best way to resolve the tension is to understand the value of both activities. Walking slowly through the crowd allows me to connect with people and know their needs. Withdrawing from the crowd allows me to think of ways to add value to them. My advice to you is to place value on and give attention to both. If you naturally withdraw, then make sure to get out among people more often. If you’re always on the go and rarely withdraw for thinking time, then remove yourself periodically so that you can unleash the potential of focused thinking. And wherever you are….be there!
2) Make Time for Focused Thinking:
Once you have a place to think, you need the time to think. Because of the fast pace of our culture, people tend to multi-task. But that’s not always a good idea. Switching from task to task can cost you up to 40 percent efficiency. According to researchers, “If you’re trying to accomplish many things at the same time, you’ll get more done by focusing on one task at a time, not by switching constantly from one task to another.”
