In this fast and crazy world, we want to multitask at all times. After all, how else can we accomplish everything that needs to be done in just 24 hours? We have been taught that if we achieve all our goals in a day, a week, a month or a year, we are successful. What they have not taught us when it comes to achieving goals is that quality counts and also the amount of effort made.
Our tendency is to set many goals, especially at work, for a given day or week, and then feel discouraged or disappointed when we don’t accomplish them all. In fact, we usually have to move them the next day or the next week. The first step to feeling a sense of accomplishment and completion is to set just 3 goals for a day, a week, a month that HAVE to be met. Why only 3? On an average day, we can’t anticipate all the other things that will grab our attention. We get called into a meeting, we get a time-consuming phone call, we get a request that requires a search, we notice an article of interest that we want to read, etc. If we don’t allow these other time-consuming things, then we are not being realistic about what we can accomplish in a day. The same happens with a month: unexpected family situations, trips, illnesses, new projects, etc.
So how do we accomplish 3 goals in one day and accomplish them well with little effort? It is better known as focus and undivided attention. The keyword is not divided: our attention remains FULLY on the task at hand. The distractions, the pulls, the unimportant but more interesting, do not take us away from what needs to be done at that moment. If you pay attention to the task at hand and don’t let distractions get in the way, you’ll notice how easily the task gets done. Even if it’s something you’ve been putting off and dreading, simply setting time aside and focusing on it will result in one less thing on your plate. Ironically, the more attention you pay to it and the more focused you are on the task at hand, the less effort you’ll feel to complete it. If you allow any of the distractions to get in the way and think you’re multitasking, what you’re really doing is flitting between lots of different things and not giving any of them your full attention. The result: a little bit of this and a little bit of that is done with mediocre quality and feels like a lot of effort.
Invitation to Experiment:
Set 3 or more goals for a given day, for a week, for a month, of which 3 MUST be met. That may mean letting the answering machine answer, turning off the cell phone and IM, going to another desk or conference room. Fully focus your attention on one thing at a time and notice how they are accomplished, and see if it feels different than usual.
