Learn to F.O.C.U.S.

Many of my clients tell me they are “really busy” but not very productive. They are doing “busy” activities that take a lot of time only to realize at the end of the day that they haven’t accomplished much.

I was in the same situation. I would come home from work, eat dinner and head down to the studio.  After a few hours, I would look at my to-do list only to find that I had hardly scratched the surface. I was really busy, but I was not working on the right things to move my business forward. 

Tim Ferriss writes in his book The 4-Hour Work Week, “Focus on being productive instead of busy.” When you are working for yourself, you have to be disciplined on getting things accomplished and being as productive as you can be. This is hard because there is a lot to learn and a lot of distractions, and in case no one has ever told you this, it’s hard to determine what to work on – and when to work on it – when you’re the boss.

As a creative business owner, it’s up to you and you alone to figure out what you need to do – and how long you’re going to give yourself to do it – in order to be most productive.

This is different for everyone, so there isn’t a specific formula to follow, and it’s no longer as black and white as saying you start at 9am and you have until 5pm to get x, y and z completed. Many of us work odd hours and frequently our “productive” time is broken up into 30-60-minute increments.

So what should you do when you are stuck in the rut of  “unproductiveness”?

Learn to F.O.C.U.S.

FOCUS stands for: Follow One Course Until Success.

This one strategy has changed the way I work, and it will set you up for maximum productivity. The best part is it only requires you to set aside just one hour per week. 

That sounds pretty reasonable, right? Here’s how:

First: Choose a day

Choose a single day of the week that works best for you to set aside 1 hour to implement this strategy. I sit down on Sunday evenings to plan out my week.

Go ahead and schedule this in your calendar right now…. schedule it to make it REAL!

Second: Follow these 5 steps…

1. Write down your goals for the week

This doesn’t have to be an exhaustive list of every single thing you’re going to do at specific times each day. Try to write down 3-5 tasks you want to accomplish each day of the week. The key is to actually write them down. 

This is a good habit to develop because it’s one way to hold yourself accountable for the goals you want to accomplish.

2. Set a time

After you’ve written down your goals for the week, determine when is the most ideal time for you to accomplish them.

To start, pull out a calendar and block off times when you have appointments, calls, meetings or other commitments.

Then, start by using blocks of time as your “productive periods”.  For example, you might have a client meeting on Tuesday afternoon at 1pm, so perhaps from 9am-11am you can “block” time to work on writing a marketing piece.

Once you have a better idea of how much time you need to complete a task, you can start to become more precise in blocking off productive periods for yourself based on the task at hand.

The important thing for you to do during these productive periods is to remove distractions and focus.

Remember, only work on THE ONE THING at a time. 

Challenge yourself to FOCUS.

3. Set Boundaries

Burning out is easy to do, especially if you are trying to do your business after working your “day job”. Give yourself some breaks as you work on achieving your goals and tasks. Take time to exercise, walk and remain in the best possible condition. You are no good to anyone if you are sick or lack energy.

4. Revisit your goals

I feel really productive when I can physically check things off my list – do you feel this way too?

If so, revisit your list of goals and update them daily. You can either mark them a certain percentage completed, or check it off your list completely.  This is also a great way to make you accountable.  The more you can remind yourself of the goals you’ve set, the more likely you are to stick with them.  Another idea is to find an accountability partner or coach who can work with you to achieve your goals and help you when you get stuck. If you have someone you can check in with daily, weekly or even bi-weekly, that accountability is HUGE when it comes to meeting your goals.

5. Repeat

Don’t forget this step! It’s important to understand that this strategy is not a one-time occurrence, rather something you get in the habit of doing every single week. When you do this for 90 days in a row, you will have incorporated a new habit into your life and business.

Once you’re a pro at being productive and know exactly what your schedule will look like on any given day, the FOCUS will take on a whole new meaning for you. 

Instead of blocking off time to be productive in 2-hour increments, you might sit down and say, “I’m not going to move on to my next task until I finished this one.”

If you can learn to Follow One Course Until Success (FOCUS) by giving yourself productive periods, then you too will soon be achieving great success in your business and life.

What’s one thing you do to help yourself focus? I would love to hear what you have to say on this subject. Write your comments below or send me an email at doug@dougmattice.com.