Arthur Guinness obviously had something more in his mind than making a couple of barrels of stout when creating his first brewery: he leased the building for 9,000 years. Likewise, the author of Harry Potter book series, J. K. Rowling planned to write seven novels about Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry before she even finished the first pages of the story.
Both Guinness and Rowling achieved great success, which was largely due to their vision and lack of fear: before starting to spend effort on the idea, they imagined the greatness of the result. Its unlikely that they would have succeeded if they didnt plan for greatness.
However, the majority views the concept of greatness and success negatively associating it with frustration, intensity, and demoralization. In most cases, such beliefs do not allow people to make great plans.
If people succumb to such negativity and stop planning for greatness, they are likely to lose their ambition and lower their expectations. Thus, they reduce their capability of success and join the ranks of the ordinary.
Take science for example. Imagine if no one thought of seemingly outrageous concepts. There would not have been many achievements if that was the case: no one would think of inventing the aqualung, or plane, or spacecraft. In fact, humanitys experience demonstrates our inability to define our limitations, thus prompting us to discard any doubt in our future endeavors.
Any deed is preceded by an idea, and deeds are essential for achievements. Therefore, unprecedented results demand that our deeds be motivated by great ideas.
Failing to think big can limit your opportunities.
Prioritize your to-dos they are not all equally important.
It is a common practice to jot down some tasks you need to remember to do. However, how do you choose what tasks should be of higher priority?
Do you begin with the simplest ones or deal with those requiring the most of your time? Or do you merely follow the task list as it has been composed?
Choosing any of the above has nothing to do with the main aspect: the tasks have varying degrees of significance.
Since a chosen few are relevant and produce results, the emphasis should be placed on them.
Joseph M. Juran, who contributed to the development of quality-control management, helps to arrive at this point with his work. During his work for General Motors, Juran observed the cause-and-effect relationship between a small number of production imperfections and nearly all faults in their cars. Obviously, the most important task for them was to eliminate these imperfections.
Juran transformed his observations into the Pareto principle naming them after Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist who proposed a design for income and wealth distribution in Italy in the 19th century. Paretos design demonstrated that a fifth of the population (20%) owned four-fifths of the land (80%). Joseph M. Juran noticed that the ratio between the imperfections and the faults was the same: 20% to 80% respectively.
Juran understood that there is a possibility to apply this 80/20 principle in any field: 20% of your efforts generate 80% of your achievements.
The conclusion regarding this principle is obvious: the tasks have different relevance, and only few of them produce and influence your remarkable achievements. Determine the relevance of each task to find those that benefit the most.
Prioritize your to-dos they are not all equally important.
Asking the focusing question will help you to prioritize, create actionable tasks and achieve your goals.
There is a quote about success that belongs to Mark Twain,
The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and starting on the first one.
Its a valid suggestion, but its hard to decide what you want to achieve and what the first step should be to help you attain that goal. Facing such a tricky situation, it useful to ask yourself the focusing question, which is aimed at helping you determine what you wish to get and what the initial phase entails:
Whats the ONE thing I am able to do so that doing it would make everything else either simpler or redundant?
There are two approaches to addressing the question, which serve different purposes:
On the one hand, a general approach helps to get a broader perspective and single out your major objective: the ONE thing you wish to devote your life to and succeed in. For instance, your major professional objective could be your ONE thing.
On the other hand, a specific approach allows you to sort your possibilities by their relevance and begin with the most productive one. For instance, returning an important phone call may just be that ONE thing you can do straight away.
While the general approach concerns getting a proper focus in life, the specific one deals with making the right choice of action.
Constantly asking the focusing question will help you maintain your focus as well as show you the path to your final destination, thus building up your drive and enhancing development. Do not stop asking yourself the question; maybe, youll produce unprecedented results?
Asking the focusing question will help you to prioritize, create actionable tasks and achieve your goals.
The secret to a disciplined life is sequential habit forming.
Bill Gates, as well as other remarkable people like him, makes us think that great achievements are closely connected to the amazing self-control that enabled him to develop computer software in his 20s. Such level of control evokes frustration and the feeling of impossibility. What do such outstanding individuals do to sustain that kind of control?
If we look close, it appears that it is not the constant control of behavior aimed at producing concentration and motivation but a careful application of self-control to form positive habits that is actually the decisive factor in their achievements.
Consider, for instance, Michael Phelps success. Receiving ADHD diagnosis in childhood, he was unlikely to be ever able to concentrate on anything. Yet, Phelps has become largely praised for his self-control and determination.
How did he reverse the situation you might ask?
