If you ever wonder why you feel like you can’t get something done, it’s probably because you’re trying to do more than one thing at once. It’s funny that we learned in school that we could only study one subject at a time during a particular period of the day, but in the professional world, we decide that we can do things in some kind of rapid-fire sequence. Perhaps, trying to focus on checklist items might work in the short term, but to work on accomplishing any type of project requires focus.
I can tell if a project is going sideways based on the amount of distracting conversations or unnecessary tasks being worked on. I imagine you can too, so I am unsure why we all tend to let it happen. Truthfully, the hardest part is speaking up to the person in charge to suggest that we need to prioritize to accomplish what we intend. But that’s really how simple it is. If you see that you are off course, whether you’re talking to yourself or someone else, you must say something about it.
The next step is actually to do something about it. Sometimes the reason why we are distracted is because we are trying to do too much simply. Make sure that you focus on what has to be accomplished, as well as what can be accomplished in the time that you have. Think about creating a scope for the amount of time. Where people get in trouble is when they try to imagine the time around the scope, which ultimately leads to delays and unfinished work. Imagine having one hour per day to accomplish a particular project and only 10 days to do it. That’s 10 hours of work that you need to maximize without distraction. Again, this sounds so simple, so why isn’t everyone doing it? The reason is because we were never trained that way. But it’s never too late to start
The next time you have a project being discussed that will involve you take the following steps. First, decide how much time you have to give that project. Second, side over how many days the project will be allowed to take your time. My suggestion is not to let it last longer than six weeks. The third and most important part is not to allow anything to distract you while spending your day in that time slot accomplishing that work. Personally, I’ve used time blocking on my calendar to create these distraction-free work zones. This allows other people who can see my calendar to know that I am occupied, but most importantly, it reminds me just to sit down and do the work.
I hope these thoughts are helpful to you. I wish would have sent me down many years ago to give me the same advice.
I can tell if a project is going sideways based on the amount of distracting conversations or unnecessary tasks being worked on. I imagine you can too, so I am unsure why we all tend to let it happen. Truthfully, the hardest part is speaking up to the person in charge to suggest that we need to prioritize to accomplish what we intend. But that’s really how simple it is. If you see that you are off course, whether you’re talking to yourself or someone else, you must say something about it.
The next step is actually to do something about it. Sometimes the reason why we are distracted is because we are trying to do too much simply. Make sure that you focus on what has to be accomplished, as well as what can be accomplished in the time that you have. Think about creating a scope for the amount of time. Where people get in trouble is when they try to imagine the time around the scope, which ultimately leads to delays and unfinished work. Imagine having one hour per day to accomplish a particular project and only 10 days to do it. That’s 10 hours of work that you need to maximize without distraction. Again, this sounds so simple, so why isn’t everyone doing it? The reason is because we were never trained that way. But it’s never too late to start
The next time you have a project being discussed that will involve you take the following steps. First, decide how much time you have to give that project. Second, side over how many days the project will be allowed to take your time. My suggestion is not to let it last longer than six weeks. The third and most important part is not to allow anything to distract you while spending your day in that time slot accomplishing that work. Personally, I’ve used time blocking on my calendar to create these distraction-free work zones. This allows other people who can see my calendar to know that I am occupied, but most importantly, it reminds me just to sit down and do the work.
I hope these thoughts are helpful to you. I wish would have sent me down many years ago to give me the same advice.