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ModuleHRM100

Attention Management

The material within this document is the intellectual property of Quintave Managerial Leadership System, a Research associate of DMC Process & The Da Vinci Institute for Technology Management. This Module was exclusively developed and forms part of BCom Business Management. Dissemination of this material to a third party or use of this material outside of the scope of the qualification, will constitute a violation of the intellectual property rights of The Da Vinci Institute for Technology Management (Pty) Ltd and DMC Process Management (Pty) Ltd and Quintave Managerial Leadership System. The Collective owns all compilation copyrights in these materials. Each portion of the compilation material is subject to pre-existing copyright owned separately by the respective member of the Collective.

© 2013

BACHELOR OF COMMERCE

BMG100 BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

The Da Vinci Institute for Technology Management (Pty) LtdRegistered with the Department of Education as a private higher education institution

under the Higher Education Act, 1997. Registration No. 2004/HE07/003

BACHELORS OF COMMERCE

NQF Level 5

BMG100

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

ATTENTION MANAGEMENT

A distracted employee is a less effective employee. Employees who do not pay attention to their work can waste valuable time and make careless mistakes. Your participants will be more efficient at their job, make fewer mistakes, and overall be more productive. Attention Management is a useful skill that allows managers to connect with their employees on an emotional level and motivate them to focus on their work and how to reach their personal and organizational goals. Setting realistic goals is not only crucial in one’s personal life, the manager now needs to become capable in bringing members of their teams focussed around common goals inspiring them to become a high performing team . (some refer to the success in aligning personal and organisational goals within an overarching synergy as finding soul and Covey says that where two souls come together, greatness follows).

This module further looks at time & future planning and addresses issues such as effective time management, determining priorities, procrastination, lack of drive, concentration and connects closely with other related topics within Theme II such as work - life balance, burnout, and safe work place, motivational levels and the manager’s ability to be able not only to identify any behaviour or factors preventing each team member to be able to excel within their current capability in order for the team to be able to reach organisational goals.

On completion of this module the student should be able to:

1. Explain what might interfere with your attention and how you could address it

in order to stay focussed and goal directed.

2. Discuss your personal goal in attending this programme. In your discussion

identify the factors that may prevent you form achieving your goals and the

support and interventions you need to achieve your goals.

3. Explain the relevance and importance of emotional intelligent leaders and

employees in an organisation.

BACHELOR OF COMMERCEBMG100 BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

4 | MANAGERIAL LEADERSHIP ODYSSEY | THE DA VINCI INSTITUTE | BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Reading

You will be provided with a series of national and international articles and literature to read that will help you broaden the subject at hand. All articles can be found in the Module Libraries.

Self-Reflection

Research

As you work through the module you will be required to do your own research.

Take Note

A useful tip or essential element regarding the concept under discussion.

Activity

You will be given a number of activities to complete to prepare you for your post-module assignment. These need to be submitted as they will count towards your final mark.

Post Module Assignment (PMA)

Ratiocination

Ratiocination is the logic reasoning that considers all alternatives and possible impacts that may result from a decision or a possibility.

Submission Date

Group Work

You will be required to do group work both in the class room and as syndicate study groups.

Learning Outcomes

Group Discussion

Talking to others while you learn will often illuminate a topic for you.

iAssess

My Notes


BMG BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT| THE DA VINCI INSTITUTE | MANAGERIAL LEADERSHIP ODYSSEY | 5

Introduction

Attention management can be situated in the upper left dimension of the integral Four-quadrant Model addressing interiors (subjective) and exteriors (objective) correlated with the individual and collective dimensions of an organization. The Four-quadrant Model was developed by the

Integral Institute and is adapted here with permission.1

This module addresses specific approaches that leaders can use to modify their work environment and organizational systems (lower right) along with specific mental techniques that will significantly enhance focus (upper left), leading to substantial gains in effectiveness. It emphasizes approaches that directly impact the “mindset” (upper left) dimension and the “systems” (lower right) dimension, indirectly resulting in more effective execution evidenced in the “behavior” dimension (upper right). Although the cultural dimension is emphasized less than the others in this module, leaders will do well to consider how attention management (or lack thereof) is influenced by their organization’s corporate culture, collective expectations, and team habits (lower left).

The New Reality



Traditional time management suggests that by working harder, smarter, and faster, you will gain control over your life and be more successful. But most people struggle with ever-increasing demands on their time and a feeling of “information overwhelm.” Many business leaders have achieved success, yet they suffer stress, anxiety, and the constant feeling of trying to catch up. People confuse efficiency (doing more things in less time) with effectiveness (doing the most important things well). In truth, most people don’t slow down long enough, or reflect deeply enough, to realize what is most important. They are addicted to urgency, which gives them a temporary feeling of importance. After all, putting out fires lets them feel like a hero for a day or an hour.

But rarely are the urgent things truly the most important things. And spending all day in urgency leaves little time for the really important things. Ironically, if people were more proactive about strategic and important things, there would be a lot less urgency. But where do you find the time to be more proactive when you already have insufficient time to react to all the urgencies? This is called being “trapped in the Reactive Zone.” It can be like quicksand, the more you struggle, the worse it gets.

Attention Deficit

To make things worse, we’re beginning to see an even greater problem than lack of time: lack of attention. According to Thomas Davenport and John Beck of the Accenture Institute for Strategic Change, most businesses today suffer from some degree of organizational ADD (attention deficit

disorder).2

Their groundbreaking book, The Attention Economy, outlines four disturbing symptoms of organizational ADD:

1. An increased likelihood of missing key information when making decisions

2. Diminished time for reflection on anything but simple informational transactions such as

email and voice mail

3. Difficulty holding others’ attention, and having to increase the glitziness of presentations and

the number of messages to get and keep attention

4. Decreased ability to focus when necessary




Today’s typical managers live and work in a state of constant distraction. Unable to concentrate, they operate in a fog of “continual partial attention.”

Understanding and managing attention is now the single most important determinant of business

success.

—Thomas Davenport and John Beck

Because these managers cannot bring full intelligence, focus, and attention toT one thing at a time, all their activities and relationships inevitably suffer. You may know people like this. They spend virtually every waking hour being “busy” working or catching up on necessary family activities, with little time left for personal renewal activities, much less hobbies (an idea that sounds almost quaint in today’s chronically overworked culture). In a teleconference at work, they miss key information because they are simultaneously typing an email. Over lunch or dinner, they answer their cell phones, rudely cutting off the person in front of them. Like information addicts needing a fix, they feel strangely compelled to check their email and voice mail—even at home, in the evenings, or on the weekends.