He devoted all of his self-control to developing one habit: swimming on a daily basis. He started to train when he was 14 and continued to do so every single day for about 10 years up to the Olympics in Beijing.
However, one habit is merely a beginning. It is way simpler to keep up your habits than to form, which means that after forming a habit, you can change your routine to develop the new one and so on. For instance, you may begin with getting up earlier to have extra 20 minutes to look through a newspaper or check your inbox. When you form this habit, you can go on and use your self-control to develop your concentration. After being able to keep your focus on one task longer, you can think about the next habit.
Using self-control at certain times to form good habits will allow you to create an image of an organized life, enjoy its advantages, and yet remain an ordinary person without superpowers.
The secret to a disciplined life is sequential habit forming.
Multitasking is horribly inefficient: pick one thing and give it your undivided attention.
Today, it is common to view multitasking as a productive tool. People usually define the notion as being engaged in more than one activity at the same time. However, the initial meaning was used to characterize a computer that does several tasks having one processor by quickly going from one task to another. There is a telling difference here.
Even though people are capable of doing several things simultaneously, like eating and watching TV, its impossible to concentrate fully on those activities at once. Basically, when we appear to multitask, we actually just manage the tasks shifting our concentration between them like a computer.
Studies prove that humans lose time when managing several tasks at once because it is not easy to switch from one task and concentrate on another. Surely, this time loss is irrelevant for some elementary activities, but it grows more and more apparent when it comes to more intricate jobs.
Lets say you are trying to write an important detailed report and your boss comes up to go over a particularly complex business plan. Obviously, you will lose time when you go back to the report trying to find the place youve been working on before.
Such time losses accumulate during the day, which is especially evident at work. In fact, some estimations show that an average worker is distracted every 10 minutes, and it takes them about 2 working hours in total to retain their focus. Can you truly allow yourself to spend so much of your working day not on actual work?
Determine the most crucial thing at that particular moment and do not lose your concentration.
Multitasking is horribly inefficient: pick one thing and give it your undivided attention.
Your willpower is like a fuel tank: choose carefully where you use it or you may run out when you really need it.
The majority of us have to admit to the lack of unwavering resolve. Surprisingly though, some studies say that our determination is not stable, meaning its amount decreases throughout the day being spent on various tasks in different quantities.
For instance, our determination is being reduced when we choose to concentrate on something and ignore our wishes or change our demeanor to achieve an objective. Low levels of determination mean we probably dont have it in us to complete any other possible tasks requiring strong resolve.
Inability to refuse a delicious treat after a long day of tiring work is likely explained by those low determination levels.
However, succumbing to your little weaknesses is extremely different from lacking determination when solving very serious issues since the effects may be horrendous.
For example, few things would matter for a prisoner having a board hearing regarding parole. How can one day change the outcome?
The study of parole judges in Israel proves that small things so matter: the judges would be more lenient at the beginning of a hearing and more severe toward the end. The reason for such behavior was the reducing determination of the judges, who were inclined to decide against releasing anyone on parole as the day progressed. The number of favorable outcomes increased after lunches and breaks.
Remember that your determination is limited and try to arrange your day so that all important issues are solved when there is plenty of resolve.
Your willpower is like a fuel tank: choose carefully where you use it or you may run out when you really need it.
Saying no to unimportant tasks is vital if you are to focus your efforts on the most important ones.
Most people feel the need to help others, which is why they often feel uncomfortable when refusing someone. Surely, assisting someone is usually satisfying, but you need to save your resources, which is why its important to prioritize.
Consider Steve Jobs, who took pride in the projects he didnt and did participate in. In 1997, Jobs came back to Apple and left only 10 from the original 350 products of the enterprise. It took many refusals. The same year, he stated, When you think about focusing, you think Well, focusing is about saying yes. No! Focusing is about saying no.
Always refusing people is not as impolite or egotistic as it sometimes seems. You may show a person another option that doesnt necessarily include your participation or refer them to someone who would be able to assist.
Moreover, develop some techniques to reduce the number of requests; for instance, creating FAQs list and recommending it to your colleagues might prove helpful. However, it still might come to actually refusing people if you want to achieve your goals.
If you want to save precious resources and your time, you need to be able to refuse to help with some minor problems in order to concentrate on the most important matters and produce results.
Saying no to unimportant tasks is vital if you are to focus your efforts on the most important ones.
Living with purpose and visualizing the steps to get to your goal will set you on the path to extraordinary results.
Lets say you have no purpose, no dreams, and no desires at this moment. Having no direction, what would you do every day? Would you be able to work on a demanding and boring task being unaware of its purpose?
