Find Focus

Motivation with purpose

Translate your purpose into action. First brainstorm on your vision, letting go of the how you are going to get there. What do you really want to focus on in your future? It could be a goal for the hour, the day, the week, the month, the season, or the year. Once that vision is clear, then start to craft long-term goals that are SMART:

Specific
Measurable
Assignable/Achievable
Realistic
Time-related

Your vision may shift, and the goals to get their will change, but your purpose likely will be more constant. Spent time clarifying your purpose, vision, and goals—that are all interconnected, and your motivation to take action will likely increase. Some questions to spark your focus on what has heart and meaning to you:

What is most important in your life? What are your values?

What would you want to be most proud of in your life?

How will you make a positive impact in the world? Your community? Your family?

Or maybe it is a task given to you by your boss at work. Decide how to get that task done in manageable chunks. Give yourself a realistic timeline and set of action steps, if they were not already given to you. Learn to say no to things that distract you from your goals. If you cannot say no, learn to prioritize tasks based on their importance.

Batch activities: Find consistency to promote productivity

Batching refers to grouping similar tasks together. For instance, perform intense work during times of the day when your energy is high. Or, schedule phone calls all in one day. Or, run your four errands all at once to make one trip downtown rather than one per day. Or, check email only at a certain time of the day rather than responding as they come in.

Learn the time of day that you are most focused, and set this time to do your tasks that take more mental energy. Save mindless tasks like responding to emails, for times of the day that you are more tired naturally.

Check out my articles: Cultivate Calm and Support Sleep because it is very difficult to focus when you are stressed or tired.

Find contrast to promote recovery

After a heavy physical training day, it is obvious that a day of rest or light physical recovery helps your body. We need to prioritize rest and perhaps wait 24 hours or so before doing more heavy physical exertion. In addition, if we have a heavy day of mental exertion, our mind needs a break to recover as well. If you still need to be productive at work, try switching mental activities. Maybe yesterday you made the final edits to a manuscript you are submitting for publication. Perhaps today focus more on using a different side of your brain by preparing some slides for a talk to use the creative and visual side of your brain. Similarly if we have had an emotionally draining day, our recovery could be journaling or getting outside for a walk in the fresh air. Often a change in scenery helps after emotionally draining days. After a full day of zoom meetings with colleagues or clients, try having a more solo day of personal deep work. Or take a break after days where you are talking a lot, to have quiet time. After a day of complex thinking on research or writing, spend time playing a sport, playing with children, or playing an instrument.

Less time at work, increases productivity!

Set a long-term goal to have (a) one day a week where you completely take off work, including checking email, and (b), an annual vacation during which you disconnect from work for several days. These mental breaks from work actually boost your mental function increase your productivity. A recently published article in Harvard Business Review has shown not only an increase in the quality of life for workers but also increases their productivity with fewer sick days and greater well-being (Laker and Roulet 2019). Workers have reported a reduction in burnout, an increase in happiness, and an increase in commitment to their jobs—all factors that contribute to productivity. Employer costs can be reduced slightly, not by decreased salaries but by a reduction in operating costs (i.e., utilities and supplies). Our society is deeply attached to the idea that it is good to work hard, and downtime is lazy and maybe destructive to societal goals for productivity. However, Microsoft actually increased their productivity by 40% by reducing workers’ hours to four days per week. Their electricity costs reduced by 23%; workers were more efficient with their time by communicating in e-chats rather than time-burning emails and lengthy meetings (Chappell 2019). In New Zealand, Perpetual Guardian, a trust management company, increased employee work-life balance by 45% and increased productivity by 20% through reducing their work-week from five to four days.

References

Laker, Ben & Roulet, Thomas. (2019). Will the 4-Day Workweek Take Hold in Europe?. Harvard Business Review.

Chappell, Bill. (November 4, 2019) “4-Day Workweek Boosted Workers’ Productivity By 40%, Microsoft Japan Says” NPR Business.

Contact

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