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The power of focus

In this connected world we are often doing a lot of things all at once. But this split-focussed approach hinders us from creating the feelings of engagement and the outcomes we want for ourselves. This is where focus comes in.

In the next 3 blog posts I will be focussing on focus. 😊 Starting today in part 1, I will explain the power of focus and outline the real benefits. 

If you want to achieve your goals, you would be wise to invest heavily in strengthening your focus. Without focus, achieving your goals is often a struggle because tasks take longer and the process is more sporadic.

In fact one of the reasons why people get disillusioned about their goals and fall into the pattern of giving up on them, is due to lack of progress, which relies heavily on focus.

Focus has the power to increase your productivity, thus boosting your progress. And this has a knock-on effect to other benefits that are also then created.

You will begin to create momentum. The more you see and feel the progress you make, the more inspired you become. It can ignite that drive within you to keep you moving towards your goals.

Focus also helps reduce stress. When you focus on one thing at a time and let go of everything else, you experience less “mind chatter”. You’re not thinking of the past or future, but being present with the task right in front of you. 

Focus also helps you produce better quality work. Switching between tasks, whether that’s multi-tasking or getting distracted by your phone, breaks concentration and you need to re-focus each time you switch your attention. Staying with one task for a longer period of time creates the continuity of focus, allowing you to remain in the more deeply focused time for longer. The result is better outputs.

If you have not felt as engaged in your work recently, then focus is also your solution. The more focused you become, the more engaged you feel.

Focus will also help you feel more in control. This is generated through the higher levels of productivity you experience and the increasing clarity that comes with being focused.

A benefit you may not have expected to find when being focused is the shift in your attitude and emotions. You experience a more positive attitude because of all the above… being productive, creating momentum, feeling engaged and being present.

The benefits of focus are clear.  It has the potential to transform your results, and your experience of moving towards your goals. Imagine feeling engaged and in-control. What is it like to boost your productivity but also reduce your stress?

Well…you can find out if you will commit to focus.

So now that you understand the many benefits of focus and it’s true power to transform, the next step is to do it, right?

So, how do we create focus? How can we get better at it? We will look at that in the next blog post. Stay tuned.

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Your 3-step 2022 goals check-in

It’s the end of Q1 for the calendar year 2022 and a very good moment to do a goals check-in. That simply entails looking at where you’re at now versus where you were planning to be around this time. 

Why do we want to do this?
Because everyone and every business gets off track in pursuit of their goals. It’s normal.
It’s pretty much inevitable.

In fact, I always remind my Coaching clients that it’s not an issue if you get off track.
The most important thing is to have a system that catches you when you do get off track. Then you can quickly realign and get back on. Understand what I’m saying here?
We’re all human, we get distracted. Life happens. Important and urgent things come up…


So, plan for that.
That’s why you should have a check-in system.
And that’s why I’m asking you to check-in now.

So, let’s do it:
Step 1: Assess progress
Get out your written goals for the year. Based on the goals you have and their timelines, are you on-track to achieving them by their due date? A simple yes/no answer is all we need here.

Step 2: Adjust your actions or the deadline
While goals are the guideposts to get us where we want to go or to achieve a specific outcome, they must always be flexible. At this moment of goal check-in it’s time for you to exercise that goal flexibility! If you are not on-track to complete a goal by its deadline, you can do one of two things:

  1. Adjust the deadline to a more realistic date when you expect to complete the goal
  2. Adjust your actions that are creating the goal outcome (so you can achieve it at the current deadline)

Several factors will influence your choice between these two options including, the context (current business environment, what’s going on in other parts of your life, general busyness) and the importance of the goal.

Step 3: Look for a learning opportunity
This is a process where you can become more aware of what is and is not working for you. What have you noticed about the goals you set and the deadlines? Were they realistic deadlines for example? What reason(if any) can account for getting off track in pursuit of your goals? Is there anything you can do in future to prevent this? A short reflection is enough to gain a valuable insight into what you could do differently next time. In some cases, there is nothing you could do differently and that’s a valid answer. This is not about finding fault with you or the process, but observing and learning.

