“Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is going on around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than their past failures, and on the next action steps they need to take to get them closer to the fulfillment of their goals rather than all the other distractions that life presents to them.”–Jack Canfield
Keeping focus—keeping to the task at hand—can be challenging. There is no such thing as multi-tasking. Despite our self-deception, we really can handle multiple tasks simultaneously. Ultimately, we wind up doing a less than ultimate job at the activities we try to juggle.
I haven’t posted a blog for sometime, because I have been struggling myself with focus. I am trying to keep far too many pans on the stove.
As a university professor, I often find it challenging to regulate the many responsibilities that go with the teaching, scholarship, and service requirements. It can at times be overwhelming to figure out what to do next. Personally, I have to dedicate time to course preparation, grading, research, committee work (chairing a committee like the Institutional Review Board, itself, can feel like a full-time job), and program development. On top of all this, there has to be time for family and time for personal reflection/development (i.e., spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional, and social well-centeredness). Like most people, I don’t always manage these well.
So, how does one manage to not burn everything on the burner? (My eight year-old daughter has introduced my to cooking shows like Worst Cooks in America and Beat Bobby Flay, so I have learned a bit about task management recently from the likes of Bobby Flay and Anne Burrell.) The key is organization—planning and task prioritization. For me, I often need to just take a little extra time in the morning to hit the pause button and plan my day. Daily journaling is key. However, journaling needs to be more than simple reflection. It must include goal-setting and daily focus.
I wrote recently about Rory Vaden’s (author of Procrastinate on Purpose) idea of “productive procrastination.” Vaden shares a concept of three-dimensional time-management that considers not only the urgency and importance of a task (per Stephen Covey), but also the dimension of significance (i.e., prioritizing according to how long something matters). In other words, we must do first those things that have the greatest significance relative to importance and urgency. If something can be put off for a day or so, then is should be delayed in favor of things that are of greatest significance.
Summers are especially challenging for me as a professor. On one hand, I am “off” for the summer (since I rarely teach summer courses). On the other hand, this is time for me to catch up. This summer, for example, I have research data to analyze and write up for submission to a peer-reviewed journal. I also have a list of projects to do for the IRB and a graduate program proposal I need to prepare. On top of this, I have a reading list and personal fitness goals. On top of all this, my kids are home, and I want to spend time with them (and my wife, when she gets home from work). It is often a challenge, however, to stop what I am doing to do something with or for the kids. Ashamedly, my response is often something like: “Can’t you see I am busy?!” Really? I wish sometimes they would call me out on this. (“Didn’t I just see you checking e-mail?” or “Weren’t you just on Facebook?”)
Like most of us, I need regular reminders of what are priorities. In addition, I need to focus.
A great way to focus our attention is to begin the day with the “pause button.” Take 15-30 minutes every morning to schedule your day. Include physical exercise, reading, and time for others. Then, after time is set-aside for these, prioritize the tasks that need to be done and that you want to do. If they are significant and important, you will certainly find the time to get these done. If the task is urgent and important, but not significant, perhaps it can be passed off to someone else to do?
I am a person who doesn’t like to leave things undone. (Take annual yard tasks like spreading bark dust/mulch. Our yard requires about a unit—7 cu. yds. I cannot leave such a task unfinished. When the load of bark dust is delivered, I can’t stop until the pile is cleared from the driveway. As such, I plan accordingly. Nothing interferes until the job is done.) Taking this to heart, I must plan my day. Without proper planning, social media, e-mail, television, etc. will surely waste my day. With planning, however, I am always more efficient and effective.
So, this takes one priority item off the list….
Carpe momento!