Having considered the aforementioned situation, it becomes evident that setting a goal is crucial. Your life receives direction and sense, which gives you more certainty regarding your ideas, confidence in what you do, and higher speed in terms of decision making. Even more so, when you know the reason behind the tasks, you feel encouraged and driven to complete them despite any arising challenges.
Having defined your purpose, you are able to establish the tasks that are necessary to fulfill it. Also, imagining the stages and the tasks helps to encourage and prompt you as well as get you ready for the future. These positive outcomes were demonstrated in research on students, who during a test imagined its result or the preparation and test taking. Those who thought about the process felt more encouraged, were more ready, and had higher scores in the end.
Remember imagining that feeling of having no purpose? Now think of having found your vocation, your purpose: you wish to try skydiving. All of a sudden, the ONE thing you want to do is crystal clear. Now, you need to learn the requirements, begin training, and buy the necessary gear. Defining your purpose allowed you to plan, imagine the steps to take, and go on realize it.
What we truly should try to achieve is finding the ONE thing we want to do and accomplish in life, getting a purpose in other words.
Living with purpose and visualizing the steps to get to your goal will set you on the path to extraordinary results.
Never compromise your personal life for your professional goals instead, prioritize your work time ruthlessly.
Everyone wants a peaceful life have enough time for everything thats important yet no one asks themselves whats the reason and whats our true aim.
Its natural to want to achieve equilibrium since both personal and professional parts of our life appear significant, but this harmony is impossible and in reality unwanted. If you attempt to juggle your work and family lives, you will eventually compromise on every aspect.
James Patterson, a best-selling novelist, described this issue in the following way: Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. They are called work, family, health, friends and integrity. And youre keeping them all in the air. But one day you finally come to understand that the work ball is made of rubber if you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls are made of glass.
Patterson basically says that personal life is of higher priority than the professional one no matter what demands surface at work. The consequences may be irreversible. Yet, how can we achieve anything at work if our personal life is prioritized?
The solution is to relentlessly concentrate on your professional aims and arrange your work hours accordingly. While any disregard in your personal life may be disastrous, there is a clear first concern in your professional life, so everything other than that can wait. Less important problems sometimes may be reduced, pushed back, or dealt with by someone else in order for the critical issues to be sorted out. It would enable you to concentrate on what really matters, which, in turn, would lead to success.
Never compromise your personal life for your professional goals instead, prioritize your work time ruthlessly.
To focus on your ONE thing, you need effective time-management strategies, and to accept some chaos in other areas.
Imagine you have found your ONE thing, the true purpose, and you have developed a definite strategy to fulfill it.
So, you are all good and ready to go, there is a tiny problem: the world is always changing. Life goes on without you while you are immersing in your work and striving for perfection. Everything starts piling up. New people and new projects will always distract you.
For example, when you need to make an important presentation, some of your daily responsibilities may be neglected and new tasks will accumulate. It is normal since we all have to give up certain things to gain something else in return.
With the mess increasing, you will want to address the issues more with time. Yet, you will have to learn to preserve your faith in your work, in particular, in its ability to improve your life upon completion. In other words, do not interfere with that mess.
So how do you manage your time most efficiently when concentrating on your ONE thing?
Organize chunks of your work time, adhere to your schedule, and stick to them like your life depends on it. In your surroundings do not interfere with your productivity. You should have little or no interruption at your workplace. You might want to think about working somewhere else other than your office.
Such methods would ensure your ONE thing gets all the focus it requires.
To focus on your ONE thing, you need effective time-management strategies, and to accept some chaos in other areas.
Final summary
Achievements depend on the concentration on ONE thing instead of many. On the way to achieving your ONE thing, keep a keen eye out for anything that may deter you from succeeding. Find out the way to discard anything unimportant and devote your effort to what truly matters.
How do I identify objectives and prioritize my work?
- Failing to think big can limit your opportunities.
- Prioritize your to-dos they are not all equally important.
- Asking the focusing question will help you to prioritize, create actionable tasks and achieve your goals.
How do I avoid distractions and focus on my ONE thing?
- The secret to a disciplined life is sequential habit forming.
- Multitasking is horribly inefficient: pick one thing and give it your undivided attention.
- Your willpower is like a fuel tank: choose carefully where you use it or you may run out when you really need it.
- Saying no to unimportant tasks is vital if you are to focus your efforts on the most important ones.
How do I succeed in achieving my ONE thing?
- Living with purpose and visualizing the steps to get to your goal will set you on the path to extraordinary results.
- Never compromise your personal life for your professional goals instead, prioritize your work time ruthlessly.
- To focus on your ONE thing, you need to use effective time-management strategies, and accept some chaos in other areas.