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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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5 steps to manage growth (change) in your business

We all want our businesses to grow and flourish. And yet when we start to see this happening there can be so much chaos that we almost wish we didn’t have a growing business!

I have seen it first hand with my clients. Trying to navigate increased workloads and balancing this increasing productivity demand with the number of hours in the day (or number of staff you can afford to hire). It can be very trying!

Growth in your business requires change. Change of the way you do things both personally and within your business systems. You must be open to change yourself in order to support the growth of your business.

My questions for you are therefore: How well can you adapt to the changing needs of your business? 

For example, have you considered if you are willing to change your own habits to ensure a more efficient process? And can you be flexible with your approach to the broader business processes?

Let’s be honest: Change is messy.
It can be a chaotic (and exhilarating) time. You must have a plan or some basic structure to navigate your way through!

Let me share with you my 5 step plan to manage change in your business. The 5 steps that I outline below are applicable across all industries and business sizes. They are a foundation on which you can build your own tailored change plan for your unique business.

Step 1: Design & document new systems to manage the workload(with other stakeholders/managers)
One of the biggest challenges of a growing business is the systematic shifts that are required as the business grows. The only way to meet this challenge is to regularly design new systems that work better than the current ones. Systems get outgrown as the workflow increases. You need to design a new way to do things and remain flexible in order to switch to a better way when it is found. Then you must ensure that it is clearly documented, so everyone is on the same page and you have a reference document. Whether you are working alone or with a team, documented systems, even a simple checklist, will greatly increase the ability for everyone to use the new systems.

Step 2: Clearly communicate the new procedures & start date
It’s important that once a new system has been designed, that all staff are notified of these changes and when they are to take effect. It’s always good to communicate why changes are being made. Most people are reluctant to change, but with a good reason, they are more likely to be onboard. The initial communication should also advise who is responsible for managing these changes, so it is clear where queries can be directed. If you’re managing your own business, be clear with yourself on why you are making these changes.

Step 3: Provide support
Many systematic changes will require some kind of initial training. Ideally you should provide support to your staff through the change process by providing convenient ongoing access to the documented system procedures, with links to further information and where to direct their queries. If you are managing your own business alone, reach out to a certified coach to help support you through this process, it will make a big difference!

Step 4: Monitor implementation over time
With any changes that you implement, you must find a way to monitor the implementation over time. It’s important to track that the new changes are being implemented consistently. This also acts as a reminder for your staff or yourself to stay with the new process. Schedule in regular evaluations for the first few months. Changing the way you and your staff work means changing habits. This takes time. Change is a process, so be patient with yourself and your staff.

Step 5: Assess the results
You will reach a point when you find that the changes you have made have been fully integrated. Now it’s time to look at the bigger picture. You implemented the changes for a reason, so are the changes you made helping solve your original problem? In most cases, it’s an easy “yes, this is significantly better”. It’s also good at this point to ask for staff feedback or conduct your own review of the implementation process.  This should be along the lines of: What did you learn from this implementation process? What would we do differently next time?

Change is a process and not a switch that we just turn on. Everyone takes time to adjust to new changes, however the whole process can work much smoother if you utilise this 5-step process as the foundation for your approach.

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Giving up on goals

This week I’m asking you: Have you abandoned any goals or commitments in the last few months?

For most of us, the answer to this question is “yes”. It’s just after the first quarter of the year and that is around the time that the wheels can start to fall off our carefully laid plans.

In some ways this is a natural thing. For example, if you set too many goals in January that were all due for completion in the first half of the year, you’re likely giving up on a few of those by now. 

Then there are the other reasons why we’ve thrown in the towel in the 4th month of the year. This is what I want to discuss today. It’s these other reasons that contain within themselves the key to your success.

Yes, paradoxically, the reasons you give yourself for giving up, are also the doorways to your success.

Huh? How does that work?
Well, the excuses that we give for not committing, not following through, actually reveal the exact obstacle we need to overcome. Think about the most common excuses given giving up on a goal:
“I didn’t have enough time, I’m too busy”. Not enough time.
“I’m too old/young/late/early..”. The wrong time.

You would be forgiven for thinking that these excuses are about time itself. On the surface it looks that way. But what if I ask you:
Is that really true, that you have no time?
Can you be 100% certain that you have absolutely no time?
This is when the excuse starts to get a little shaky. A tiny spec of doubt starts to creep in and the absoluteness of your answer/excuse starts to waiver. 

Perfect. This is exactly where you are meant to be.

You see the excuses that we give ourselves and reasoning we use are just stories that tell ourselves. I don’t meant that your purposely lying to yourself. I mean that we all construct stories (mostly unconsciously) to make sense of the world and our experience in it. It is these stories that will ultimately confine us or set us free.

For most of us, our stories have been playing over and over in our minds for years without being questioned. Stories actually do help us manage our way in the world but they do need to be updated from time to time when they are holding us back.

If you want to change your story you can start by questioning it.
What’s my excuse or reasoning?
Why did I give up on that goal?
These are the first steps to questioning your story. These questions will reveal your story to you.

Then ask yourself: 
Can I be 100% certain that that is true?
What would happen if it was not true? What would I like to do then?

These questions create awareness of your story and give you the opportunity to decide if you want to keep your story. It will open you up to options that you otherwise thought you never had.

Remember to approach this process with genuine curiosity and less like you’re interrogating yourself or beating yourself up. There is no judgement here. It is a process that works best with curiosity to learn about yourself.

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Don’t Start 2019 Until You Do This!

Before you embark on the goal-setting process and planning for 2019, you must review what happened this year. Before you even start dreaming about what goals you want to achieve next year, you must take a moment to look back at what has happened this year. This is is actually the first vital step in setting your goals for next year.

The review process is quite simple and really is just a matter of answering a few key questions. The answers you get will be so powerful and enlightening that you will unearth information that will assist you to do even better next year.

Your best year in business starts with reviewing the previous year.

Review is important because it forces us to look at the facts. Was what you set out to do at the start of the year and what you ultimately ended up with at the end of the year? What was easy? Did things take longer than expected (always, right?). The review process will help you to understand exactly where you are and to really take note of what the year embodied for you and your business.

The process of looking back offers the opportunity to learn, to understand your strengths and weaknesses and to therefore be better prepared to plot your course for the next 12 months.

Keeping it simple, here are some basic review questions that you can answer that will reveal valuable information to you about you and your business:

Did I achieve what I set out to achieve at the beginning of the year?
If not, why not? (Was it lack of resources? Did you just give up? )
Are the things I did not achieve, still important to the health of my business?
How can I ensure I achieve these goals next year?
What worked really well in my business?
Why do I think it worked well? (You have skills in this area/ you enjoy it/ it’s easy for you etc.)
What did not work well this year? What areas of your business are feeling a bit stuck?
What do I think would get me out of this particular rut?
What did I learn this year? (skills, philosophies etc.)
What was missing from my business this year?