How to Prioritize Activities and Increase Focus

Work and life constantly demand our attention so finding ways to prioritize and stay focused can feel like a juggling act. Executive coach and career strategist Diana Alt shared valuable strategies on how to identify priorities, maintain focus, and align your life and work in a fulfilling way.?

Diana Alt is a career growth strategist and executive coach specializing in helping leaders and professionals align their work and life. With over 20 years in corporate technology, Diana has honed her ability to improve processes, people, and products. She now dedicates her career to helping others thrive through thoughtful career transitions and effective work-life integration.

Glass vs. Rubber Balls Analogy

A central theme in Diana's coaching is the metaphor of glass and rubber balls:

• Glass Balls: These are your most critical priorities—personal health, meaningful relationships, or key business commitments. Dropping these could result in irreversible consequences.
• Rubber Balls: While still important, these tasks can bounce back if dropped. They represent things that can be delayed or delegated without significant long-term harm.

Diana emphasizes the importance of regularly identifying which tasks or commitments fall into each category to avoid burnout and maintain focus on what truly matters.

How to Prioritize Activities Using Glass and Rubber Balls

1. Evaluate Your To-Do List: Assess which items have long-term impacts (glass balls) versus those that are flexible (rubber balls). For example, meeting a client deadline might be a glass ball, but crafting the perfect Instagram post could be a rubber ball.
2. Know When to Let Go: Diana shared a personal story of burnout and how prioritizing glass balls, like rest and health, helped her recover while maintaining her business.
3. Balance Work and Personal Life: Prioritize self-care as a glass ball. Without it, you can’t perform effectively in other areas.

The Role of Clifton Strengths in Increasing Focus

Diana is a certified Clifton Strengths coach and uses this powerful assessment tool to help individuals and teams harness their strengths. Unlike other personality assessments, Clifton Strengths focuses on what’s right with people, identifying their natural talents and how they can use them effectively.

Key Clifton Strengths Domains:

• Execution: Getting things done efficiently.
• Influence: Persuading and motivating others.
• Relationship Building: Creating connections and fostering collaboration.
• Strategic Thinking: Planning and analyzing for future success.

How Professionals Can Use Clifton Strengths

1. For Individual Growth: Understand how your strengths influence your work style. For example, someone strong in “Strategic Thinking” might thrive when planning long-term projects but struggle with repetitive tasks.
2. For Teams: Use strengths to assign roles that play to individual talents. For example, a team member with strong “Relationship Building” skills might excel in client-facing roles.
3. In Marketing: Tailor your approach to match your strengths. If you’re a natural at building relationships, focus on networking and 1:1 interaction. If you excel in strategic thinking, concentrate on big-picture campaigns.

Productivity Hacks for Busy Professionals

Start the Day with a Win:

Dedicate the first 90 minutes of your workday to a meaningful task. Choose something that, if completed, would make you feel accomplished, even if it’s the only thing you do that day.

Batch Similar Tasks:

Use the Pomodoro Technique or block out specific times for “maker” (creative work) and “manager” (administrative tasks) modes.

Adjust Time Blocks:

If large blocks of time feel overwhelming, reduce them. Diana found that moving from three-hour to two-hour focus blocks increased her productivity.

Simplifying Work and Life

Diana’s practical advice offers a roadmap for balancing priorities and staying productive. Whether it’s adopting the glass vs. rubber ball mindset, leveraging Clifton Strengths, or using productivity hacks, the key is intentionality.

As Diana puts it, "If you prioritize what's most important and let go of the rest, you'll find more clarity and success in both work and life."