Trying to Focus

By ian

So far, 2007 has been a bit overwhelming for me. I’ve got a lot of things going on and while I don’t feel that I’m in over my head, I am having a hard time keeping up. It seems that it’s not a lack of time or lack or resources, but simply a lack of focus. With the exception of BarCamp and the new project at work, I’m finding it very hard to get things done.

Now that I’ve recognized the problem as a lack of focus, I’ve been analyzing ways to get back on track. I started by reading Getting Things Done, as that seems to be the bible by which many productive people live their lives. Unfortunately, I only made it about halfway through chapter 2. The I tried using Backpack, which is great, but I just didn’t use it. It wasn’t bad or hard to use, I just didn’t use it. At which point I realized that it’s likely not important what system I use, the problem is that I don’t stick to them.

I’m now trying to figure out my own system for staying organized and motivated. Based on my own experience I’ve come up with a few key things that my system needs to address:

• Daily Scheduling - I’m notorious for squandering free time. If I leave the evening open to work on personal projects, that project will undoubtedly become completing some quests in WoW or watching mediocre TV shows. My system needs to include some daily structure to help get me into a good daily routine.
• Prioritization of Projects - Many of the systems I’ve found are tasked based. They work on breaking each thing into small easily quantified steps and then prioritizing. I tend not to do well with these type of systems. For the most part, I do much better by focusing on which projects need to get done rather than thinking of individual steps. As long as I set time aside for the project, I usually make progress.
• Make Time for Wasting Time - In an ideal world, we would all work with 100% efficency and never feel the need to goof off. At the moment, I’m currently employed and working in the real world, so some adjustments have to be made. I think some of the reason I’m behind is because I’m consistently not planning for wasted time. If I plan to do 8 hours of work in an 8 hour work day, I will usually end up with at least half an hour of leftover work. If I do this for a week straight, I’m now a few hours behind and end up wasting ever more time by worrying about being behind.

Today I’m going to start working out a new plan to address this. Hopefully, I it will help me be more focused in my work and play.