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Things To Consider Today By Leland Pulley

Learn To Focus Your Time and Energy

I hear so many adults say they are busy and their lives are hectic. They are rushed and lack sufficient time to relax. They cannot seem to do everything they want, nor meet all the demands placed on them. Is this simply adult complaining or excuse making, or is it the way of life for most of us today? What do you think? This line of thinking or rationale is easy to accept. In fact it can quickly become an excuse for toleration of less than favorable conditions, then lower performance, and finally less accomplishment. It eventually leads us to accept less out of ourselves and life.

There is something all of us can do that will help us with this dilemma. We must learn to do a better job of focusing our time and energy, and other resources too, on what we’re doing or trying to do. This will lead to more accomplishment and satisfaction.

Think about what is really important to you today and tomorrow. Consider what is good for your family. Decide what you want and need. Your selections should be in harmony with your true interests. They should be supported by the skills you have presently or you’re willing to develop. Then set some goals. Establish priorities so you know which goals are more important and which ones will be worked on first or receive the most emphasis. This all requires some decision making. But once you’ve done this, you have a framework to operate with on a daily basis.

Now the real test is to implement your plan or strategy and carry it out as you intended. It will be easier to do this if you focus your time and energies on various aspects of your plan. This implies you must take time and energy away from things that are not essential or not part of your plans. For example, we are overloaded with information today. Learn to go through it fast and only pay attention to and absorb what is relevant to you. Otherwise, you’ll spend extra hours each week wasting your time hearing, reading, or viewing things that distract you away from your true priorities and goals. Such things becomes nuisances and obstacles. Consider them a thief of your resources. Limit their impact in your life or get rid of them altogether. There are several ways to do this. Turn off the television more. Don’t turn the radio on every time you get in the car. Cut down on all the cell phone calling and text messaging. Don’t send , receive, and read so much Email. These things are not that necessary and you should limit them.

To focus, you must learn to concentrate. This is not easy for everyone. It requires discipline and some skill too. Work on this. The easier it is for you to focus, the easier it will be to follow your plans and not let anything get in the way of fulfilling them.

Another obstacle to focusing is distractions. Little things come up almost daily that distract us from what we should be doing. We let our minds daydream a lot about everything except what we’re doing at the time. Thus, we wander off course often. For example, we are in a college class and thinking about a date last night instead of listening to the teacher’s lecture. We are at work, but going through miscellaneous websites on the Internet that are not related to our work.

Sometimes we fool ourselves by saying that we have plenty of time to do things. We’ll get around to them eventually or on a schedule that is not set in any way. This way there is no pressure from deadlines. Unfortunately this leads to procrastination and less results with time. Less achievement and success does not really satisfy us as much as experiencing more of these things.

To focus requires that you know yourself well. Identify your strengths and weaknesses. These can help you or get in your way as you strive to focus on a goal and stay focused on it until it is achieved. A lot of self-discipline is required to focus on goals or long-term objectives.

Some people will start out focusing on a goal or way to improve their life. They may see some progress or good results and then begin to sluff off on their concentration. Or they may run into an obstacle of some type and be slowed down or stopped temporarily. At this point they get discouraged or they may become comfortable where they are. They do not get back on track and continue their onward and upward journey toward the goal. They do not focus as much on their goals as they should, or the power of their focus goes down.

A strong desire, real determination, and some independence are all required to focus over a period of time. But when you do this, the results begin to show up in a dramatic fashion. You find more time to do what you want. You are more effective in getting what you want. Life is not so hectic any more. It is more enjoyable because it is more under your control.

Essentially, your efforts to focus more will make focusing easier with time. You become more capable of doing more things in your life. Everyone should want this. The effort to focus, and achieve more by doing so, makes you a stronger person.

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