Increase Clarity, Focus and Momentum
by Sharon Feltham, Excellerate
New Year, the time for resolutions, business planning and ambitious "to do” lists.
While most of us manage this phase reasonably well the real challenge kicks in a little further down the track. As the months pass we find ourselves sucked into the everyday grind and hijacked by the unexpected then, before we realise it mid year looms and what have we achieved?
Nowhere near as much as we intended.
Instead we’re resurrecting resolutions and struggling with lost momentum, ever increasing “to do” lists and stress.
Fired by New Year optimism and enthusiasm we make our first critical mistake. We add even more to an already crowded agenda. We over commit and under resource leaving little room, too little time and insufficient energy to implement new plans.
We overlook a very obvious first step
Before signing up for a body beautiful gym membership or a mission to conquer Mt Cook; before we even conceive grand plans or launch into new projects, we can significantly improve our chances of success by stepping back before driving forward.
Turn down the Noise
One of the experiential activities I use in team workshops involves completing a problem-solving task within a tight timeframe. (Sound familiar?) Frequently teams will dive into the activity driven by the clock and their desire to succeed. Then I'll turn up the volume on the background music. While some teams respond by increasing their volume (more chaos) sometimes someone will ask me to turn down the music.
When the noise is reduced the teams behaviour changes noticeably. Calmer, they focus more readily and make better progress.
In debriefing they often describe "the noise" as a barrier to accomplishing the task. It was distracting. They couldn’t concentrate.
Too corny and simplistic to apply to real life? Then try this quick exercise.
Begin by rotating your right foot in a clockwise direction. Now draw the number 6 in the air with your right hand while you continue to rotate your foot.
What happens? Yes, I thought so!
Okay, just another “trainer game” but it proves a very real point.
How can we work effectively or even think clearly when we are fighting through the muddle of physical and mental noise in our personal and professional lives?
How can we hope to achieve real progress and substantial results when we are attempting to do too much only to find ourselves pulled in different directions?
There’s a whole body of research which proves that mental, emotional and physical clutter results in a lack of clarity and loss of focus, undermining our effectiveness and productivity, and therefore our sense of wellbeing and fulfilment.
When we want to improve our productivity, increase our rate of success and reduce stress then before we begin anything new we need to step back and create the space.
We need to reduce the “noise” and remove unnecessary clutter. We need to eliminate time consuming and energy depleting distractions.
The result? Increased clarity, sharper, sustained focus and greater reserves of energy. We maintain momentum over the longer term and so we achieve more.
It’s a simple formula based on the “less is more” philosophy.
It makes sense doesn’t it?
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