This 3-step process can be used as often as you need. It will help you to:

  • stay on track with your goals
  • improve your chances of goal attainment
  • feel more on-track and in control
  • improve your goal-setting and organisation

And remember to always enjoy the journey!

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Overcome procrastination

Sometimes our mind chatter goes something like this…
I don’t feel like it.
It’s not that urgent.
It’s a big task, I don’t know where to start.
I don’t have time now.
I can do it tomorrow. 

These thoughts form the stories we tell ourselves in order to delay doing something.
And funnily enough, they are fairly common across the board for most people! It is a shared challenge because it is the way our human brains are wired: to resist change or anything uncomfortable. Which means… we often resist doing the things we actually want to do.

But beating procrastination can often be a case of learning to ‘reframe’ the situation. Here’s how you can do this:

  1. Make sure you know your why

If you’re not clear on why you need/want to do the task you are putting off, then it’s easy to push it down the list of things to do. Understanding the reason why the task is important and the bigger picture around it, will help you to value the task more and be less likely to delay it.Example: Task: To go for a runThe WHY behind it: to feel good/ to be energised throughout the day/ to lose weight/ to get better so I can run the marathon etc.

  1. Reduce the commitment in your mind

Our minds will naturally resist anything that it sees as a big task or challenge. It basically gets overwhelmed and we instinctively just want to walk away. Everyone has this built into their brains, so don’t worry, it’s not just you! So how do we avoid going into overwhelm? Commit to just a bit, to get you started. The idea is you tell yourself you will just do 10 minutes, you relax a little and you get started. Procrastination beaten! Then you can continue longer than 10 minutes to complete the task. This works well because once we’re doing the task we are happy to continue, it is all about the law of inertia!Example: Task: To write the reportReduce the commitment: I will just do 1 page of the report/ I will just write for half an hour.(and once started, continue to complete the task)

  1. Make starting easy

How do we do that? We plan in advance so we know exactly where to start! The first step needs to be made as clear and easy as possible. If you don’t want to make a whole plan, just decide on the first step required.Example: Task: Create a blog postCreate the place to start: Select a topic and write a paragraph

  1. Don’t do the whole thing

Not to be confused with tip #2, in this case you will not aim to finish the task.You will break the task into small pieces and you will do just one piece. The smaller the better. Break your task into 20 small pieces if you like! All you have to do is complete 1 of the small pieces. (And remember that completing one of 20 small parts is still more than zero parts completed). This is a particularly good approach for any really stubborn resistance such as procrastinated tasks that remain undone for a few months or even years.Example:Task: Paint the houseBreak it down, the small pieces could be: calculate how much paint you need, decide on the colour, buy the paint and materials, schedule days in your diary to paint 1 room at a time, prep the room etc.

  1. Accept that you don’t have to feel like doing it(and often you won’t!)

Not feeling like doing something is not a valid reason for not doing it. The reality is that you are not going to feel like doing things most of the time! If you can accept that not feeling like doing a task doesn’t mean anything at all (just the result of a certain type of mind chatter), then you can learn to do it, regardless of how you feel. This is how success is created, how productivity is created, how champions are born! All successful people understand this principle. It’s what separates them from the pack. 
Think about it. 

What would your life look like if you started to do all the things that you don’t feel like doing?

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Setting a clear path for 2022

Are you clear about your way forward in 2022?

If you want to:
achieve specific objectives
live and work authentically
feel engaged but not burnout
and generally be in a different place this time next year, then having a clear path ahead (especially at the start of the year!) is essential.

So is the way ahead looking clear for you or not? 

There are a number of barriers that can prevent you having a clear path.  Let’s have a look at these common barriers and see if you can relate to any of them:

Cognitive overload and burnout
What I’ve seen over the past year is an increase in people experiencing cognitive overload and/or burnout. If you’re not familiar with these terms, Cognitive Overload refers to there being an overload of information, more than our working memory can process. Basically too much information or too many tasks to process. The result is frustration and comprised decision-making, which does NOT make for a clear path ahead, right?

