Focus: Six Keys to Practicing Attention Management

Time is a constant, therefore, you do not manage time. What you do with the hours that you are awake each day is up to you. Everyone has the same amount of time each day, yet some are much more productive and efficient than others. Do you ever wonder why that is? Here are six tips to maintain your focus on attention management.

1.??????Don’t procrastinate. It seems completely natural to wait until the absolute last minute to get things done. Most people I know and work with use procrastination as the rule. On the other hand, I personally pack for business trips or a vacation several days in advance so I do not forget anything and will avoid the stress of last minute preparations. If I give someone ownership on a project at work and do not remind them, one of two things usually happen. They either cram the night before the due date to complete the project or have a poor and lackluster result as they did not make it a priority or take the necessary time to prepare to deliver excellence. Procrastination is the enemy of preparation. My favorite quote is from Coach Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant, former University of Alabama football coach for 25 years with 6 National Championships to his credit. He said, “It’s not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes all the difference.” By setting some attention management skills around preparation, you will procrastinate less and less, until you complete tasks well before the deadline and become much more efficient at both work and home. You'll feel invigorated by being ahead of the game. You'll finish tasks before anyone expects you to and you actually will have more time for other priorities in your life. Avoid procrastinating and your performance will improve dramatically, and your stress level will plummet.

2.??????Avoid distractions. With technology growth, our attention span grows shorter and shorter. Our smart phones rarely leave our palm, no matter what our age. We seem to embrace distractions and often have a great deal of trouble staying on task. If we get a new email… STOP EVERYTHING! It must be critically important, so we find it necessary to check it immediately. Heaven forbid if we receive a text. We allow distractions to take over our lives and ruin our productivity. In order to take back control of your life, capture all of your personal and professional distractions that take your attention away from important tasks. Once your list is complete, review your distractions list with a critical eye. If the distractions that you listed can wait, avoid then until your time opens up or your complete the task at hand. By identifying your distractions, you become more aware of what steals your attention and will be in a better position mentally to stay the course and get more done each day. If you identify a distraction for what it is, you dilute the distraction and will be in a better position to manage your daily distractions. Disclaimer: an emergency is not a distraction. If your spouse gets a flat tire on the highway, you should definitely run to their aid. If your child is sick or hurt, go to them. I’m talking about the everyday items that take away from your attention management.

3.??????Work in blocks of time. By organizing each day in advance and planning in specific blocks of time throughout the day, your focus on specific activities increases. You create a start time and an end time. If that project or activity doesn’t get completed in that block, set up another block to complete the task. The best way to block out your time is in 60-75 minute blocks, as your attention span wanes after that amount of time. By organizing each day’s activities into blocks of time, you create a successful approach to achieving more in the same amount of time as your focus is heightened.

4.??????Color-code your calendar. Whatever platform you utilize; Trello, Google Calendar, Outlook, use a color-coding system that speaks to you. The system I use most often is my Outlook Calendar. My weeks are packed full of team meetings, project meetings, travel, training, off-site meetings, risk planning and leadership meetings. All of these activities take preparation and time to organize. Start using a color-coding system for similar tasks on your calendar to visually organize task on each day of the week. When I see orange, I know it’s a team meeting. When I see purple, it’s an upcoming learning experience. When I see red, it’s all about risk mitigation. Whatever works best for you, have fun with it and bring some brightness to your day for planning and activity management.

5.??????Review your daily plan. This tip varies on when you can execute on it, as it can be used for both early risers and night owls alike. Either way, if you make it a habit to review your daily activities either the night before or early the morning of each new day, you set yourself up for success. You can better anticipate what the day has in store for you and maintain a focus on your attention management skills. This will allow for more consistent accomplishments throughout the day and actually give you some time back because you can become more efficient as your attention management skills are developed.

6.??????Take care of the big rocks first. We have all heard the story about the Professor that fills up a glass jar in front of his students, and at each juncture, asks, “Is this jar full?” If not, it’s worth a Google. The bottom line is if you fail to put the big rocks in first, you will not have room to add them later. Your big rocks are your daily critical priorities that must be accomplished. Handle your big rocks first, and then move to smaller rocks, pebbles, sand and water. By tackling your daily big rocks early in the day, it gives you time back to handle all of those daily distractions and smaller projects that also have deadlines. This mindset provides you daily accomplishments and takes your attention management skills to the next level. If you fail to tackle your big rocks first, you will likely run out of time to put any attention towards them.

Time management does not exist as we cannot manage time. However, by following these six attention management tips, you will set yourself up for success. No more excuses that you ran out of time. Good luck!

Mark Krajnik, Chief Executive Officer with Performance Mindset Associates (PMA), is a successful talent strategist with over 30 years of success at top-ranked, global organizations. Mark brings demonstrated skills and a positive impact around retention, behavioral-based interview preparation, performance mindset coaching, mentoring, performance development, change management, team building and streamlined talent acquisition processes. He has also created talent management models that simplify and create a positive difference on your culture and team's performance. Mark will enable and inspire you. If you want to take your organization to the next level, please contact Mark Krajnik at [email protected].