The Attention Zones Model™

The Attention Zones Model™ (illustrated and explained on page 3) is an easy-to-understand, easy-to-implement tool for enhanced productivity. It modernizes the time management paradigm by integrating attention management. Rather than emphasizing efficiency, it focuses on effectiveness. Instead of urgency, it concentrates on proactivity. Instead of fixating on time and things, it highlights relationships and results. It has the power to free you from the Reactive Zone.

Learning Assets:

Is Your Job Giving You ADD?—article by Brett Thomas and Paul Landraitus



The Attention Zone Model

Developed to help executives overcome the limitations of conventional time management approaches, the Attention Zones Model™ combines the most up-to-date thinking on this subject with cutting-edge paradigms of attention management. It provides an intuitive, easy-to-grasp method of maximizing one’s productivity and effectiveness. The four zones represent the four primary ways we spend our time and attention. The numbered arrows represent the three fundamental practices that increase effectiveness.

Benefits of the Attention Zones Model

1. Fewer interruptions and distractions

2. Less wasted time & energy

3. Less reactive, more proactive

4. More focused on what’s most important

5. More strategic, better planning

6. More effective and efficient

Increase awareness of what zone you are in at any given time l Activities Excessive Entertainment

Avoid distractions and minimize waste by asserting boundaries and raising standards




Applying the attention zones model™

As illustrated on page 3, you can significantly increase your productivity and reduce stress through three Attention Zone actions: (1) increasing your awareness of which zone you’re in at any given moment, (2) avoiding distractions and minimizing waste by asserting boundaries and raising standards, and (3) reinvesting the time you’ve saved into being more proactive and strategic—which causes the Reactive Zone to shrink, because you are handling issues before they become urgent or problematic.

The Reactive Zone

The Reactive Zone is made up of time and attention that are focused on time-sensitive issues, urgent demands, and crisis situations. Naturally, this is the most stressful of the four zones—and urgency and crisis tend to breed more of the same. If you spend most of your time



running behind, stretched by deadlines, and putting out fires, then you have very little time for things such as planning, strategic thinking, building reserves, and necessary maintenance. In other words, too much time in the Reactive Zone leaves little time and attention for the Proactive Zone.

The Proactive Zone

There is tremendous value in spending a lot more time in the Proactive Zone in order to tend to more strategic thinking and planning, preparation, building reserves (financial, systems, relationships), and essential maintenance. When these things are properly maintained, they are less likely to break down and send you spinning into the Reactive Zone. Another key proactive activity is necessary renewal to keep yourself and your resources sharp.

The value of spending more time in the Proactive Zone may be obvious—but how is it done? In mainstream business culture today, workers live and die by the clock. People feel that there’s never enough time and that they are constantly behind. How can you be more proactive when you already don’t have enough to handle your existing urgent priorities?

Some efficiency experts speak of “urgency addiction” and “adrenaline addicts.” It’s understandable. When you spend your day putting out fires, you enjoy the ego gratification of being a hero for a day. A large dose of adrenaline-fueled urgency gives a false feeling of importance.

Roger Bohn and Ramchandran Jaikumar, from the University of California, define a “firefighting syndrome” that includes frequent task switching, superficial approaches to problem solving, and

problem recurrence.3

They say that this syndrome can be explained as a reaction to managerial

pressure caused by a backlog of work (“never enough time”) but that it ends up reducing rather than increasing the total amount of work accomplished.

You might think, “I get it. I’ll just stop spending so much time fighting fires in the Reactive Zone and spend more time in the Proactive Zone.” But here’s the catch: you can’t just decide to do that.

Since Reactive Zone activities are urgent AND important, you can’t say no to them. Because they are important, you want and need to deal with them. (If it were unimportant, it would not be in the Reactive Zone—it would be in either the Waste Zone or the Distraction Zone.)




Keep in mind that the Reactive Zone is not inherently bad; it is necessary to respond to customer and employee needs and demands. But if you spend too much time there, it quickly becomes counterproductive as it traps you in a self-perpetuating cycle.

Neglecting the Proactive Zone activities causes the urgencies and crisis situations to just keep coming with greater velocity. This is why so many people find themselves trapped in the Reactive Zone. This is what Bohn and Jaikumar mean when they call the firefighting syndrome “self-amplifying.”

Learning Assets:

Firefighting by Knowledge Workers—white paper by Roger Bohn and Ramchandran Jaikumar

Your Most Productive Day of the Year—video clip (2 minutes)

Emancipation from the reactive zone

The Key: Distraction and waste

Ironically, the key to freeing yourself from the Reactive Zone involves the remaining two zones: the Distraction Zone and the Waste Zone. First, let’s clearly define them.

I have to leave the office to get any work done.

—Typical Manager, Typical Company, Inc.

The Distraction Zone

The Distraction Zone includes unnecessary interruptions, distracting calls, and email. Such distractions are urgent (because they grab your attention or are “in your face”), but they are not important. (If they were important, they would be in the Reactive Zone.) Maybe they are important to somebody else (the person interrupting you), but they are not priorities for you. The average manager spends 5 to 15 unproductive hours a week having their attention pulled away from what is important by distracting interruptions.

Why are we so distracted? Because we do not establish boundaries. This happens for two reasons: (1) most people do not distinguish between urgent and important, and (2) most people



do not know about attention management, so they do not value their own attention enough to protect it from being scattered in different directions. (More on this to come.)

The Waste Zone

The Waste Zone is made up of inefficient activities, trivial activities that do not add value, and activities that just kill time. Workplace productivity research shows that in a typical organization, a tremendous number of hours are spent each week doing meaningless activities that do nothing to forward the organization’s goals. Waste Zone activities are neither urgent nor important—they are simply a waste of time.

The illustration on page 3 lists excessive entertainment as an example of a Waste Zone activity. Is there anything wrong with entertainment such as watching TV, pleasure reading, social activities, and so on?

No, not if you find the activity meaningful, valuable, and/or important. But have you ever sat in front of the television and clicked the remote from one mindless, insipid show to another, not even enjoying yourself? This is one example of the sort of mind-numbing activities we sometimes absentmindedly fall into in the Waste Zone. Another is spending time with people whom you have little in common with and whom you do not really enjoy being around. A final example of a Waste Zone activity is using your time and attention to do a task that you would be better off delegating or outsourcing.

Time vs. Attention

The 20th-century productivity paradigm of “time management” has proved to be woefully inadequate for the hyperspeed 21st-century workplace brimming with wireless phones, two-way pagers, pocket PCs, PDAs, and ubiquitous email. Time management made sense in the old days, when only one thing was happening at a time. But in today’s digital workplace, attention is proving to be far more valuable than time and is being recognized as the critical productivity factor. A more in-depth discussion of the obsolete time management paradigm can be found in the article Why We Need to Manage Attention.

