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How many priorities do you have in your business and life right now? If you’re struggling to gain traction, perhaps its your lack of focus that’s causing your lack of growth. | Continue reading
How many priorities do you have in your business and life right now? If you’re struggling to gain traction, perhaps its your lack of focus that’s causing your lack of growth. | Continue reading
No: *“Where is the one thing that will fix all my problems for me right now?”* Yes: *“Will this thing give me one new, good idea I can use right now?”* Invest in things that will help you fix a small problem so you can get a little bit better at what you do. Find […] | Continue reading
No: “Where is the one thing that will fix all my problems for me right now?” Yes: “Will this thing give me one new, good idea I can use right now?” Invest in things that will help you fix a small problem so you can get a little bit better at what you do. Find […] | Continue reading
You’ve no-doubt heard of the Law of the Vital Few. It’s the 80/20 rule, which states that roughly 80-percent of the results come about from just 20-percent of the energy. But, if you were to take your 80-percent results and apply the 80/20 rule to them a few more times, what you … | Continue reading
A few symptoms of an unfocused life include things like: reacting to daily fires; feeling unsure about the future; lacking any [margin](https://thefocuscourse.com/margin/) / breathing room; unclear goals; no plan forward; procrastination. Compared to a focused life where you are … | Continue reading
A few symptoms of an unfocused life include things like: reacting to daily fires; feeling unsure about the future; lacking any margin / breathing room; unclear goals; no plan forward; procrastination. Compared to a focused life where you are in control; clear long-term vision and … | Continue reading
When you’re feeling overwhelmed, ask yourself why. (It’s usually one of two reasons.) Are you: (1) on the verge of something new? Or (2) is life showing you that something needs to be cut out? If you’re on the edge of breakthrough with a big project, then sometimes the answer is … | Continue reading
When you’re feeling overwhelmed, ask yourself why. (It’s usually one of two reasons.) Are you: (1) on the verge of something new? Or (2) is life showing you that something needs to be cut out? If you’re on the edge of breakthrough with a big project, then sometimes the answer is … | Continue reading
In order to accomplish your goals you need: (1) a clear goal; (2) a winning action plan; and (3) consistency. Take away or invert any of those things, and you’ve eliminated the possibility of succeeding at your desired outcome. Here’s what they look like when inverted: (1) unclea … | Continue reading
In order to accomplish your goals you need: (1) a clear goal; (2) a winning action plan; and (3) consistency. Take away or invert any of those things, and you’ve eliminated the possibility of succeeding at your desired outcome. Here’s what they look like when inverted: (1) unclea … | Continue reading
We know that clarity cures busywork. We also know that action brings clarity. When you’re stuck and lacking clarity, take action and just get started. But don’t get lost doing busywork disguised as procrastination. | Continue reading
We know that clarity cures busywork. We also know that action brings clarity. When you’re stuck and lacking clarity, take action and just get started. But don’t get lost doing busywork disguised as procrastination. | Continue reading
When your attention goes to many things, no real progress is ever made. Not all opportunities are worth pursuing — especially if it means being pulled away from something that is currently working.… | Continue reading
When your attention goes to many things, no real progress is ever made. Not all opportunities are worth pursuing — especially if it means being pulled away from something that is currently working. | Continue reading
Something for if you’re stuck overthinking something: Very few decisions are permanent. Almost all decisions can be reversed, altered, or adjusted. | Continue reading
Something for if you’re stuck overthinking something: Very few decisions are permanent. Almost all decisions can be reversed, altered, or adjusted. | Continue reading
It’s camping season, and I recently made a few upgrades to my backpacking gear. One thing in particular that I spent way too much time researching was my cook pot for boiling water. I’ve already got a nice, 1.8L aluminum pot that’s great for car camping, but I needed something sm … | Continue reading
In your business, try to avoid making the same decisions over and over. This wastes time and energy and slows momentum. An ad-hoc meeting agenda for your regular weekly meetings (instead of a consistent flow and structure) A random, emotionally-driven pricing decision each time a … | Continue reading
They are your health, your relationships, your inner-personal life, your work, your finances, and your rest and recreation. Each area of your life overlaps with and impacts the others. And yet you only have the capacity to give your full attention to one or two areas at a time. U … | Continue reading
The ultimate luxury is also the ultimate competitive advantage: an open schedule that is not busy. James Clear writes: “Not being busy is a competitive advantage. Most people are so strapped for time they can’t take advantage of lucky opportunities or quickly resolve unexpected p … | Continue reading
This will be the 3rd or 4th year in a row that we’ve done our Summer Adventure Bag. Two things new for this year: We started taking requests this year. The boys are all anticipating it and have been asking us when we’ll start it. So we started asking them what adventures they wan … | Continue reading
