Focus!

 

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog post, focus is one of the many attributes that we try and promote in an agile culture.  But what does that mean? Basically, it's the opposite of multi-tasking.  Pick one thing to really give your full attention to for a period of time.

This is much harder than one would think, because we live in a world where it's so easy to get distracted! How many times have you started out reading something online, and then clicked on hyperlinks and then that Facebook video comes up with a ridiculously long message -- you know the type where they have these cue card signs that they keep throwing down and you're waiting for the punchline..  and then they finally break up with their boyfriend or tell them they know they cheated or something very Geraldo-like..  and you think...  why did I just waste that 10 minutes?

OK, that's why you have to focus! But how?

My favorite technique is the Pomodoro Technique.  Basically, you set a timer.  While that timer is set you are going to STAY FOCUSED on the task at hand.  Do NOT click those enticing links! Do NOT go look on Pinterest for those pretty sunrooms you're dreaming about! Do NOT answer that text message..  Actually, turn your phone off if you can.  

But what if it's something important? OK, ok, you can decide if you need to keep your phone on or respond to a text message.  But the idea is to set the timer to a short timeframe (like 30 minutes).  Then take a break, get up and walk, answer your text, or whatever for 5-10 minutes.  Then, if your task still needs more work, get back for another 30 minutes.

Also, you can just TimeBox your task to begin with to prevent yourself from being a perfectionist about something.  TimeBoxing means you are only going to let yourself spend x amount of time on something and then you will move on, even if it's not perfect.

For example, I set my timer for 30 minutes when I started this blog post.  I'm amazed that the timer hasn't rung yet because I feel like I spent way too long just deciding on a picture! It's incredible how much more you do when you don't let yourself get distracted!

This method has really worked well for me on tasks that I typically procrastinate on, like cleaning or decluttering.  If you just have 30 minutes of focused effort, you can get done much more than you think!

OK, I'm going to do one quick review of this post and press publish! Maybe I'll even beat the clock!

Update: Done in 27 minutes!