Stop! and focus - on just the next thing...
Block everything else out. Do that thing to the best of your ability. Multitasking becomes ‘multi thinking’ and it DOES NOT WORK! Just do one thing at a time and focus on quality over quantity.
Levi Strauss are still using the image of some jeans being pulled apart by 2 horses to convey how tough their product is. I love this idea of showing how tough something is. I myself don’t like being pulled in two different directions though.
Some simple things that help with focus;
Change where you sit
Put headphones on
Work from your car
Go to a coffee shop - just take that one thing with you
Shut your office door
Block time out in your calendar
Get something off your mind it it's bothering you:- call the person involved, write it on a list, do it if it will take less than 2 mins
Completely clear your desk of all items, just chuck them in a box
Put your phone on airplane mode
Grab someone to assist if they can help you focus
Tell yourself “I’ll just spend 2 minutes and make a start...’, see what momentum that can generate, this can be powerful
Similarly, identify what is the smallest next step you can do to progress the task, just commit to doing that and show some progress. That’s energizing.
Pick the correct time of day, when you have good mental energy (mornings work for most people)
If its creative, just start writing on a blank piece of paper
It its boring, plan to reward yourself after (run, swim, phone a friend, watch something funny on your phone, have a coffee)
“The One Thing” promotes the idea of clearly identifying the most important thing to do in your day, and do that first. Sounds obvious, but how often does that happen for you?
Your team will allow you to scale your activities but left without any guidance can ruin your ability to get things done;
Delegate effectively
Tell them when and how you are available to talk
Write things down they will need to refer to if they forget
Put rules in place for everyday tasks so they will only need to refer to you when things fall outside of those rules
Have set meeting times, days and agendas. Daily, weekly Monthly qtrly
Tell them what decisions they can make and within what boundaries. Properly delegate your authority
Your team can be your biggest asset or your biggest liability - build it the way you want it to work.