So this is a completely random but fun experiment… but what app would you pick if you could only pick ONE? I know, I know. It’s an impossible choice. I’d be so torn between several: camera, notes, music, messages, tasks… And, as nerdy as it sounds, I think I’d pick the app Things … | Continue reading
Scroll through your photo timeline and browse past photos and memories. Open Day One (my favorite journaling app) and write down one highlight from your day so far. Write down 3 new ideas in the Notes app. Send a text message to a friend or family member to tell them how awesome … | Continue reading
It’s not so easy to be bored anymore. You have to choose to be bored. Back when I was a kid (ha!) it used to be that boredom chose you — if you were waiting somewhere and there was nothing to do and you were bored. Now, you’re never bored. You can see 9 second videos of […] | Continue reading
Myth: “Taking the time to schedule my time is a waste of time — the schedule never works out perfectly anyway” This common myth is tricky because there is some truth mixed in with it. While it’s true that a schedule never works out perfectly (nobody’s does — the mess of real life … | Continue reading
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 t … | Continue reading
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 y … | Continue reading
This month I’m teaching a productivity intensive for small business owners, and as part of my prep, I came back across this quote from 4DX: “The more you try to do, the less you actually accomplish. [But] smart, ambitious leaders don’t want to do less, they want to do more, even … | Continue reading
Your friendly reminder that your to-do list should exist on your calendar. ([A sneak peek at how I do it.]( | Continue reading
“The more you try to do, the less you actually accomplish… Somewhere along the way, most leaders forget this. Why? Because smart, ambitious leaders don’t want to do less, they want to do more, even when they know better. … there will always be more good ideas than you have the ca … | Continue reading
I recently came across this article showing how stress rises when you’re in back-to-back-to-back meetings. But the thing that really stood out to me was how individual productivity doubled as meetings were reduced. If you’re in too many meetings, it may be a symptom of a bigger i … | Continue reading
In my office is a stack of fancy, ready-to-use note cards, with stamps right there. I use them constantly to easily send folks hand-written notes in the mail. One of my favorite things. And Hoban Cards makes the best. | Continue reading
– **Least Important:** Tips and tricks and hacks and shortcuts. – **Very Important:** Habits and routines. Your daily actions and behavior. Your system of execution. – **Most Important:** Vision and values. Your purpose, your priorities, your why. | Continue reading
In his book, *[Celebration of Discipline](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060628391/ref=nosim&tag=shabla-20)*, 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 s … | Continue reading
– 90 minutes of writing each morning – Only have my phone available from 12:30pm – 8:30pm each day – Keep my phone outside my office during work hours – 20 minute workout | Continue reading
The definition of “overwhelm” is pretty intense, actually. It means: – *bury or drown beneath a huge mass* – *defeat completely* – *give too much of a thing to someone* When you’re feeling buried under a mass of so much stuff, and you feel as if you’ve been given too much of a th … | Continue reading
Twyla Tharp’s morning workout routine is an inspiration. Few people enjoy hopping out of bed and going directly to a workout. So, Twyla “cheated” by making it easier to get started. In her book, The Creative Habit, Twyla shares that her morning routine was NOT to go to the gym. I … | Continue reading
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 b … | Continue reading
A Zero Time Habit is a new term I’ve been noodling on. In a nut, a Zero Time Habit is a lifestyle practice that takes ZERO time to do and, in return, it gives you back more time / energy. Many habits require time to complete — such as your workout routine, reading, journaling, sc … | Continue reading
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. Her … | Continue reading
There is no one-size fits all system for your tasks, time, and goals. But there are good things about different systems and tool that can help you. A good system for managing your tasks, your time, and your ideas should hopefully include these elements: Allows you to clarify your … | Continue reading
“Today was a good day because…” | Continue reading
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 suggestion … | Continue reading
As you plan and prepare for 2023, consider the Law of Tradeoffs. If you are going to add a new goal or project or focus to your life, what will you stop doing in order to make space for it? (Side note, a whole bunch of clever people are making their annual planning process easier … | Continue reading
Enrollment is open for the January class of Focus Academy. And we have some bonuses for you if register before New Year. If you enroll before midnight tomorrow, you’ll also get these amazing bonuses: The Personal Retreat Workshop, which is a fast way to free up some much-needed b … | Continue reading
One thing I love about the year-end holiday down time is the extra time to read for pleasure and leisure. Here are a few of my all-time favorite novels that I’ve read over summers and holidays past. Upgrade by Blake Crouch (my favorite novel of 2022) Dark Matter by Blake Crouch B … | Continue reading