Karl Edwards presents Working Matters

Tag: focus

  • Focus and Push

    “Focus and push.”

    A reminder to simplify. A reminder that less is more. A reminder that we cannot do everything. A reminder that we must, in fact, do something.

    I’ve been advising myself and others to “focus and push” in various ways and forms for years now.

    This week valued friend and associate, Rodney Walker of Walker & Associates, offers a helpful piece, “3 Common Mistakes Businesses Make By Doing Too Much” on his blog.

    Check out his practical suggestions for exchanging busyness for effectiveness. His advise on allocating time, nurturing connections, and continually improving are excellent.

    Rodney Walker is a must-meet professional. Make a point to have a conversation with him if you haven’t yet.

    On your side,

    – Karl Edwards

  • Loving Monday: Bright Open Spaces

    loving_mondayThe wind-swept skies jump-start my morning with their radiance. Amazing how powerfully beautiful they shine in their crystal clear bright blueness.

    My imagination wanders to images of those blistering winds sweeping through my office. Piles of clutter, stacks of minutiae, lists, books, files and forms go flying away.

    Instead of the chaotic and overwhelming blur of stuff obscuring my vision and oppressing my spirit, there is only the sleek clean lines of my desk. There is open space in which to maneuver, to pace and think, maybe even to dance.

    What if…

    Why not?

    And so I grab three boxes. One I label, “Clutter.” One, “Delegate.” And the last one I label, “Tackle.”

    And being the wind god that I am, I don’t waste time pondering over the labels, but with broad strokes of my forearm I sweep across the ravaged surfaces of my domain and watch as the piles delightfully disappear into the “Clutter” box.

    Once in a while I notice an important item go flying from being lost on my desk to possibly being lost in the “Clutter” box, and I pause.

    It is practically impossible to hold onto, the wind is pounding so hard. The gale forces of this wind god’s focused fury insist that these important items be released nonetheless. And thus the “Delegate” box gets a small portion of this office’s hoard.

    Most rarely of all, as the storm continues, is the item so important that it can neither continue being lost nor be passed on to another. And any matter so exceptional and crucial can only be placed in the “Tackle” box. There is nothing to be done with these items except to do them. Right now. Before doing anything else. Tackle them.

    Now it’s time to step into your bright and refreshingly clean workspace…

    …and dance.

    – Karl Edwards

  • Loving Tuesday: Where Did Monday Go?!

    loving_mondayWhere did Monday go?

    It was here a minute ago.

    Or so I thought. Next thing I know my calendar is telling me it’s Tuesday. What happened?

    Do you ever have weeks like that? You have the best of intentions. The plans are in place. You are going to hit the ground running. You are going in focused, intent, and prepared.

    And then reality hits.

    A scheduled delivery is missing. An important deadline gets moved up. An important client wants an impromptu meeting asap. Two team members call in sick.

    By the time you look up, the day is over and your beautiful plans are in shatters.

    It would not be uncommon to be thrown for a loop. Our focus turned to confusion. Our intent undermined by discouragement. Our preparations tossed into the air like a deck of playing cards.

    Or we can adjust.

    Key, though, is not letting the unexpected sabotage us completely.

    I recommend beginning by giving yourself permission to go outside and scream your heart out or pound your fist into the landscaping. Pretending you’re not frustrated when you clearly are is patently unproductive.

    Express your frustration (safely, please). Get it out. But then… shake it off.

    While probably not possible to merely start over as if it were Monday when it is now Tuesday, we can adjust.

    Determine to adjust.

    Take a fresh look at your focus, your intent and your plans. How can they benefit from what happened yesterday?

    It’s Tuesday now. Gotta love it. Time to go for it.

    What’s your alternative?

  • Loving Monday: Focus and Push

    loving_mondayA phrase I find myself returning to more often than not is, “Focus and push.”

    There is a place for multi-tasking and working along a number of fronts. In fact, most leadership roles require as much. Systems thinking is an essential skill. The finances need monitoring, the schedules need to be maintained, the team must function with high levels of trust, energy and efficiency, and so the list goes on.

    Just as important, though, is recognizing when the time is right to focus and push. When what is called for is a concentrated, single-minded, all-out effort on one single matter.

    This week is one of those moments for me. Many important, valuable matters need to either be set aside entirely or merely brushed over in order to give my full attention to one solitary matter.

    Focus is the capacity to hone in on what is crucial and keep one’s attention there in spite of the many competing priorities and distractions.

    Pushing is the intentional organizing of one’s activities around a concentrated effort to make something happen. We are not going with the flow. We are creating the flow.

    How do you discern when you need to focus and push? At which end of the spectrum do you fall: do you tend to miss these moments or do you tend to focus and push at the expense of attending to the broader, multi-faceted dynamics taking place around you?

    On your side,

    – Karl Edwards

  • Question of the Week

    What is your optimum attention span for focused effort? For reading? For listening? For conversation?

