Hey Ikechi,

I’d love to take credit for the image, but it was created by Ashley – he’s a real expert on the graphic design!!

Yes, focus is key to being productive, and I’m glad you found this relevant and helpful for you.

Have a great weekend!
– David

First I love the image and it is so awesome.

You are absolutely right that it is only focus that does help to achieve so much result. I love the way you explain the concept of focus in terms of Business. It is important that productivity be maintained and as you brilliantly shared, it can be achieved with laser focus.

Thanks for sharing this awesome post. Take Care

Hi Ian,

Welcome back from SMMW16 🙂

Great to hear you found an alternative inspirational book. What you describe is excellent, and reinforces what I’ve said in the post. Focus on your one thing today. Everything else can wait. At the end of the day evaluate and plan the next day. Off you go, Rinse and repeat!

It sounds easy when you say it, but it’s even better when you put it into practice and achieve it.

You need to book some time in your calendar to listen to your Audible Book 😉

Appreciate you stopping by Ian!
– David

Hi Donna,

Thanks for sharing your story here of your first product launch. I bet it seemed boring at the time as you wanted to get your product on the market ASAP. But having a task-list to work through systematically is something you can use over and again with a little refinement.

We all have the same amount of hours in each day, it’s how we choose to use those hours, right? Today, I just achieved exactly what I wanted to because I was totally focused on the one thing. I could have drifted through the week, but I got it done today. And boy, don’t you feel good when you achieve.

Hope you have a productive week, Donna!
– David

This is exactly what I needed to hear. It may sound obvious, but I always get better results if I plan. Why is it then, that I find it too easy to start each day without a plan and then I wonder what I’ve been doing all day?!

Planning everything in my calendar is essential. When I do plan I get more done.

It’s easy to over-complicate things, but just making a list and then scheduling it is the key. I found Mark Forster’s book “Do it Tomorrow” very helpful. It’s about creating a closed list for today- and focusing on getting those things done. If anything comes in- it goes on tomorrow’s list- not today’s! I’ve become a victim of the never-ending to-do list. Well, no more!

You’ve also reminded me of “The One Thing”. I’ve got it as an Audible book already- now I just need to listen to it!

Ian

Sage advice you have given here. Focus can be a huge problem if we let it go wild. We need to discipline ourselves.

I’ve learned a huge lesson a few years back working with a coach to get my first product done. I had to write an entire list down of what exactly I was going to do. It was a list that I had to work backwards; from the initial goal, to the many steps I had to take to achieve it.

Of course time played a huge part in this. We seem to take time for granted, but when we are working on a project time is one of the most important components.

Now that I went through that boot camp, I can work smarter. We have to know that One thing and pin focus on it every day with consistency.

Thanks for bringing up this topic. It is one that is so important to teach others.

-Donna

Hi Sherman,

I like the analogy of being an octopus on skates – that’s funny 🙂
But you’re right, it’s so important to narrow down and focus on one task at a time!

Ah yes, programming – I’ve been there too, and it’s mighty frustrating when it doesn’t work and you have to debug to track down that stray piece of code.

Appreciate you stopping by Sherman!
– David

Multitasking is not the best strategies at all. You can end up going no where trying to everything. I always use the analogy of being an octopus on roller-skates.

Narrowing down one task at a time is vital if you want to get anywhere. It keeps you focused and helps you to figure out what’s holding you back from fulfilling those min-goals you want to accomplish.

This reminds me of the programming classes I use to take in college. Whenever your program doesn’t work, you had to troubleshoot it enough to, a lot of the times, the tiniest mistake that’s keeping your program from running correctly. It was usually one incorrect spelling or sign that holds up the entire program.

Thanks for sharing David! I hope yo have a great week ahead!

Hey Jasper,

Great to hear you benefitted from this post! Always happy when somebody can apply the ideas to their own business.

Commenting can lead you down a meandering path…I know when I start on Triberr sometimes that I find myself getting more and more sucked in. That’s why I have a strict time allowance for it now. I find using the timetable is a good framework for allocating the right amount of time to each task. You’ll discover what works best for you.

Fiction books. Well, recently I’ve been wading through the Game Of Thrones series (A Song of Ice and Fire) – almost finished the last one. I like thrillers just for some escapism really. Get’s your head off work 🙂 I’ve actually got some pages/posts on my blog about books, but it’s not well sign-posted at the moment. Try to get you started and let me know if you want more ideas.

Thanks for the kind comments Jasper – I tweeted a few of those 🙂
Have a fab weekend!
– David

Hi Julie,

So pleased to hear that you found this post useful. We certainly can, and do, get pulled in all directions if we are not careful. Sometimes we just have to say ‘no’ or ‘later’ so that get our one thing done.

Thanks
– David