Improve Your Focus?

By Sara White posted 04-18-2014 09:57

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Would improving your focus assist you in being a more effective leader? The following suggestions are adapted from Joe Tye’s Spark Plug Newsletter. He is a former hospital administrator now a leadership coach who spoke at the ASHP Leadership Conference several years ago. Check out his website http://valuescoach.com, which has a number of leadership materials in addition to his Newsletter. I find his material quite practical.

Today the focus challenge/struggle is trying to pay attention to everything all at once and thus losing productivity. Remember focus involves your time and energy. The following are ideas to improve your focus.
Define your one Big Yes. What is your overarching leadership purpose/vision/goal? Defining it helps you close the door on the trivia that really doesn’t make a difference? Focus depends on a lot of little no’s. Think about posting your Big Yes where you frequently see it so as the leadership fire hose is coming at you it doesn’t get lost.
Use DDQs (Direction Deflection Questions). Use some variation on the following. Is what I am about to (do, say, spend my time/energy on, etc.) going to help me achieve an important goal? Again having this question in front of you constantly can be of assistance in your minute-to-minute decision making.
Keep two lists. Always work off a daily prioritized documented To Do List but also have a second list called something like “Big Ticket Item List” which has no more than 2-3 items at a time on it such as start a residency program, rethink our practice model, read information on healthcare reform, etc. Everyday make a commitment that there will be at least a small piece of one Big Ticket Item on your daily To Do List. Lots of small things add up quickly.
Chunk your time. Ideally being able to concentrate on one task for 90 minutes is being focused however a leader must be able to also handle the inevitable interruptions. Joe uses Pomodoro #1 app, which is a 25 minute alarm system. He suggests focusing for 25 minutes then taking a 5 minute break or perhaps a short 10 minute close your eyes and rest break. To effectively do this you may need to get out of your office and find somewhere else to go for short periods of time.
Take a pledge. Which is promising that you will turn every complaint into a blessing or a constructive suggestion so that your negative thinking doesn’t become a pernicious and insidious distraction. Feeling sorry for yourself and mentally playing the victim role, which is what you do every time you complain is the single biggest self-imposed barrier to your focus, creativity and productivity.
Pace. When you get stuck don’t just take a walk but rather do a fast march, which can stimulate your thinking and foster a sense of urgency. Take something to capture your thoughts with such as note pad or use the voice message app on your cell phone. The mere change can stimulate your focus.
Get the right music. Know yourself well enough through experiments to maximize your concentration whether it is a totally quite place or favorite music. The question is what relaxes you enough to allow you to totally focus on your task. Think about the noise canceling headsets that are useful when flying and can minimize the surrounding noise.
Create an inner sense of urgency buy setting yourself deadlines and if helpful a reward system. Experiment until you find a system that works for you. Remember work expands to fill the time and as pharmacists we tend to strive for perfection, which can be a waste of time other than with drug therapy.