Learning Asset:

Why We Need to Manage Attention—article by Brett Thomas and Paul Landraitus




Understanding Attention Management

How Focused are you?

In your own life and work, you have probably noticed that the times when you have been the most productive, most effective, and most successful were times when you were extremely focused. But if you’re like most people, those times are somewhat inconsistent—and it may puzzle you how you can be so focused at certain times and completely scattered at others.

Recently, many researchers and laypeople alike have come to believe that focus, possibly more than any other factor, is what separates average performers from peak performers. Not just in sports and highly technical jobs, but in just about every endeavor in life, from working at a computer to running successful meetings—even to the quality of your relationships with your spouse, children, and loved ones. Focus, it seems, is a big deal. And judging by popular business magazines and books, it’s a growing trend.

As businesspeople, we can look to other fields of high performance for clues about how to better focus. Competitive athletes understand how important focus is to performance. Phil Jackson is the world-renowned coach who led the Chicago Bulls to an unprecedented six World Championships. To help bring his players’ full talent and ability to each moment, each second of the game, he taught his players advanced focus and concentration skills—what he calls “mindful basketball.” In his book Sacred Hoops, he writes:

“When players practice what is known as mindfulness— simply paying attention to what is happening—not only do they play better and win more, they also become more attuned to one another.”

In his book For the Love of the Game, Michael Jordan writes, “Phil brought in a sports psychologist to talk about getting into the zone. I had been there before, so I understood the concept. I just couldn’t comprehend how to get myself in the zone consistently. He provided methods and practices designed to get us into the zone all the time. To achieve that level of awareness and understanding really involves a level of perfection. My mind still travels a bit, but Phil taught us to concentrate on breathing to bring the mind back to center.”

Learning Assets:

Into the Zone—cover story by Jay Tolson in U.S. News & World Report, July 3, 2000.



Focus Like Tiger, Concentrate Like Michael—video clip (2 min)

Three Simple Exercises to Enhance Your Focus—video clip (3 min)

You Must Be Present to Win—video clip (2 min)

The New Economics

Business thinkers apparently are figuring out what athletes and other competitors have known all along: attention matters, and focus is the key competitive advantage. Leaders who fail to manage this precious resource do so at their own peril. Davenport and Beck write in The Attention Economy: “Today’s businesses are heading for disaster unless they can overcome the dangerously high attention deficits that threaten to cripple today’s workplace.”

As mentioned earlier, the authors cite “organizational ADD” as a symptom of this problem: increased likelihood of missing key information when making decisions, diminished time for reflection on anything but simple informational transactions, difficulty holding others’ attention, and decreased ability to focus when necessary. This book builds a compelling case for attention management. The authors continue:

Companies that succeed in the future will be those expert not in time management, but in attention management. Understanding and managing attention is now the single most important determinant of business success.

Learning Assets:

A New Perspective on Business—by John Beck and Thomas Davenport (excerpted chapter of The Attention Economy book published by Harvard Business School Press)

Speech on Attention Management—audio presentation by Rand Stagen (30 minutes)

Taking a Closer Look

The Attention Economy builds an undeniable case that attention management is a critical area that businesses must begin to pay more attention to if they are to prosper in the new marketplace.

Davenport and Beck define attention as “focused mental engagement.” You can also think of attention as simply “focused awareness.”




Webster’s Dictionary defines attention as “The act or state of attending or heeding; the application of the mind to any sense object, representation, or thought. Focused awareness. Observant consideration; to notice. Close or careful observing or listening.”

Webster’s Thesaurus lists the following synonyms for attention: observation, regard, notice, mindfulness, listening, concentration, care, consideration, heedfulness, alertness, attentiveness, intentness, thoroughness, and awareness.

Can’t Pay Attention?

After years of incessant, mindless multitasking, many workers have literally lost their ability to concentrate. Concentration means doing one thing at a time. It is the polar opposite of multitasking. The article titled Study: Multitasking Is Counterproductive summarizes some of this research.

“But what’s wrong with multitasking?” you might ask. Well, according to research funded, in part, by the U.S. Office of Naval Research and published by the American Psychological Association, multitasking is completely counterproductive. Studies estimate that the average worker is 20 percent to 40 percent less productive when multitasking than when concentrating on doing one thing at a time.

Concentration is the Key

Concentration is the ability to consciously control where attention is focused and to hold that focus for a period of time without being distracted by what is not relevant to the task at hand. The most universal of all human tools, concentration is important for every human endeavor. The productivity of just about any activity is enhanced through the ability to concentrate.

The ability to concentrate means that you’re in control of where your attention goes, rather than being at the whim of external distractions.

Being able to focus and concentrate does not mean that you cut yourself off from anything important or push anything away. It simply means that you are able to attend to exactly what is appropriate and let go of what is irrelevant to a given situation or activity. The ability to concentrate puts you in the driver’s seat.

To become a better attention manager, you first need to hone your focus and concentration skills.



Ten Time and Attention Management Tactics

Use Time Blocks

Multitasking is counterproductive largely because mentally switching gears wastes time, energy, and attention. And certain activities require a specific state of mind. Consider the different mind-sets necessary to be effective at different tasks. For example, the “performance state” (mind-set) you need to be in to analyze financial reports is very different from the one you need to be in to effectively coach/support your staff. Therefore, you should group similar activities together. This puts you in the most productive performance state for each activity. And doing each activity for a block of time avoids the task switching that would slow you down or break your flow. Ideally, each activity should be done the same time each day, on the same days of the week. These groupings of similar activities are called “time blocks.”

Time Block Examples Mon/Wed/Fri, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.—Uninterrupted “focus” time to make key decisions and do strategic thinking/planning. Hold all calls, and close the door.

Schedule all or most of your meetings after lunch.

Use your mornings for office work, paperwork, and computer work.

Tue/Thu, 11 a.m. to noon—Research and reading time. Use this time to stay up on all your reading and research (such as reviewing websites).

Fridays are for planning and maintenance, including internal meetings. No client meetings on Fridays.

The key to making time blocks work is to honor them as much as you would honor appointments with important clients. You will be surprised at how quickly and easily your staff and clients “adjust” to your more routine schedule.

Learning Asset:

Creating Weekly Routine Time Blocks—video clip (2 min)

7. Do the Weekly Focusing Process




Why do the Weekly Focusing Process? If you’re like most Americans, when you closely inspect your professional and personal priorities, you’ll find that some areas are being neglected. For example, you might be neglecting key work relationships, not making time to read industry publications or attend key industry conferences, failing to do long-term planning or strategic thinking, and rushing high-stakes decisions because you can’t devote time to the thoughtful deliberation necessary to make a good decision.

