Hello everyone and welcome to week two of Simple Living Sunday. I hope the first week of 2022 has been good to you and that you’re managing to stay safe and healthy amid the COVID chaos that continues to plague us. This week’s simple living theme is improving focus—an area most of us can get better at in some way.
Three simple pleasures and highlights of the week
Before I get into more detail on the plan for this week, let me reflect on three simple pleasures and highlights of the past week.
This week’s focus was motivation—a fitting theme for the first week back at work after two weeks off. Although I wasn’t looking forward to going back to work, I was okay once I settled back into work mode.
Work aside, here are three simple pleasures from this week:
- On Monday, we went to my mum’s for dinner. That would be a highlight of any week, but it had been almost two years since we had dinner at her place, so it was extra special!
- Then, on Tuesday, I made homemade bean and bacon chowder for lunch in my new Crock Pot. It was delicious with fresh multi-grain bread made in my bread maker. I made a big pot so I had leftovers to freeze for quick lunches, and to send back to college with Laura.
- Also on Tuesday, I watched the season premiere of the final season of This Is Us with my daughters. I usually watch it with Colleen but it’s rare all three of us get to enjoy it together because Laura is usually away at college. It looks like this season will be an emotional one, so I’d better get my handkerchiefs ready.
Overall, it was a good week so I’m ready to dive in to the focus for this week.
This week’s simple living focus: Focus
Okay. I have a confession to make. I’m easily distracted. It’s the main reason I’ve never been able to embrace meditation. There are just too many things popping in and out of my head at any given time. I’ve often said I wish there was an off switch for my brain. It would definitely help me sleep better at night.
You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.
Winston Churchill
Despite my overactive brain, I am able to ignore the barking dogs when I need to. I somehow find a way to stay focused enough to achieve my goals and get done what I need to get done. But there’s definitely room for improvement.
Focus is widely recognized as something to strive for. Many of the world’s most successful people set a goal, and don’t let anyone or anything get in the way of achieving it. The world typically applauds that level of determination.
But can too much focus be a bad thing?
Knowing when to change course
On the one hand, we all need to be able to shut out noise and distractions in order to reach our goals. On the other hand, sometimes staying the course at all costs is the wrong thing to do.
People who can focus, get things done. People who can prioritize get the right things done.
John Maeda
Over the last few years, pivot has become the buzzword for business and life. The word might be overused, but knowing when to pivot is an important skill. I often think about the captain of the Titanic. Imagine how the outcome could have been different had Captain Smith been willing to change course to avoid the deadly iceberg instead of remaining focused on an on-time arrival in New York.
But how do you know when it’s time to pivot? It all comes down to knowing your goals and values—your north star. Life will always be full of competing priorities. Even those with top-notch time management skills have to decide every day what gets done and what can wait. Knowing the goals you’re working toward and your personal values will help you answer the question “Am I focusing on the right things?”
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Three things to do this week
If improving your focus is important to you, here are three ideas to stay on-task this week.
Avoid the trap of multi-tasking
I’m often guilty of this. Keeping one eye on that work meeting while answering the email or chat message that just popped up is a habit I really need to break.
Multi-tasking is a myth. Science has proven that our brains can only focus on one thing at a time. You might think you’re multi-tasking, but you’re actually taking your attention from one task and giving it to another. Study after study shows that task switching just makes you less efficient than if you’d stuck with the first task until you completed it.
So, this week I’m going to focus on one thing at a time. No multi-tasking!
Schedule top-priority tasks
Start the week by defining three work-related priority tasks, and three high priority tasks outside of work. Then, schedule time in your calendar to work on them.
This doesn’t mean you won’t do hundreds of other things this week, but putting time in your calendar to work on tasks will increase the chance of them getting done.
Focus on your priorities
People think focus mean saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas there are. You have to pick carefully.
Steve Jobs
As you go through the week, competing priorities will arise and new tasks will get added to your list. Be selective about what you take on. When things come up and you have to decide what to do, ask yourself “Have my goals changed?” and “Will this task move me closer to my goal?”
Don’t be afraid to say no to things that won’t move you closer to your goal.
These practical steps may help me stay focused and on-task—but I doubt they will shut down my overactive brain. We’ll have to save that challenge for another week.
How do you stay focused and ensure you’re working on the right things? Tell me your ideas below.
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Thank you Michelle for sharing how you focus. Navigating ADD I make a mental list, prioritise with good intention and try to focus on one thing at a time. Not always successful, but I gave up making a TO DO LIST that wasn’t practical, if I couldn’t complete it I’d often feel inadequate! 🤷🏻♀️
I have stuff on my to do list that has been there for years! But if I didn’t write it down and keep track somewhere, I’d forget about it. That’s why I like the idea of a top 3 list for the week. There are hundreds of other things I could, and probably will do, but keeping track of the must-dos gives me a sense of accomplishment.
This is enlightening because I’ve now learned the ability to say “no/no thank you/I don’t agree/I disagree” and now I believe this skill is what allows me to focus on the important things and values in my life. I used to think saying yes to everything and everyone, and being pleasant and pleasing to others was what made my life abundant but now I know that’s not true.
I used to have a hard time saying no as well, but then I realized people knew that and took advantage. I still feel bad saying no sometimes, but not as bad as I used to.
“This is Us” is one of my favorites as well..it is such a beautifully written show. In terms of focus, I think stress is a large contributor to my levels of distraction so finding ways to de-stress is helpful!
That’s a great point. When you’re stressed, it is hard to stay focused.
I am the Queen of Multitasking and Switching at work! I can happily do two or three things at work and switch focus on a pin head. I can’t tell you how, I don’t know.
Some people are better at multitasking than others. I’m curious to try making a conscious effort to stop to see what happens.
Oh deary my. I fear my overall productivity would fall through the floor.
Like you, I’m easily distracted. I spend too long on social media and struggle to prioritise my tasks.
It’s interesting because I never used to be that way. Maybe it’s a combination of age and the increase in the number of distractions.
Great post very timely for me as I feel I’ve lost my focus with so much external chaos distracting me from my goals and tasks.
Thanks for reading and commenting Sarah. It is so easy to get distracted. Good luck with getting back on track!
To stay on focus I schedule my top-priority tasks and I use a habit tracker.Seeing the progress I’m making on paper keeps me on task and allows me to create mini goals to help keep me going in the right direction.
These are great tips you included and I especially like the John Maeda quote.
Thanks Suzanne. Mini goals are an excellent way to make even the biggest tasks feel manageable.
It is a great quote. It’s easy to occupy ourselves with busy work without stopping to prioritize.
Great post Michelle. Regarding “pivoting”, the process I use is to do short sprints of focus (anywhere from a day to a week or two depending on the project complexity) and then doing a reflection to determine if a pivot is necessary to achieve the desired outcome. Key is too be open minded about what the outcome might look like (at least for me as I’m working in the innovation space). Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Monty. That’s a great approach. I think regular reflection is important to make sure we’re still working on the right things. Sometimes we get so focused on the what that we lose sight of the why.
So true!