As you know, my one little word for 2013 is Focus. To be honest today got off to a rocky start. I have been taking semi-vacation days through the holidays and today was my first day back in the home office full time. I had my desk all ready, my email cleaned out, but, as with all best laid plans, things didn't quite work out.
The phone rang off the hook, I overslept, my egg tasted terrible, and my to do list got bigger than intended.
So.... reboot.
That is the key. Don't let a botched morning, meeting or moment ruin the whole day. Regroup what your intentions for the day were and start again.
Rebooting Techniques for Focus at Work
- Rework your To Do list - if there are things on there that can be moved or postponed... move them. If you need to add something that is nagging you, add that. Look at your list uninterrupted and start again.
- Get a glass of water - I know. Simple. But you are probably dehydrated so go get it.
- Shut down social media - yes, it is a temptation - stop, cross some stuff off and feel centered and not distracted.
- Move on - if your day is totally wrecked by a sick kid, something really crummy, or not feeling up to par... just stop and start again tomorrow. It is ok to throw in the towel when you are really toast. You aren't going to do your best work anyway. If you are in a brick and mortar and can't physically leave, do what you have to do and put the heavy thinking things off for tomorrow when your morning starts the way you had wanted it to.
Throughout the month of January we will be focusing on things that should be come auto focused - schedules, to do lists, systems, etc.