Nothing is more crucial to your success than focusing on what is most important each week.

Yet if you don’t make the time to plan your week and schedule the Proactive Zone items, you’ll find yourself getting sucked into the Reactive Zone. Before that happens, commit 15 to 20 minutes before the week starts (Friday afternoon or over the weekend may work best) in order to get focused and plan the upcoming week.

Start by connecting with your mission or purpose and your core values and guiding principles. This “compass” provides important emotional context to the decisions and activities of your week and grounds you in what is really most important. Next, review your long-term vision and one-year vision (and related goals). Next, review your quarterly objectives—that is, the most important goals you are focusing on this quarter. Finally, review the strategic projects you are currently focusing on that need attention this week (to stay on track for your monthly and quarterly goals).

Once you identify these proactive activities, then schedule appointments in your calendar for the upcoming week. If you don’t schedule the proactive activities at the start of the week, you’ll get pulled into spending most of your time dealing with things in the Reactive Zone. The purpose of the Weekly Focusing Process is to ensure that you focus on what is truly most important, every single week.

Reactive items (important and urgent) always tend to displace proactive items (important but not urgent). Therefore, many managers’ and leaders’ weeks fill up with reactive items, leaving no time for proactive items. The most important things are rarely the urgent things. Yet without a Weekly Focusing Process, people rarely get the most important things done.

Beyond the short-term gain in productivity and decrease in stress, the Weekly Focusing Process ensures that your one-year initiatives and long-term strategies are implemented successfully and in a timely fashion. This is critical for the accomplishment of your one-year vision and your long-term vision.

Learning Asset:



Weekly Focusing—video clip (1 min)

8.Schedule and Keep Appointments with Yourself

You need to raise standards and clarify your boundaries in order to minimize distractions and become more proactive (and therefore more productive). This is where a little self-discipline comes in. The effectiveness of several of the tactics introduced in this section rely on your ability to schedule appointments with yourself—and then keep them.

You may be unfamiliar with the idea of scheduling solo appointments for things like project work, paperwork, reading, decision-making, strategic thinking, or creative time. But how else can you get these proactive items done if you do not schedule them?

You should consider appointments with yourself as important as appointments with your most valuable customer.

Do not hesitate to tell your coworkers, “I have to go now; I have an appointment,” even when it is an appointment with yourself.

When you conduct your Weekly Focusing Process, you will schedule an appointment for each of the key activities you are committing to doing that week (associated with your strategic projects and Quarterly Objectives).

If you fail to schedule appointment times to work on these proactive projects at the start of the week, then you will never get around to these important but not urgent items. They will be displaced by the many urgent and important tasks that arise and fill your time.

How does this happen? Imagine your weekly schedule as a bucket and your key proactive tasks as fist-sized rocks. Urgent and important tasks are like sand pouring into your bucket from all around you. If you put the big rocks (your proactive priorities) in your bucket first, you can pour the sand (reactive tasks) in around them—but not vice versa. This is why you must schedule appointments with yourself ahead of time. If you fail to effectively set and keep appointments with yourself, you will fail to get out of the Reactive Zone. The only way out of the Reactive Zone is to consistently fit your

Proactive Zone tasks into your schedule, week after week. When you do this, the flow of Reactive Zone tasks will begin to shrink, because you will be getting “ahead of the game.”




Learning Asset:

Scheduling Appointments With Yourself—video clip (2 min)



9.Turn Off Automatic E-‐Mail Notification

This tactic and the next are technological solutions to one of the biggest problems managers face today. E-mail initially ushered in significant productivity enhancements. But now, due to people’s lack of training in its proper use, it erodes productivity as much as any other single factor in recent years. Note that email isn’t the problem—the misuse of it is. In fact, it has gone beyond a problem to become an addiction. When writing a proposal, reviewing a report (or trade journal article), or planning your calendar, do you feel compelled to read your incoming email the moment you are notified (perhaps as often as every 4 to 6 minutes)? If so, you may be an “email addict.”

Constant distraction kills productivity, and few things are more distracting than being notified every few minutes when email comes in.

To minimize these distractions and help you focus, switch off pop-up and sound notification, or turn your email program off altogether (periodically). Try reading and replying to email only several times a day (such as once in the morning, before lunch, after lunch, and in the afternoon). At the least, turn off automatic email notification permanently and shut down your email program when you are focusing on an important project—especially when you are in telephone conferences.

10.Use E-‐Mail Folders and Filters

Manually filing each email message you receive is a huge time waster. Your software can easily place each email message into a specified folder automatically while indicating the folders that contain “unread” messages. Rather than have all your email flow into one overwhelming in-box, set up individual folders for the major categories or types of email you receive. Examples include management, marketing, sales, customers, family, newsletters, junk mail, etc. By having your correspondence grouped by types, you can focus your attention on one area/client/project at a time. You’ll find this to be less distracting, less stressful, and a lot more productive.

Once you have your folders set up, you can create email filters (called Rules in Microsoft Outlook) to automatically file incoming and outgoing email into specified folders. When new email comes into one of the folders (rather than your in-box), your software will highlight (or make bold) the name of the folder that has unread email and will indicate the number of unread messages in that folder. You will review the contents of high-priority folders several times a day but review the low-priority folders once a day or less (such as once a week).




You will be amazed at how less overwhelmed you will feel, plus you will save several hours a week that you formerly used to spend filing email (or searching for lost email). It takes only a small time investment to configure your filters and to update filters periodically as new people start emailing you. And the time you save—starting the very first week—easily offsets the small amount of time for set up.

Learning Asset:

How People Misuse Technology—video clip (6 min)

11.Stop Multitasking and Start Concentrating on One Thing at a Time

In 2001, CNN published a story titled Study: Multitasking Is Counterproductive. 4

The story

draws from an academic report on human perception and performance published by the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Experimental Psychology. The director of the study, Joshua Rubinstein, Ph.D., formerly of the University of Michigan, is now with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The research was done at the University of Michigan and was partially funded by the Office of Naval Research.

Rubinstein and his associate David Meyer determined that for various types of tasks, test subjects lost a significant amount of time when they had to switch from one task to another. In other words, the more things people try to juggle at once (multitask), the more inefficient they become because of the time and attention lost when they mentally switch from one task/behavior/skill set to another. This idea of “task switching” was central to Rubinstein and Meyer’s research conclusions.

