What Is Focus Management?
Consider for a moment the two words that form “focus management.” For example:
- Focus: Involves directing your attention to a defined, central point.
- Management: Knowing how to best utilize and coordinate resources (people, processes, equipment, etc.) to meet certain goals or expectations.
When you combine those two words together you have a process that allows you to put your attention, energy, and resources to improving yourself and helping you to be more successful.
Using Focus Management When It Comes to Time
One way that focus management can help you is through time management. Think about it for a moment, how do you use your time?
Time is an important resource, whether you are the CEO of a major company or trying to keep a busy household together.
Furthermore, a specific focus management tool is time mapping. Here you track all of your time for two weeks or more. Break this time down into hour increments. Note on a calendar or spreadsheet what you are doing with that time. Then, rate the quality of your time spent. This could be done with color-coding or a 0-10 scale.
The idea is that this allows you to better understand how you spend your time and whether it was time well spent.
I am including an image of how my calendar looks when I track my time.
Begin the year with a time mapWhat Do I Do with the Results?
Once you have the data from your time mapping exercise, you can begin to make changes towards better time management.
Use focus management by centering your attention on one thing at a time.
For example, let’s say that you discovered you rated the morning more positively than the afternoon when you feel tired and sluggish. Therefore, you could ensure that you schedule meetings or work on a big project during the morning hours when you feel the most effective.
The afternoons could be devoted to projects that require less energy or designate some time for taking care of yourself.
How Does This Help with My Success?
Time mapping allows you to better understand how you are using an important resource— your time.
By using focus management to make positive changes towards your time management, you can position yourself for success. Otherwise, you may find yourself stuck and not feel like you are moving forward in your career or life.
When you know how to best utilize your time, you can focus your attention on what really matters for you. What do you dream of doing? Do you have a wish list? I get a few ideas check out Pick 1 Out of 10 and “Just Do IT!”
What are your goals for 2019It also helps with making connections with things that you may not have realized before.
For example, if you find yourself bringing work home on the weekends, comb through your time map to discover where you are losing minutes in your day. That way, you can keep work at the office, and free up your weekends for yourself and your family. — Remember that success is a very broad concept. Yet, that doesn’t mean it isn’t obtainable.
No matter how you view success, consider using the focus management strategy of time mapping to “hack” your life. You’ll find yourself better able to meet your goals and achieving success on your terms.
For more help and tips, please contact me today.
sounds great Brenda! I wish you were doing a workshop on this; for the first of the year. I would love to get together with others about this
Suzanne, thank you for making the suggestion to offer a workshop next year. I will have my workshops and training group by December 20, 2018. They are ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Training) for therapy and coaching. Focus management is part ACT but referred to as mindfulness based skilled.
I appreciate the time you take to visit and comment.