focus

The Mere Urgency Effect

Billy Oppenheimer put together an excellent summary of some pretty alarming findings from this research study. In short, when folks have a task list that is full of various “levels” of to-do items — some that are important, some that aren’t, some that are urgent right now, some that aren’t — folks end up prioritizing only the tasks that are urgent right now but are not very important at all.

(Inside the Focus Course, we have a simple framework for eliminating Urgency Mindset and the Urgency Effect for you and your organization.)

The Mere Urgency Effect

The Power of Goal Setting for Your Business

Goals give you a direction and help you make progress. If you had to stop everything you were doing and could only pursue one goal what would that be?

If your organization is spending time on things that are not important, it will be nearly impossible to maintain motivation for yourself and your team; it will be difficult to find enjoyment within the tensions and pressures of business.

When you can get clear about your goals, you can get clear about the action you need to take. Goals help you and your team move from a passive / reactive state to an intentional and proactive one.

PS: If you’re a business owner, next week I’m hosting a two day intensive for business owners only. Find out more here.

The Power of Goal Setting for Your Business

The TSS Notion Habit Tracker  →

Habit Trackers are vastly underrated. Why? Because results come from consistency over time. Any singular, small action that is done once will not produce any meaningful results in your life. This is true for good actions as well as bad actions. Using a habit tracker is one of the best ways to stay focused and on track with the small actions that drive meaningful results in your life. (If you’re not a Notion user, we also have a habit tracker built in to our 2023 Planner.)

The TSS Notion Habit Tracker

A few alternative things you can do when you’re bored (instead of scrolling social media)

Here are a few alternatives to what I call the “Just Checks”.

  • Scroll through your Day One timeline and read a previous journal entry or browse some old photos and memories.
  • Launch Day One and log how you’ve spent your time so far for the day. Doing this for a few weeks can also be super helpful for getting a perspective of where your time and energy are being spent.
  • Write down 3 new ideas. These could be articles you want to write, business ideas, places you want to visit or photograph, topics you want to research, date ideas for you and your spouse, gift ideas for a friend, etc. These ideas never have to to be acted on — the point isn’t to generate a to-do list, but rather to exercise your mind and build your idea muscle. Ideation and creativity are muscles, and the more we exercise them the stronger they get.
  • Send a text message to a friend or family member to tell them how awesome they are.
  • Don’t get out your phone at all — do some stretches or take a 5-minute walk.

Take advantage of those moments of down time in between meetings, calls, or whenever. Allow your mind to rest for a bit or engage it by doing something active and positive.

A few alternative things you can do when you’re bored (instead of scrolling social media)

Questions Matter

They say there are no stupid questions (only stupid answers). But not all questions are equal. A GREAT question can go a very long way in getting you to a GREAT answer.

Over the past year I’ve been compiling a massive document full of questions for life, business, and growth. Here are a few that have been especially helpful to me:

  • What should I keep doing that is producing good results in my life?
  • What am I nervous / anxious about right now? Why?
  • What should I stop doing?
  • What should I start doing?
Questions Matter

Six Principles for Focus and Simplicity

In his book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster lists several principles for the outward expression of simplicity. These are things which someone could use or do in their attempt to flesh out the meaning of simplicity in the modern life.

Here are six of Foster’s suggestions:

  • Develop a deeper appreciation for nature.
  • Learn to enjoy things without owning them.
  • Reject anything that is producing an addiction in you.
  • Develop a habit of giving things away; de-accumulate.
  • Shun whatever would distract you from your main goal.
  • Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status.
Six Principles for Focus and Simplicity