Note that we are not saying you shouldn’t have multiple, simultaneous projects going in a given week or month. Having multiple projects is not multitasking. Multitasking is doing multiple things in the same moment. Sue Shellenbarger writes in The Wall Street Journal, “A growing body of scientific research shows [that] one of the jugglers’ favorite time-saving techniques, multitasking, can actually make you less efficient and, well, stupider. Trying to do two or three things at once or in quick succession can take longer overall than doing them one at a time, and

[it] tends to leave you with reduced brainpower to perform each task.”5

Current research also ties multitasking to chronic high stress and short-term memory loss. We therefore suggest that you concentrate exclusively on one project or one type of task for a minimum of 30 to 45 minutes (or longer) before moving on to the next. Many workers today consider it to be perfectly normal to be simultaneously typing at the computer, answering the



phone, interacting with coworkers, and thinking through important decisions. While this behavior may be appropriate for a switchboard operator or receptionist, this behavior is counterproductive—and frankly unprofessional—if being exhibited by an executive.

“Not being able to concentrate for, say, tens of minutes at a time may mean it’s costing a company as much as 20 percent to 40 percent in terms of potential efficiency and productivity lost due to multitasking,” Meyer says. Over a 45-hour workweek, that’s 9 to 18 hours a week wasted.

Can you imagine what you could do with an extra 9 to 18 hours a week of productivity?

And that’s just you. Multiply that number by the number of employees you have, and that’s how many hours a week are wasted due to multitasking.

Obviously, in some situations, a certain amount of multitasking is unavoidable and even necessary. But the vast majority of multitasking that businesspeople engage in is unnecessary and extremely counterproductive.

So, what to do? The answer is simple to understand but challenging to consistently do well: Concentrate on doing one thing at a time. To concentrate means to consciously attend to what is most relevant to a given situation or activity, without allowing yourself to be distracted.

What do Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Bill Gates have in common?

These people all have a highly developed ability to concentrate. This ability has many facets: single-pointed focus, mindfulness, a capacity to get into a “flow state” (also known as “the zone”). It is the same thing surgeons, fighter pilots, and most top artists, scientists, and leaders have in common.

The key is to bring all your attention, and therefore all of your intelligence, to whatever task you are doing at that moment. If you are committed to doing good work, then practice bringing 100 percent of your mind to what you are doing.

The opposite of this, of course, is dividing your attention in half by doing two things simultaneously. Multitasking turns us into half-wits.

Concentrating on one thing at a time is challenging for most people, especially since mindless multitasking is the norm in today’s “organizational ADD” business culture. But you can develop the habit of concentration with time, discipline and practice.




Remember that being fully focused not only unleashes your highest potential but also feels terrific. Perhaps you have noticed that the times when you have been the most productive, most effective, and most successful were the times when you were in the flow—powerfully absorbed and undistractible (think Tiger Woods charging up the back nine). Whether you achieve flow as you golf, write, negotiate a contract, lead a meeting under challenging conditions, or close a big deal, flow is always an inherently rewarding experience.

But if you are like most people, you are somewhat inconsistent in your ability to get into that flow state. Grouping similar tasks together helps a lot.

Do computer work for an hour, and just computer work. Set a time each day, or several times a week, to do paperwork or reporting. Have certain times of day, or certain days, devoted to client meetings or staff meetings, and don’t try to do other things during that time. Of course, these are also examples of tactic number one (Time Blocks).

Learning Assets:

Study: Multitasking Is Counterproductive—CNN article

Multitasking Makes You Stupid—video clip (3 minutes)

12.Create a Time Budget

Imagine the mess you would be in if you did not budget and track your finances. For most people, time is even more precious than capital. How can you invest your time wisely if you do not know how or where you are spending it? The place to start is a time budget.

To learn exactly where your time is going, track how you spend your time each day for a couple of weeks. You can do this by using the Time Budget tool provided on the Stagen website. This Excel spreadsheet already has seven categories of activities filled in to spark your thinking. Personalize these categories as necessary, and then start filling in how much time you spend daily in each category. At the end of each day, make some notes. At the end of the week, tabulate the results. The spreadsheet will do the math for you. This exercise will provide the data you need to make intelligent decisions on how to better budget your time. For example, you may choose to spend more time on sales, less time in meetings, less time with certain staff, more time with others, and/or more time on strategic planning.

Another thing you can practice is pruning your schedule — trimming activities, especially the less important or less beneficial ones. A rampant problem workers face today is chronic over-commitment. There will always be more work to do than we have time to do it, and there will



always be more things vying for our attention than we have attention to go around. Our schedules are like the bushes around a house. They need to be constantly pruned, or they will overrun the sidewalk. Unless you enjoy being overcommitted, missing deadlines, breaking promises, and generally letting people down (often the people you care about the most), you will need to become a practitioner of monthly pruning.




13.Lose the Electronic Leash

Unless you are a doctor working in an emergency room, your personal communication devices (office phone, mobile phone, pager, and Instant Messenger) should not make you on call all the time. Get rid of this electronic leash by not allowing these tools to interrupt more important activities.

Switch off or mute personal communication devices when in important meetings, working on projects that require you to focus with undivided attention, or when with your family. Then simply check every hour or so to see if any urgent messages came through, and reply in your own time frame. Also, turn on Instant Messenger software only during certain hours a day or only when you are actively collaborating with team members. Otherwise, set it up to display an “I’m not available” message or switch it off.

The point is not to become unavailable or unresponsive to others, but rather to become fully available and responsive to your own consciously chosen priorities.

Learning Asset:

Lose the Electronic Leash—video clip (2 min)

14.Educate Your Environment

To increase your ability to focus and to decrease interruptions, consider having an open door policy only certain hours a day, and at other times inviting people to schedule an appointment to meet with you. If someone comes into your office during one of your concentration time blocks, set clear boundaries in a respectful way: “I want to give you my full, undivided attention. I’m available at 2 or 3 this afternoon; which time would work better for you?”

Consider closing your door a few hours a day to ensure quality uninterrupted time to focus on projects and meet with your staff. If your workspace doesn’t have a door, then hang a sign at the entry of your work area that says “Do Not Disturb” or something to that effect. Be creative—one Stagen Leadership Institute client hung yellow tape that read “Police Line—Do Not Cross.”

The amount of time your door is open vs. closed will depend on your corporate culture. Letting people know in advance why you close your door or requiring set appointments will help them understand that you are not trying to shut them out in any way.

In fact, your new policy is simply a better way to get the result that the open door policy was originally aiming at—enhanced communication, coordination, and productivity.



Setting clear boundaries, and therefore being undistracted when you meet, allows you to be more powerfully present with people. A related way of enhancing your effectiveness is to practice the fundamentals of active listening. Combine active listening with a single-focus time block for significant conversations. Not only will you end up being more productive in your contacts with people, you will also find that rather than resenting the modification of your open door policy, they actually appreciate the time they spend with you more.

