Focus on the important things and achieve more each day!

The title of this piece comes from something that I’ve often found myself saying when working with managers to address their time management skills. It’s a very easy thing to say but how do we actually do it?

Below I’ve included a number of simple tips that I find useful and hope you will to! Before that though! I often ask the question of people in seminars ... “When you have a big project or difficult task to do ..... do you ever find you have an overwhelming desire to tidy your desk, do some filing and tackle all those little mundane tasks that you’ve been putting off for weeks rather than focusing on the really important task you must complete?” When people nod and agree they do, I often quote Robert Kiyosaki ... the author of the book ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad.’ He refers to this as ‘busy-ness’ that being that we make ourselves feel busy whilst avoiding the actually important task. He argues that eradicating this habit can make you far more successful and having tried it myself I have to agree.... that said you can take things too far and my desk and cupboard have become a bit of a state in the past few months. Therefore I took the time last night to clear the decks, three bin liners later, I’ve experienced the satisfaction of really clearing out all the rubbish from my desk and thrown away old documents and files that I’ve held on to for far too long and experienced that clarity of thought that comes from a tidy work area. Therefore my advice to you so you maintain focus particularly in this very busy time as we run up to Christmas is:

1. Quickly clear up your work environment .... throw out the things you’ll never read and make room for the important tasks. (Be ruthless)


2. Write a ‘To Do’ list of no more than 10 items and feel the satisfaction of getting through it in a day. (Even if you have a list of 30 pick the 10 most important put them on a separate list and get working)


3. Celebrate your success .... do something to reward yourself for being productive, we are after all heading into the festive season, treat yourself!

At a time of year when it’s easy to loose focus try these three simple tips and have a productive end to 2009!

David Anderson
Managing Director

www.London.Dalecarnegie.com