Ready, Set, Focus

Super charge your day and power-up your productivity. Set aside one day and make a list of all the things you need to get done. Whether you just want to clear the decks, finish off a project or just clear a few things off your action list, get rid of the distractions and get really focused. It's also a good way to get through those tasks you've been putting off for a while.

Set a date and time - it doesn't have to be a whole day. Team up with a friend, colleague, mentor or coach and check-in with each other, on the hour every hour (works well by phone). Spend a few minutes checking in with each other and agree what you're going to do in the following hour.

You'll be much less likely to get distracted when you know the clock is ticking and you'll be more motivated knowing that you're being held to account next time you check-in.

Just In Time

No matter who you are, at some time or other you’ll have found yourself putting things off. Usually it’s something boring, mundane or routine. Something that doesn’t particularly excite us but something we know we really need to do or else …

This topic came up again with a client last week. They were stuck – always leaving everything to the last minute and then piling on the pressure as they scrambled to get it done in time, working late and generally putting themselves under stress every time.

Now, we all do this to a greater or lesser extent, so don’t beat yourself up about it but you can get yourself out of this habit. Start by planning what needs to be done. How much and when i.e. how much work is involved and when do you have to do it by? Now, assuming this is something you want to do, there’s a purpose in doing it and a reward of some sort when it’s complete, start by breaking it down into chunks. Whether it’s a year’s course of study or a project at work – it’s easier when you can see it in small pieces rather than one huge piece of work. Spread the ‘chunks’ across the time available and each week look at the specific actions you need to get done.

That way you know what to expect and have less of an excuse to put it off. You can check your progress and you can avoid leaving it until the last minute.

Getting Accountable

Having goals is all very well and good but if you don’t do anything with them then they’re nothing more than an idea until you put them into action. Many people’s dreams and ideas stay as just that. One way to increase the likelihood that you’ll actually do something about your goals, achieve your targets and reach your aims is to make yourself accountable.

You can do this by actually writing them down. Getting those thoughts and ideas out onto paper makes them more real but your not answerable to anyone but yourself and you don’t have the added incentive of someone else holding you accountable and it becomes too easy to let yourself off the hook.

The next thing to do is to actually tell someone about it. Whether it’s a friend, colleague, mentor or coach. Tell them what you’re going to do and when and agree that you’ll report on your progress or meet up for a review on a regular basis.

Now if you really want to give yourself an incentive and additional impetus to take action, give yourself a compelling reason to achieve a task or complete your goal, especially if you have a tendency to put things off. If you DON’T complete the task – agree that you will do something that would give you a certain amount of pain. Not so much a reward or ‘carrot’ but a stick.

This usually involves money or a prized possession. For instance if you didn’t achieve the goal you’d set yourself, you’d agree to give away your car – lock, stock and barrel, no quibbling, no changing your mind later. It needs to be something pretty significant like that or you wouldn’t do it. The impact of losing something that means a lot to you, is far more likely to keep you accountable and focused on the task in hand.

As Samuel Johnson said "Nothing focuses the mind like a hanging." A slight extreme but you get the picture.

What Are You Putting Off?

One of the key challenges that people raise more often than most with me is procrastination. If it’s a problem for you too, here are a few strategies to help you deal with it.

First, understand the reason behind your procrastination. Why are you putting off a particular task? What is it that you’re resisting? Take a few minutes to think about it - overwhelm, fear, lack of knowledge or skills, poor planning. Looking at the reason for the procrastination can help identify ways in which to stop it from happening or at least to start working on it.

Spending just a few minutes each day planning what needs to be done will make a real difference to how productive you are for the rest of the day. What’s the most important thing you need to do in order to achieve your objective and your longer-term goals.

Making sure the outcome of each tasks is aligned with your goals, whether it’s business or personal, otherwise it's wasting further time and effort. Plan time into your schedule in advance – especially if you’re in the habit of leaving things until the last minute.

Prioritise what's important - be honest. Is it really important or just a 'nice, fun thing to do', when there’s something more important that needs doing? Take your biggest, most important task and make sure you do it first, before anything else distracts you. Nothing else is more important and once you’ve done it, you can move on to the next thing.

If you have a large overwhelming task, break it down into smaller tasks. What’s the very first thing that needs to be done? Do that. Then you’re ready for the next step. This might be as simple as writing down a few notes on paper, making a phone call or sending an email. Just get the ball rolling. Once you get started it’s surprising how much easier it can be to keep going.

Get more tips in my article on procrastination.