The Lack-of-Focus Club
Do you ever feel like you’re flat out achieving not much? Very busy but not particularly effective or productive? Or fulfilled? Like you’re investing significant time and energy but not producing your desired results? Like the veritable mouse on the treadmill; a lot of running with no progress? Welcome to a very large club; the Lack-of-Focus Club. Not a sexy name I know, but it’s very real and it’s membership is growing daily. In this club we’re not absolutely clear about what we want, so we try to do everything. And be everything. With disastrous results.
The Frustrated Juggler
When it comes to exploring your potential and living your dreams, maybe it’s time for you to work smarter, more methodically and with much more focus. Less emotion, less balls in the air, more logic, more system and more effectiveness. Better focus equals better results. Perhaps it’s time to prioritise, to plan more effectively and to determine what is the best use of your time, energy and potential in your quest to create your ideal life. This might mean putting some goals and plans on hold (or losing them altogether) while you focus yourself to make others a reality. It might mean getting clear about your values, your objectives and what’s most important to you (right now) in terms of the reality you’re working towards. Be practical, be realistic and be honest; is what you’ve been doing (to this point in time) working? If not, change it! Sometimes the more things we try to achieve at once, the less likely we are to achieve anything over the long term. Many of us spend much of our lives with too many balls in the air and as a consequence, we do fifty things badly (or not as well as we would like) instead of a few things well. We end up exhausted, frustrated and often, back where we started. Sound familiar?
My List
The list of things I want to do, be and create over the next five years is long. However, the majority of my list receives no attention or energy from me at the moment because my current commitments and responsibilities require my full attention and focus. When I get focused, I create momentum, excitement and better results. If you’re like many people, then perhaps it’s time for you to stop doing a lot of things badly and start doing a few things well.
Maybe it’s time to get focused?
Enjoy your weekend x
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{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Jack of all trades, master of none! Yup, I so feel like that. I don’t want to be like that though. Something I have silently resented is not starting a musical instrument or a sport or something at age 5 so by age 15 I would be quite good at something. But then you look at these 13 yo musicians, gymnasts, ballet dancers, swimmers etc and they probably hate their parets for making them do something so seriously from such a young age. The beauty of being an adult is being able to choose what YOU want to do and how committed you want to be about it, opposed to being told what to do and how often and at what competetive level.
My list of things I want to do and be is long too. Sometimes I swear I’m too paralysed by the length of my list to know what to focus on that I focus on creating nothing. After I finish my uni degree, I have two big goals that will take up probably 98% of my time/energy. They are: getting my career as a graduate paramedic happening and my ironman triathlon. They are both going to require enormous FOCUS and there really is no room for assing around coz if I did I could see myself kicked out of my job or never making it to the start line of my big ‘race’. I don’t want to be seen as someone who is full of talk. I want to be seen as someone who does stuff and achieves stuff.
Why does thinking about stuff take up so much emotional energy? It’s probably way more efficient to do stuff hey!!!
Hey Craig? How about a new GYST challenge soon’ish??? I promise not to fade after Day 1 this time.
Hi Craig,
Timely post for me….focus and prioritise! I had a large weight loss last week (2.5kg) because I focussed on that issue and not on everything else that I can’t control at the moment.
I too have a long list of things I need to do which I will go through and work out what is most important and worry only about that.
Oh by the way, I have been having a lovely chat with Jules who found me through here. As I have said before there is no end to what you will do for us is there lol! Hi Jules! Hope you find that gym card lol
Have a fantast weekend Craig and I’ll get to that cheesecake roster soon…..priority??? lol
Hugs
Michelle xx
Hey Craig ! Who gave you permission to write about me ??!!! Well, today I actually did get focused, and for once, I did achieve what I set out to do. 1 Brownie point for me ! Now to keep it up…… !!
{{HUG}} Tina
Getting focused isn’t so hard–it’s STAYING focused that’s the trick. I determine to focus on improving my writing and limiting marketing efforts to 1-2 hours daily. But when “experts” tell you that you really HAVE to blog, have a newsletter, give talks, Twitter, Linkin, do Facebook, make podcasts and teleseminars, give TV/radio interviews, etc., you don’t know who to believe. Is it all really necessary or not? You don’t want to sink your career by refusing to adjust to online marketing. But it can make you crazy–and cause you to lose your focus. I wish I had the answer! I suspect the answer is again: focus! What marketing avenues will I focus on–and forget the others???
Kristi Holl
Writer’s First Aid blog
Hey Jules
GYST? Maybe – I’ll think about it..
