Keys for Productivity from PlanDoTrack: Key #1 - Focus

What are you noticing about the things that are helping you keep moving? Having led thousands of conversations around productivity with leaders, business owners, groups and teams over the last fifteen years, I felt it was important to distill these down to more generic keys for productivity in my 2019 publication - PlanDoTrack.

Five of the core themes which PlanDoTrack is built upon are the mantras of:

• Focus
• Experimentation
• Momentum
• Reflective Pauses
• Celebration

Let’s take a look at each of these in turn. We’ll be taking a deeper dive into each of these in the coming weeks here at the PlanDoTrack Blog. For more on these, also be sure to check out the associated questions embedded in Section 4 of PlanDoTrack.

Today’s post explores the topic of FOCUS.

In today’s VUCA context, being able to focus while also keeping an eye to the horizon of possible opportunities and threats, is key.

Focus is paramount as a remote professional on multiple levels including:

• Project work: Focusing in on the right projects at the right time. Consider that what might be important for you, might not be important for others on the team. What are the “right projects” for “right now”?
• Focus and workflow: A challenge for many remote workers today is being able to focus on core tasks without getting disturbed. If your work requires critical thinking, when is that happening? If your work involves creating new ideas for projects, products or services, when are you finding time to do that?
• Managing interruptions – With the average worker getting interrupted multiple times an hour, especially through the “digital interruptions” of pings, emails and instant messages, what are you noticing about the interruptions you are facing on a regular basis? What are you doing to manage these? Note that it’s not just the interruption itself, but also getting back on task. Dr. Gloria Marks has noted it can take upwards of 22 minutes to get back on task post-interruption.

 
Activity:

• Note what focus means for you right now – which of these areas needs attention?
• What are the things you want to do more of to amplify your focus?
• What do you need to change or say NO to?
• Who do you want to be accountable to around focus?

For more on this topic, check out an earlier 2020 blog post here.

Wishing you the best, 
​Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton - Potentials Realized
Author of PlanDoTrack (2019), Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Pick up a copy of any of her books at Amazon.

Book Jennifer for a coaching session to explore productivity, teamwork and business issues.
​Contact her by phone at (416)996-8326

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