by Michael Holland
Focus, focus, focus. Focusing is difficult in today’s world with so many distractions and opportunities to multi-task. But when does multi-tasking become ineffective? When will you hit the overload critical mass point? At what point is your productivity decreasing?
Just say NO!
- No to that extra project.
- No to reading every email as it hits your inbox.
- No to playing referee for your employees’ never- ending complaints about each other.
- No to staying late on Wednesday night when you’ve promised your family you’d be home before dinner.
- No to debates on the likelihood of future layoffs which are out of your control.
- No to picking up that laptop at 9:30 PM to just check a few emails.
How about saying YES!
- Yes to an 8 minute siesta – eyes closed, draining your brain of thoughts
- Yes to reviewing your daily plan so you’re investing your time in appropriate activities.
- Yes to leaving 13 minutes early on Wednesday night to make sure you’re home before you’re expected.
- Yes to leveraging coaching moments for your employees as they arise.
- Yes to managing your meeting times to 22 minute increments.
- Yes to delegation – down, across and up.
- Yes to reading something different – an article from People Magazine, a children’s book, the bible, your 6th grader’s social studies text book.
Jim Collins, author of Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t
“most of us lead busy but undisciplined lives. We have ever-expanding “to do” lists, trying to build momentum by doing, doing, doing – and doing more. And it rarely works. Those who build the good-to-great companies, however, made as much use of “stop doing” lists as “to do” lists. They displayed a remarkable discipline to unplug all sorts of extraneous junk.”
You have the authority and power to say NO to one thing and to say YES to something else; so what real decisions will you make today?
Coaching Thoughts – For You and Your Peers
- Which NO item resonated most with you? Why is that?
- Share the YES list with a peer manager and talk through which YES would mean the most to you this week
- Personalize the list: create you own NO and YES list on a Post-It note and stick it to the back of your mobile phone.