It is essential to educate the people in your work environment about what you are doing and why. This is especially true with this tactic because people may feel that you are trying to “close them out” and will need this objection addressed up front. Educating those in your environment is also essential for some of the other tactics to be sustainable since they require cooperation from your co-workers.

15.Use Real-‐Time Communication Effectively

Real-time communication (in-person meetings, phone conferences) is another word for synchronous communication—which means “at the same time” communication. Asynchronous communication (voice mail, email, fax, snail-mail) is that which is not at the same time.

Paying attention to the differences between these modes, and learning when to use which mode of communication, can help you reclaim several hours a week of productivity—in fact, you’ll save much more than that if your organization is badly misusing face-to-face meetings. You will also avoid the misunderstandings and conflicts that result from using the wrong kind of communication. (These avoidable conflicts are exactly the sort of thing that pull you into the Reactive Zone.)

Real-‐Time (Synchronous)

Reserve real-time communication (whether on the phone or in person) for those times that you need to discuss complex or emotionally charged issues or make important decisions. In-person meetings are the most powerful—especially for building relationships—but also the most expensive. It is especially wasteful to use valuable synchronous meeting time for routine status reports and simple exchanges of data. Why tie up two or more peoples’ schedules for something that would be better handled through a simple email or fax? That is the purpose of asynchronous communication.

A typical manager spends half the workweek in meetings. Yet when polled, the vast majority of managers feel that a significant percentage of that time is wasted.

Following are four simple ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your meetings:




Always start and end meetings on time.

Don’t use valuable face time for status reports.

Always have an agenda.

Try to keep meetings to one hour or less.

To avoid scattering your attention, make a habit of scheduling your phone meetings in advance as much as possible, and apply the above guidelines to them as well.

Asynchronous Communication

In many cases, it is sufficient and preferable for one person to convey an idea and then allow the other person or persons to respond later and at their convenience. Asynchronous communication is much less expensive in its use of human resources and should be used whenever appropriate to the task.

Emotion

Because emotion is recognized and understood by seeing and/or hearing a person, any communication that has important emotional content should be conveyed in person or by phone (including voice mail). This way the feelings (such as praise, warmth, frustration, or discomfort) will come across accurately in voice tonality. Never use email to address emotional issues—it rarely is interpreted correctly and usually comes across more harshly than intended.

Hybrids

Instant Messenger is an interesting hybrid between asynchronous and synchronous modes of communication. In certain circumstances, Instant Messenger can be extremely effective. One example is when actively working with a remote team on a project in which you are all working both independently and collaboratively toward



Goal Setting - Exploring new horizons

Exploring new horizons

Five frogs are sitting in the middle of a pond on a lily leaf. Three frogs decide to jump off the lily leaf. How many frogs are left on the lily leaf? Most people would respond automatically, drawing on grade 1 maths, stating that there would be two frogs left. Sensibly, five minus three is equal to two. If we look a bit closer though we will see that there is a defining word that tells us exactly how many frogs are left. Can you see it? No one ever said they jumped. Action does not necessarily follow a decision therefore; the decision to jump means that there are still five frogs, waiting to jump.

So many of us are like these three frogs. We go through life making decision after decision, empowered by the motivating factor of having made the thought to move, to change, to succeed; but all it is, is a thought; nothing happens after that.

Goal setting is the powerful process for reaching out towards the horizon. As we embark on our journey as captain of our ship; sometimes in unchartered waters, we have to make and take decisions that will guide this voyage. At times, only the horizon will be evident to us but knowing that there is something more, something possibly undiscovered and new can motivate us to push on. Setting our sails becomes a journey in and of itself without knowing for certain what the outcome may be.

Setting goals empowers the decision making process by setting the course that we wish to take, knowing precisely what you need to set sail and navigating in accordance to agreed bearings. The long-term vision and short-term motivation enhances the spirit of discovery, fostering a thirst and quest for knowledge. As we look towards the horizon, we will organize the time and resources so that the goals materialize.

By clearly defining the goals and managing them effectively, progress in what might previously have been ‘reliance on the wind’ becomes an adventure, embraced with pride and competence. This can be incredibly inspiring as the habit of setting and achieving goals builds self-confidence. It makes the vision for your future real, motivating you to turn this vision of the future into reality and in so doing, explore new horizons.

What is stopping you from establishing your goals?




Some of us prefer to think ahead, planning carefully for the voyage in expectation of what might happen. In this, we establish a plan of action to plot the direction we wish to take and thus derive a sense of purpose for the future. Others like to live in a spontaneous, impulsive way; living in the moment and finding purpose as they discover the undiscovered. Both of these positions are valid; however, those who prefer to set goals and plan ahead tend to have more success in implementing projects and playing-a-part in the direction they want to take. The problem comes in though with the countless excuses that we impose on ourselves to sabotage our progress.

So what is your excuse?

๏ Waiting for something to happen

๏ Not knowing what you want

๏ Thinking you need to tackle the whole project all at once

๏ Failing to set goals

๏ Fear of failure

๏ Comparing yourself with others

๏ Forgetting to involve and influence others in making and implementing our plans

๏ Failing to prioritize and manage our time

๏ Not having the necessary skills

๏ Lack of willpower

๏ We don’t know how to set goals

๏ We don’t have the time to set goals

๏ We can’t see the point of setting goals

๏ We don’t see the need to set goals

Can you add some more? What has been holding you back from defining your purpose?



Well, there is no better time to start than right now to change this approach and bring my personal navigator into play!

Let’s think differently.

Changing the excuse

Take the various excuses above and change them into affirmative statements that negate any chance that they may have of stopping you.

What is important to you?

Which of these areas are important to you and how could you establish goals for them:

๏ Creativity: Are you creative or would you like to explore your creative side?

๏ Mindset and behaviour: Is your mindset or behaviour holding you back?

๏ Profession: What are your career aspirations?

๏ Continuous learning and education: Is there any knowledge or skill you want to acquire or ability you want to develop?




๏ Family and friends: What social bonds do you want to develop?

๏ Financial: How do you envisage your financial security? What salary are you striving for?

๏ Physical: How do you want to take of yourself physically or develop your body?

๏ Pleasure: How do you want to enjoy yourself?

๏ The greater good: Do you want to make the world a better place?

Add some more!

The objective here is to ask HOW I am going to achieve these things if this is what is important to me. Goals tell you how!

How would you usually go about addressing these areas? Has it worked?

Strategizing!

๏ Write your goals down and tell others about them. They can be written down in the literal sense, but it is also a good idea to include pictures, objects and other representational items to describe them. Remember the five frogs?



