The Key to Laser Focus Throughout Your Day

Moving closer to your goals and winning the day are important to us. Here’s how you can create laser focus to do just that.

You look at your calendar in the morning and see that you have the entire day to yourself. You then look at your mile long list. So many choices! How do you know that you’re making the best choices for your time? Or the list continues to grow, the requests keep coming in but you actually need to something done. You want to know that when this day is over, you’re going to be happy with what you’ve gotten done. What’s the best way to do that?

Trying to get a grasp on my day can be challenging but I know that focus is key and setting a daily plan of my 3 goals can keep me moving toward my end-game. Creating my 3 goals helps me whether I have the time to work on my projects and goals or if I have a tight schedule and know that the interruptions are going to come in. My little secret? I have 3 goals for work and 3 goals for home.

The Plan to Create the Plan

I use four criteria to determine which items on my to-do list make it to my Top 3 for the day. Now, this doesn’t mean I’m only going to get 3 things done but I’m going to do whatever it takes to get these 3 done for sure.

1. First I review urgency. What might be behind? (Yes, I get behind occasionally, I can admit that!) What’s expected to be done by the end of the day? Is there anything screaming at me that has to get done? Now, if everything seems to be screaming at you, let’s move to the next step.
2. Then I look at priority. In my line of work dealing with clients, they will typically determine the priority. Your line of work might have a different method of determining priority but once you know the urgency and priority, we look at the next criteria.
3. Finally I check my goals. If I’m not reviewing my goals, they are never getting done. Hopefully, you’ve broken them down into manageable milestones that you can add to your daily list. Sometimes I may have a few more hot items to deal with and can push my goal to-dos for the day or I may have my own deadlines and need to add one of my goal to-dos to my daily list.

You’ve Got This!

I hear you! The concerns of “But I have so much to do! If I do 3 a day, I’ll never get done!” Do you feel the panic rising up in your chest? Stop. Take a breath. First, you have to start somewhere or nothing will ever get done. Second, give yourself the moment to see yourself in charge. YOU get to decide what you’re going to work on. You’ve got this! Finally, when you really look at your list, you can identify those things that can wait. They may seem urgent but probably only for someone else.

Now that I’ve determined my Top 3, these are the items that will take first priority for the day. This makes it easier to handle interruptions. “I’d love to help right now but I have a few deadlines I need to hit today. Is this something we can look at tomorrow or later this week?” When you know what your priorities and what work you actually have, you can take control and own your day.

Separating Work and Home

It’s like the separation between church and state… kinda. There are those to-dos that must get done at work and those things that must get done at home. Sometimes those work to-dos may cut in to your time at home which is okay if it’s an occasional issue. If it’s not, then we’ll tackle that another time.

So the home goals work very similarly to work but the thought process is a little bit different for each category.

1. Urgency – Do the jeans HAVE to be washed tonight? Are you almost out of milk? Is your mother-in-law stopping over expectedly? (Quick, get the dust bunnies!)
2. Priority – Is there something coming up this week that you need to prepare for? Someone’s birthday? Appointments later in the week? Which tasks to you generally have assigned to this day of the week?
3. Again, then I check my goals. Your goals are important too! Remember you don’t have to put aside your goals just to make sure the toilet gets scrubbed! Make time to take care of yourself and get done what you want to get done. The kids can scrub the toilet or throw the jeans in the wash (or at least the dryer.) Don’t leave yourself behind!

Understanding those 3 (or 6) most important tasks of the day will give you the laser focus you need to accomplish your work. You’ll feel more in control, work on those goals that are most important to you, and win your day! You may even go to bed with a smile on your face tonight!