    The Question of the Week is offered to increase awareness of one’s personal leadership practices and encourage experimentation with creative alternatives.

  • Loving Monday: Checking In With Others

    loving_mondayIf you’ve got a big workload staring you in the face this week, it can be wise to hide somewhere that you can focus and push without the distraction of others.

    While an excellent strategy in principle, first thing Monday morning might not be the best time to implement it in practice.

    To hide away before checking in with the others on the team leaves an unnecessary communication gap. Someone might need a decision from you before they can take their work forward. Someone else may need some information out of your office. A third might want to coordinate an upcoming event or meeting with your calendar.

    Checking in with others before you lock yourself away is a practical vehicle for communicating that you are a part of the team even while you have something to do alone.

    Checking in with others doesn’t need to be time consuming. You will want to communicate three simple things:

    1. Greet with sincere words of interest in how they’re doing and what their week ahead looks like.
    2. Inform that you plan to work alone until 3:00 p.m. or so in order to “focus and push” on a project, and that their understanding and support would be appreciated.
    3. Ask if there’s anything they need from you before you “disappear” for a while.

    Loving Monday is easier for everyone when we make the effort to acknowledge that others’ work is as important as our own.

  • Understanding Instead of Winning When in Conflict

    Conflict can be the most difficult situation to tough out.

    Let’s remind ourselves we’re discussing conflict in the context of having chosen to stay in our current job. We’re choosing to tough it out because there are more reasons to stay than leave.

    Given that, the most difficult realization may be that these problems are not going to go away. We can’t simply wait them out and hope they’ll disappear. We can’t run from them or hide somewhere.

    Our best bet is to shift our focus.

    Instead of winning, our goal should be understanding. Changing the topic from getting my way to working alongside some awfully difficult characteristics.

    If I can understand where a difficult person is coming from, I can engage more strategically.

    What do they want? What are they trying to accomplish? What is so important to them?

    If I can affirm what is important to them, much of the tension in the relationship gets released and frees both of us to get back on a work-based issue.

    What might be going on with that under-performing co-worker who is attacking your motives for working hard? What are reasons your boss might be second-guessing your decisions that are related to his or her needs, priorities or pressures instead of you? What pressures might someone be facing which result in competitive tactics?

    What can you affirm about someone you don’t get along with? How might you use that as a basis for getting back to work?

    Joining the conversation just now? Catch up on the entire series, Toughing Out a Tough Job.

  • School Starts Today… What Else?

    School starts this week here in Los Angeles. Varied summer activities yield to resuming Fall routines.

    Whether or not we have school-age kids of our own, this massive shift in schedule is going on all around us.

    The opportunity lies in riding the wider shift in attitude to give a boost to our own plans. Is there a project you’ve been meaning to begin? Use the team’s return from summer vacations as a launching point.

    Has work effort been flagging? Then use the Fall to regroup and refocus. Has communication been rare? Use the season shift to gather everyone and discuss some important aspect of your work together. Is the office a mess? Schedule a “Back to School Work” day for everyone to get organized.

    If you designed your own “Back to School Work” initiative, what would be its focus?

  • Choosing to Focus

    FocusTo focus on any one thing is not to focus on everything else.

    For those of us trying to focus on several trajectories of effort, this can be a maddening dynamic. Concerns for all that crowds our peripheral vision overwhelm our attention.

    Much can be addressed with thoughtful scheduling. I not only choose on what I will focus, but when and for how long as well. I, in effect, give myself permission to let everything else go out of focus.

    Since I have reserved a place in the schedule for my other priorities, my current focus is not compromised with concerns about all that I cannot see. I am free to pour myself into the chosen task at hand.

    How do you stay focused in your busy life?

  • When the Means Have Become Ends

    If you have a focused, hard-driving working style, it can be difficult to see alternatives that merit consideration.

    In this week’s discussion of our 4th podcast on recovering from bad New Year’s resolutions, we’re looking at those who are disciplined and intentional to the point of rigidity. They’re getting amazing things done, but have become slaves to their methodology.

    What we’re looking for are ways to turn the equation around and get back in touch with the original attraction that motivated the New Year’s resolution in the first place. The “means” have become the “ends,” and we want to recover our ability to identify and stay in touch with the goal (i.e. the original “ends”) we’re shooting for.

    The tendency to switch attention to our means and methods can blind us to the impact our actions are having on others. Our heightened focus comes at the expense or our peripheral vision.

    To focus on the means is like trying to drive straight by looking at the lines on the road. There is a limit to what you can observe by doing that. To focus on the ends is to direct your eyes down the road to where you want to end up. The steering takes care of itself and your peripheral vision is freed up to notice exponentially more.

    Enhancing your peripheral vision doesn’t necessitate becoming less focused, but more. The difference is whether your focus is on the means or the ends.

    Catch up on the entire series on Bad Resolution Recovery.