๏ Create a daily to-do–list so that you define the things that need to be done on a daily basis to achieve the goals in question. Break down the tasks involved into daily units.

๏ Use both logic and creativity in developing your goals – for example, use visualization exercises to help you.

๏ List the blocks and barriers between you and your goals and formulate a plan to overcome them.

๏ Make each statement that captures your goal a positive statement.

๏ Be sure your goals are yours and not your parents’, spouse’s, boss’s or anyone else’s.

๏ Make each statement a precise definitive description of what it is that you want to achieve. This means details of time, place, resources, targets dates etc.

๏ Prioritize your goals, clearly detailing the goals in terms of their importance to you and the attention each needs.

๏ Major goals should be compatible recognising though that achieving them takes time. Whilst depressed the main goal may just be to get out of bed in the morning and may realistically not include doing a 5km run!

๏ Discipline yourself to take the necessary steps to achieve your goals – develop your willpower.

๏ Be flexible, review your goals from time to time and adjust them where necessary – for example, if you need more time to undertake certain tasks.

๏ Think success rather than failure and try not to concern yourself about whether you can or cannot achieve your goals. Learn to trust that the process will deliver them. This creates an expectation that the goals will be achieved.

๏ Take responsibility for the outcome – positive or negative.

๏ Reward yourself when you achieve your goals.

๏ Persevere! Remember that the snail also made it onto the ark!

๏ Have passion for your goals.




Goals should be:

S: Specific (a problem well-stated is half solved; include the what and how).

M: Meaningful (your personal goal).

A: Attainable (start small and consider any obstacles to your goal e.g. finances).

R: Realistic.

T: Timely (put deadlines to your goals to hold you accountable and measure progress).

Time to practice

Describe what you would like to be like when you leave the programme. How are you going to achieve this?

Quotes on goals!

From what you have learned thus far, write goals that will help you achieve this change in your life. Remember, be SMART!

No Goal Priority Target Date

1

2

3

4

5



6

7

8

9

10

Time Management

How often do we hear people saying that they just don’t have time? How often do we say there’s no time for exercise, no time for having fun, not enough time to get everything done in a day? But, when someone asks us what we did during the day we often find it difficult to give a run-down of all of the important activities that we believe filled our day.

I have two kids and a husband whose work takes him away from home frequently. One can say that for the most part I function as a single parent. I have a full time job and I am oooooa keen hobby-freak. I love reading and I love being involved in various extra-mural activities. Unfortunately juggling all these needs and wants sometimes becomes quite difficult and sometimes I can’t help but drop a ball or two... Sometimes I become forgetful and feel overwhelmed by too much to do in too little time. Other times I feel like I’m being pulled in so many directions that I will most certainly just fall apart.

It is at these times that I undoubtedly know: MY TIME MANAGEMENT SUCKS! I can look back at different times in my life and assess each of these chaotic phases with one communal answer: when I let go of planning, when I allow too much on my plate with too little structure my stress levels skyrocket and I actually get far less done in a day.

Luckily time is also a great teacher and over the past four decades on earth I have learnt a thing or two about myself. Probably one of the most important things I have been fortunate to learn, is that my effectiveness, my ability to reach my goals, big and small, as well as my ability to maintain healthy stress levels depend on my ability to manage my time. I have undoubtedly realised my own responsibility to plan my daily tasks, to prioritise my life and to take care of myself. The secret I have uncovered is that time management allows me to be MORE spontaneous, it allows me to get MORE done and it certainly allows me to feel in control of who I am and who I strive to become.




So what is time management?

I was raised in a home where it was important to consider others, to help others when they are in need and to be mindful of those around me. So putting myself first initially sounded selfish to me. Attending to my own needs above those around me initially felt like a selfish distraction. Most of my friends and family members shared my sentiments and also deemed it an important quality to put others’ needs first. So when some of those around me started falling apart and overcome with stress and illness, it eventually dawned on me. If I don’t take care of myself first and my needs are not satisfied, I inevitably feel overwhelmed, tired, stressed leading to feeling frustrated, snappy and ultimately resentful. And if I’m ill of what value am I then to those around me? How will I then be able to play with my kids, cart them around from place to place and how will I manage my work?

This realisation made me understand that attending to one’s own needs and care is not selfishness at all, it is enlightened self-interest. The selfish person seeks instant enjoyment and is preoccupied with him- or herself to the point of being insensitive to the needs of others. Enlightened self-interest is acting in accordance with one’s own interests, while being sensitive to the needs of others. It allows one to be well enough and satisfied enough within to be of value to others.

Taking care of ourselves means different things to different people. To one person it means getting exercise several days a week and eating healthy foods. It can mean getting lots of down time, to be alone and to read and write. To another, it means getting to spend time laughing and playing with their children and reading or drawing with them. It can mean connecting with a spouse and getting to hear about his/her daily events. It also means, connecting with family and friends via phone or in person. It can also mean having prayer time, and complete quiet time where one can just listen.

Why is it important to focus on your own self-care?

๏ By meeting my own needs I have more energy for others and I am more productive

๏ I will not need to depend on others (or on doing things for others!) for my own good feelings

๏ It reduces my stress- and anxiety levels

๏ It improves my feelings of competence and achievement, my creativity and my happiness

๏ It prevents burnout!



It takes some people years to find the formula that works for them. In time, with the help of a good time management strategy, we will immediately know when we are out of balanced.

When we finally get this lesson about taking good care of ourselves, we have usually already done it wrong for a good many years. So to challenge yourself, just review for yourself what YOU need to do to feel good about yourself. Do you need exercise? Do you need to share a special meal with someone special in your life? Do you need to bask in the sunlight or get a massage?

Can you identify areas that need to be addressed to ensure a healthy, balanced lifestyle?

Look at the self-care wheel and decide for yourself.

The Self Care Wheel is a representation of a person’s overall health using spokes to convey a number of important aspects of wellness. Individuals can use these aspects and their extensions to help evaluate and improve their overall health and wellness. It encompasses the five important categories of social, mental, physical, cultural, and spiritual health. These categories often overlap with one another, but can also be seen as exclusive in the overall picture of our well-being.

The Self Care Wheel is primarily used as a tool to evaluate and improve health. It reminds us that wellness is an overall balance between many different aspects which make up our lives. If one feels that their overall health is lacking, looking at the Self Care Wheel can help them find an area which may need to be targeted for change to restore the balance in their life.