Burnout is a term you are likely familiar with now, thanks to COVID-19 and it’s impact on our daily lives. Burnout is defined as “a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by long term involvement in emotionally demanding situations.”  I think dealing with COVID-19 alone would qualify as emotionally demanding, particularly due to its impact on our routines and livelihoods. The exhaustion from burnout creates  a lack of energy as well as disengagement and a lack of motivation. This will impact your ability to create a clear pathway forward.

Need for a true sounding board
Understanding your priorities and having a true sense of perspective can be difficult if you’re working alone at a high level. Most managers and business owners don’t have someone to bounce ideas off and share in their thinking. This is where working with a Certified Coach can be of a huge benefit. I ask all my clients what they find the most useful from our sessions and the number one reason they report is “having a truly neutral sounding board”.  A truly neutral sounding board will benefit you in a number of ways: clarity around your priorities, obtaining a different perspective(reframing) and seeding new approaches and ideas, are just a few. Reach out if you want to try working with a Certified Coach, this will ensure that clear path ahead this year.

Increased levels of change(stress and overwhelm)
You may have already experienced the impact of change on your ability to make decisions in the last year. Most of us have at least planned and booked a few holidays and cancelled perhaps just as many! And I noticed that after a time, some people I know reported “not bothering” to plan ahead because it will all change anyway! This is what change can do: create stress and overwhelm…and then we get stuck. When there is a lot of change happening around you, it can be tricky to plan, but plan we must! It may feel more difficult to make decisions on the way forward and this will impact your vision for the year ahead.

Disconnection from your values
Most people remain unaware of their values on a conscious level. That is until they find themselves feeling lost, burnt out or unfulfilled even with great external achievements. Did you know that your values can form a foundation for your decision-making? They will also help you to work more consistently. This is because understanding your values ensures that you’re not “going against the grain” of what is important to you. What trips many of us up can be our own sabotage, a way we unconsciously resist what is outside of our value set. Make sure you understand your values before you set out forming that way ahead for 2022.

Do you relate to any of these barriers to a clear path forward?
Reach out if you do need help to set a clear path for 2022.

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6 signs that you will benefit from working with a coach

Not sure if you might benefit from working with a coach? Today I share some common situations that professionals and small business owners are finding themselves in right now. If you relate to these scenarios, you might want to consider hiring a coach.

  1. You feel overwhelmed or stressed
    The main causes of overwhelm and stress relate to how you manage your mind and how you manage your time. Of course at the moment, you also have the global pandemic, which is adding to stress levels for many people. Your coach can help you develop specific strategies to address stress and work with you on managing your mindset to reduce overwhelm and stress.
  1. You feel stuck
    Things have ground to a halt in recent months and you can’t seem to feel confident about the future let alone make decisions. In times of uncertainty it’s normal to feel thrown off-track. Your coach can help you navigate the way forward in small steps to get you moving again.
  1. You don’t have a written vision, goals and a plan
    You need the big picture for your future defined in a vision as well as a written set of goals with a specific plan to achieve them. Regardless of any uncertainty around you, your coach can work with you and provide resources that assist you in this process.
  1. You’re so busy and don’t see an end in sight
    If you feel like you have no time, then you should definitely seek help. Your coach has an “outside” perspective which can help you see your way through this. Together you can implement a time management plan to get on top of things once again.
  1. You want reliable and objective support or feedback and someone to keep you on track
    It’s SO much easier having someone to talk to about your business or career. Imagine if you had someone whose job it is is to listen and support you, someone who will help you keep on track and be the sounding board you need. This is what your coach can do for you.
  1. You haven’t defined your values or understand your purpose
    If you don’t know why you’re doing what you’re doing, you can end up with motivational challenges the moment you hit a bump in the road. Additionally you need to understand your personal values and confidently know that they align with your business and professional goals. This ensures that you’re creating what will be truly fulfilling for you. Your coach can help you define your values and keep you focused on your purpose.

    If you think you may want to try working with a Certified Coach, sign up to my FREE Coaching Introductory Session.

    A Coaching Introductory Session is a 1 hour one on one meeting to discuss your business and life concerns. It’s an opportunity to experience what it’s like to be coached and if you would benefit from coaching. Register here.