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Well done on last week Michelle.
Now, about that roster…
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Hello Juggler Tina… nice to see some focus
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Hi Kristi
what is it that you want to achieve? Are you talking about your writing career in general, your blog (specifically) or something else?
BTW, you’ve already done way more than most writers…
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Hi there Craig,
I met you at your Sydney RYL, and have not had the chance to thank you. I left to fly back home very pumped and with focus.
As I stepped off the plane, the focus shifted. There were many unforseen things that required some attention. When normally I would have had a panic attack, I’ve been handling things well.
It has been a challenge to see the positives in these things that crop up out of the abyss…..but you feel stronger? for it.
I can understand that my focus will change as each is dealt with, and learnt from. …..By January 1st 2009!!! (Ha!)
Mostly when one attends a motivational seminar, a lot is forgotten within a few days. You have made an impact….your blog definately helps. It keeps it there. Thus not forgetting your stuff!
Have a fabulous weekend!
Kathryn
The problem for me is when the thing I want to focus on (my passion) conflicts with the job that pays the bills. But I can juggle them until I find myself building a house as well.
You are right about focus – I feel like I have none right now. My brain veers from business marketing to my current novel to bricklaying and there’s been times I’ve felt totally crazy.
But in the next 4 weeks I plan to sort this out and hopefully regain focus, as you say. (See, 4 weeks – I was listening!)
So are you giving me permission to stop doing the housework and focus on lazing on a beach somewhere is Tahiti? Hmmm…. I could do that very well.
Another insight into my brain. Now you can get out of my head thanks LOLOLOLOLOL
Hi Michelle! Yes, I found my gym membership card (Dad jogged my memory as to where I was putting stuff). I not been to gym yet! Been searching for share accommodation in Melb (I’m over the living alone thing) and thinking about my new ‘lifestyle’ and the things I want to do and be…
Time to refocus on TODAY. I’m off to the gym, and then will attack one of my final two assignments.
Have a great weekend Craig. Is that ‘day in the life of’ article very far away?
Jules
Hi Craig,
Cheesecake roster…frequency??? Ok all, our Craig wants cheesecake…anyone willing to go on the roster???
Was looking through the archives on here have the video posts been removed or just the birthday one?
I opened an email at work today for MARC and scrolled down and lo and behold there you were Craig…doing a seminar next Wed night. I immediately got up and moved cos I was sitting (guilty?)lol…R U stalking me???
Jules, glad you found the card and also glad to hear you went to the gym too!
Have an awesome weekend everyone!!!
hugs again Craig
Michelle xx
Hi Craig
Thanks for the very interesting post. The last paragraph meant the most to me.
I have a very extensive list of things I want to achieve – eg: I would love to complete a Masters in History and get back into following F1 racing (BTW yay Hamilton!)- but for the moment I need to concentrate on my other roles.
For about the next ten years I need to be the best teacher, mentor, mother, wife, friend, sister and dog-owner I can be. Unless, of course, I sell the kids on ebay but there’s probably some pedantic law against that.
It’s difficult to focus on my fitness because I always feel like I’m letting someone else down if I do that – robbing them of my time. It makes me feel selfish.
Anyway, maybe my focus for the rest of the year should be to say ‘no’ to any more committments. If I take on one more thing it will probably sink the HMASMummy. My other focus is to avoid alcohol until Christmas Day. I’m certainly not in danger of becoming an alcofrolic but I just feel it will be better for my body.
Thanks again for the food for thought.
epiphanygirl
Hi Kathryn – good to hear – keep doing what you need to do
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Hi Sherryl – it will always be a balance between our passion and our commitments – what we want to do and what we have to do…
Happy balancing.. ( )
You can go to Tahiti Suu… in your mind – it’s cheaper, less sandy and less sun damage..( )
Good point Jules… I keep forgetting about it – I might do it this weekend – I’m off to Port Douglas in an hour… maybe I can write it on the plane ( )
Or not
Hey Michelle – the middle-aged endomorph really doesn’t NEED a cheeseckae roster – he only wants one.
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You’re welcome Epiphanygirl…
Maybe you could one of them on Ebay and see how that goes? Perhaps the one that eats the most?
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Craig,
I am glad you said you only WANT one because there have been no takers! So too bad, you don’t get cheesecake lol. Sorry I tried!
Enjoy Port Douglas, hope you get to use the “party dress and high heels” lol
hugs
Michelle xx
To maintain your health focus is really important. If there is no focus there will be no results.