“Don’t waste your life in doubts and fears: spend yourself on the work before you, well assured that the right performance of this hour’s duties will be the best preparation for the hours or ages that follow it.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
photo by foodiesathome.com
Question: How can you better focus on the task before you?
I’m a work in progress Michael. I’m the queen of multi-tasking – but I’m finding more and more it’s best to make a detailed list, break each task into steps and really focus one by one on each.
I can be really bad at this too, Ann. Getting better though.
This is a common theme and discussion in the Wright household. I want to stay in the moment so much, yet my planning nature gets in the way. I need so much to have a “plan” that I get more focused on the planning than in the DOING. That kind of defeats the reason for the plan!
Have either of you ever read any of Emerson’s books? He is quoted a whole lot in various places.
Michael,
Yeah, I guess we just can’t be ready, aim, aim, aim… We need to fire.I’ve not read any of Emerson’s books, not sure about Claudia. Would you recommend them?
Not sure if I’m going to answer your question here…but I am going to stand up on one of my “Live It Forward” soapboxes.
We are often so overwhelmed by the number of things on our plate that we find ourselves running around in circles. It’s hard enough to “keep up the pace,” let alone get ahead.
Our solution…multitasking. But multitasking is by no means a key to success and usually leads us further away from success. The reason? A divided mind leads to diminished performance. Focusing on one task at a time is the best way to get something done.
Okay…I’m going to step down now 🙂
A worthy soapbox, Kent! This has been something I’ve been working to get better at. After recently reading a post on productivity (http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/08/13/productivity/), I realized how much improvement I needed in this area.
Just because we can do 8 things at once, doesn’t mean we should.
Thanks for the advice!
Starting Sept. 10 we’ll be moving into our new phase of our Epic Adventure. This week, as we relax and prepare for Steve’s 13-week placement, we’ve begun to focus on our goals. While he is not particularly excited about going back to PT and working for someone else, we’re trying to focus on the financial positives of this season: getting a $1700/month housing, a $44/work day food allowance, a $100/month for utilities (utilities are included in the two bedroom duplex they got us, so this will be extra money for us) and a gas reimbursement. Plus we will only be about 1.5 miles from the VA Creeper running/biking trail. I’ll be staying home with Elijah and starting a more formal pre-school homeschool program for him, working on my bread making skills, working on 90 Revolutions, and going through a 90 day workout program to get back into shape. (Interestingly, Steve’s placement is 91 days long.)
I know that if I don’t create specific goals and a set daily schedule, few of these goals will be met. The hours of my day will slip away between Facebook and random stuff. Yesterday, I created a daily schedule broken down into hours. (I even gave myself a time slot for a shower.) This weekend, we’ll create our vision board like you guys. I’m determined to stay focused.
Jody,
I know it helps me if I focus on the positives instead of the negatives. It sounds like there are a lot of positives with Steve’s traveling PT position. This will be the thing that will allow you to get that much closer to your goals.
Have fun with the training program. 90 days is very doable!