3 x 3 Focus: Becoming unstoppable
That's my dream: concentrated, focussed work - a few productive hours a day. Three to four in full concentration. And then a bit of time for small things. As I said, that's my dream.
The reality is: I like to be distracted. I want to write an article or a blog. That requires decision, focus and concentration. But it's easier to quickly see who has written to me or perhaps ordered something from Down to Earth or whether someone has ordered from the Crowdfunding for my event and coaching ship has participated.
Almost anything is easier than focussed work. At least until you finally get into it. That's why I have chosen the topic "become unstoppable", elected.
Book 1: The art of not being distracted By Nir Eyal
A brilliant bookthat you can simply enjoy reading. Then it's really nice and inspiring. Or you can really put the ideas into practice in your own life. Then it can be revolutionary. And could change your own (working) life.
Nir Eyals "The art of not being distracted", offers practical advice on how to resist distractions and become more productive. Here are some of the key points:
- Develop a self-image: It is important to understand your own triggers that lead to distractions. These can be both external (e.g. mobile phone notifications) and internal (such as boredom or stress). I have written about how to recognise and overcome internal triggers in a Blog post about overcoming procrastination written.
- Planning and time management: A key tip is to plan time for tasks and set blocks of time for specific activities. This helps to manage daily priorities and utilise time more effectively.
- Use technological aids: Technology should be used as a tool to promote productivity and not as a distraction. You can consciously use technological tools such as alarm clocks or automatically switching off apps to block out distractions and focus on work. It is also important to keep your mobile phone out of sight as much as possible and switch off reminders and ringtones.
- Change in the working environment: Creating an environment that minimises distractions is crucial. This can include tidying up a workstation or working in a quieter area.
- Make pacts: Eyal is in favour of closing 'Pakten' to honour commitments. This can be a pact with oneself to complete a certain task by a set date, or a pact with others who can hold each other accountable.
- Handle distractions with care: Instead of completely eliminating distractions, Eyal recommends consciously pursuing them in a planned way. This means scheduling time for breaks and entertainment that does not clash with the main working hours.
2nd online course: Installing Management and Execution Made Simple with Don Miller
Don Miller is an author and business coach from whom I have learnt a lot about life management and success at work. He has the ability to summarise complex relationships well.
In the online course, which is part of the Business Made Simple Academy he emphasises how important a company's vision is. At Down to Earth it is: "Making people, trees and companies grow".
But that you then have specific, measurable, strategic goals for a certain period of time, e.g. 30 new Instagram followers in a month or 500 books sold, which the whole team is working towards.
I generally set myself goals in three areas: Sales, organisation, reach.
In the course on how to simplify management and execution, he talks about 5 (!) different meetings that exist in his company. In his company, all meetings are held via Zoom. Nevertheless, he recommends holding most meetings standing up so that they are not unnecessarily extended.
- Weekly staff meeting: Mondays, 1 hour after the start of work via Zoom. The aim here is to remind the entire workforce of the specific goals. It is important that the management does not constantly come up with new goals, but clearly pursues the goals that have already been set. Or clearly change them. Individual departments are often asked what they have contributed to the goals. This usually takes 15-30 minutes.
- Daily leaders' meeting standing up: 15-minute briefing for those responsible. Where do we stand, where is something stuck? These short meetings take place three times a week.
- Daily team meeting / department meeting standing up: Briefly discuss in the team: Where do we stand in relation to the company's goals? Where are we stuck? How can we solve the bottlenecks?
- Weekly appraisal interview: Head of department clarifies each week with his team members: What are your goals for this week? Where do you need support?
- Quarterly meeting Team leader and member: Each quarter is analysed: In relation to your 5 goals for the quarter: Have you not reached / achieved / surpassed them? (The boss and team member evaluate this separately beforehand and then discuss it). What are your goals for the next quarter?
For every meeting except the leaders' meeting, there is a simple worksheet with a few questions/key points so that you have an overview of the key points.
That sounds like a lot at first, but this structure has the advantage that neither the team members nor the management lose focus.
3. the Tiny Habits method: small steps, big impact
I have both read the book and given impulse presentations at the Swing trainers and from LEO an ingenious summary of Margarete Eberhardt who is very enthusiastic about the method.
The book The Tiny Habits method: small steps, big impact by BJ Fogg focuses on how small, achievable changes in behaviour can lead to significant, positive changes in life.
BJ Fogg is a behavioural scientist at Stanford University. He explains that the key to developing new habits lies not in willpower or motivation, but in the creation of tiny ("tiny") behaviours that are easy to implement and naturally develop as habits ("habits") can be integrated into daily life.
By starting small and building new habits into existing routines (so-called "Anchor"), these small changes can lead to significant changes in behaviour over time.
1. start small: Start with extremely small habits that are so simple that you can do them even on your worst day.
2. use anchors: Link new habits to existing routines that are already firmly anchored in your everyday life. For example: "After I make my coffee in the morning, I do two squats."
3. positive reinforcement: Celebrate the success of each small habit. This positive reinforcement can help to reinforce the habit and increase the likelihood that the action will be repeated. You can celebrate on three occasions: If you think about a habit when you do it after you have done it.
4. adaptation in the event of failure: If a habit is not working as planned, adjust the size or context of the habit instead of giving up. Look for ways to make it even easier.
5. gradual increase: Once a small habit is firmly anchored, you can gradually expand it or build on it to achieve larger behavioural changes.
6. focus on motivation and ability: Fogg's behavioural model emphasises that both motivation and ability must be present for a behaviour to occur. If a habit cannot be maintained, it could be because either the motivation is lacking or the task is too difficult.
4. what I have implemented
Become more unstoppable
My mobile phone looks different now
The home screen now only shows apps that I want something from or that I use to organise my life:
Weather, Google Maps, ChatGPT, calculator, clock, notes and camera. Shopping app and Google. Plus two apps that remind me of fitness and personal growth. I left three news apps on the start page (contrary to the recommendation).
Everything else is in folders on p. 2: finances, social networks, travel, creativity, utilities, videos. Since I've done it this way, the temptation to quickly check something on Facebook or Instagram has become much less. It brings more calm to my life.
My PC looks different
In the past, I always had many tabs open at the same time because it was too annoying for me to keep searching for the pages I often need. Now I've created tabs for all the important pages (my publisher page, the page with the free offers, the list with the team's tasks, etc.).
In the past, I always had many tabs open at the same time because it was too annoying for me to keep searching for the pages I often need. Now I've created tabs for all the important pages (my publisher page, the page with the free offers, the list with the team's tasks, etc.).
Celebrate habits
What I liked about the Tiny Habits was that you can praise yourself three times. When you remember something, when you do it and afterwards. I try to put that into practice.
Working in blocks
Even before reading "Unablenkar", I already had fixed blocks for certain tasks such as coaching and bookkeeping. I'm now expanding on this and trying to plan which times are reserved for what each week, or at least each day.
Monthly team meetings
My team consists of wonderful people who live between 10 and 700 kilometres away. In addition to weekly meetings with my closest colleagues, I have now started a short monthly meeting with everyone via Zoom, inspired by Donald Miller. 15 minutes of news with me. 15 minutes of a report from one area.
I am still a long way from being unstoppable. But the books and the course by author and business coach Don Miller have helped me to become a little more focussed.
Extra tip:
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