Physical

Individuals who are physically well apply knowledge of nutrition, fitness, personal hygiene and self medical care (such as taking ones temperature or using over the counter medicine) into their daily living. They work at maintaining a high level of energy and lead a lifestyle that enables them to stay healthy. They are aware of the effects that physical stresses and personal needs have on their bodies and do not place unnecessary demands on themselves. They are able to recognize risky behaviors and situations which could endanger their physical health. They get regular checkups from their doctor and are conscious of their body’s needs.

Traits of a Physically Healthy Individual

๏ Exercises safely and regularly

๏ Understands basic nutrition information

๏ Eats a balanced diet




๏ Gets regular physical check-ups

๏ Performs self-medical exams Avoids drugs, such as tobacco, that hinder physical health

๏ Washes one’s hands after using the restroom

๏ Takes medication properly

๏ Evaluates physically risky situations

๏ Has strategies for managing stress

๏ Gets an adequate amount of sleep

Cultural

Individuals who are culturally well suspend judgment of other individuals. They strive to recognize, understand, and accept differences among people. They advocate and affirm cultural diversity including sexual orientation, religion, gender, racial and ethnic backgrounds, age groups, and disabilities, and appreciate the uniqueness of each culture. They are aware of all the cultures in their life and integrate them into it including micro-cultures such as family, work, school, and various affiliations.

Traits of a Culturally Healthy Individual

๏ Is conscious of their personal cultural affiliations

๏ Understands that each person’s cultural identity is unique and can be made up of many subcultures

๏ Recognizes the legitimacy and contributions of varying cultures

๏ Is able to effectively communicate to members of different cultures

๏ Is willing to learn about, interact with, and co-exist with persons of cultures they are unfamiliar with

Social



People who are socially well have the ability to interact with others. They develop and cultivate close friendships and can interact with people of different backgrounds, lifestyles, and abilities. They recognize the necessity for personal time, and budget this into their schedule accordingly.

Traits of a Socially Healthy Individual

๏ Is able to communicate with people of different ages, backgrounds, races, and lifestyles

๏ Has a network of friends, family, or others for support

๏ Is able to effectively communicate their feelings

๏ Balances their time to incorporate social, or fun, activities along with obligations

๏ Plays an active role in their culture and community

Spiritual

Individuals who are spiritually well strive for a sense of satisfaction and confidence with personal spiritual beliefs. They encourage individuals to increase their understanding of the values, ethics and beliefs, which can add direction to their lives. They have a growing set of beliefs that can help support them mentally and emotionally. They have an overall sense of well-being, peace and connectedness that helps them find meaning in life. Periodically they may choose to re-think their values and act on changes in beliefs.

Traits of a Spiritually Healthy Individual

๏ Spends time reflecting on themselves as a person

๏ Spends time defining personal values and re-evaluating them over time

๏ Is open to those of other religions and belief systems

Mental

Individuals who are mentally well seek to reflect upon their own actions and accept themselves for who they really are. They encourage self exploration and improvement. They have a strong desire to learn and maintain intellectual curiosity. They value shared experiences and are stimulated by new ideas, sharing knowledge and pursuing learning.

Traits of a Mentally Healthy Individual




๏ Keeps a generally positive attitude

๏ Has methods to reduce stress before and after it arises

๏ Knows their personal limits and acts accordingly by not overextending themselves

๏ Is aware of common mental health problems, issues, and signs of detection

๏ Is willing to ask for help in warranting situations

How are you spending your time?

๏ For one week, list everything you do and the approximate time it takes.

๏ At the end of the week, you will see how you “spent” your time.

๏ Now you’re ready to begin planning.

๏ Humans are creatures of habit and chances are you’ll find you adhere to some sort of daily routine.

Becoming More Productive

1. Find a regular quiet time and a lonely place with no distractions.

Some people do their personal planning late at night when everyone else is asleep (and cannot disturb them).

Additionally, set aside one morning every month to adjust your plan. Most organizations have an annual meeting or “retreat” when they spend an entire day each year to re-evaluate where they have been and where they are going. We need to do the same for our personal life.

2. Review the values behind each role in your life.

Values are what we live for, what gives our lives meaning and fulfillment. Examples:

“Be an effective parent.”



“Be a benefit to my clients/patients.”

“Be a contributor to my community.”

What happens when the demands of one role (being a breadwinner) inevitably conflicts with the needs of another role (being a parent)?

I can honestly say that I battled with that question for years. When my kids were little and I was building a practice, I really found it difficult to grasp that “me-time” was important, until a patient’s mother put it into perspective for me. I wanted to make an appointment with her to give her feedback about her child’s assessment and suggested a Wednesday afternoon just after lunch. She replied that she would not be able to make that time as that was her “me-time”. Shocked and, I might add, a little in awe I hesitantly enquired what that was all about. She calmly and confidently explained that she allows herself one hour per week, a Wednesday between 13h00 and 14h00, to do whatever she feels like doing, where she comes first. It is an appointment she honors and values just like any other appointment with a dentist, a doctor or a teacher. Whether she chooses to read a book, do window shopping, have her nails done, exercise, or simply sit on the beach, it is one hour per week when she is not accountable to anyone other than herself, when she gets to feel most important. She explained that it prevents her from feelings unimportant, from feeling like she only exists to be of service to others.

It took me a while to find my own “me-time hour” and even longer to feel comfortable with that magical hour, but I can truly vouch for the difference it makes when we allow ourselves to feel important too.

Most people have a lot of balls to keep in the air as they juggle their lives. If we under- or overspend in one area, it is usually at the expense of something else.

How can you to balance the various roles in your life?

Review the Purpose for your life. Not just goals.




Purpose defines what contribution we hope to make from our life's work.

Examples:

“Raise a child to maturity.

“Create good jobs in the community where I live.”

One person who took the time to write down what he wanted out of life said “I feel so much more joy in my life when I remember what I'm living for. Putting my desires on paper focused me toward solutions rather than complaints.”

People often mistake having a purpose with achieving goals and objectives.

Objectives are subjective situations. Eg:

“Feel safe in my home.”

“Find a well-paying job.”

“Provide for my own retirement income.”

“Provide college education for children in foster care.”

Goals are numerical measures desired. Eg:

“Spend at least one night a week with ____.”

“Accumulate R40 000 for a deposit on a house within 5 years.”

Motivational experts recommend posting reminders of what we want to achieve on our mirror or refrigerator door so we will be sure to look at it throughout each day.

Review the prior day's Notes for any follow-up actions needed.

3. At first, writing down what we actually accomplished throughout the day, may seem like a

waste of time, but eventually you will treasure the notes as a source of encouragement. Days

will not simply become a blur. Without a written record, you cannot objectively evaluate



how wisely your resources were spent and what you can realistically expect to accomplish

over future weeks and months.

4. Block out time for performing on-going Activities. You will not worry about missing out on

celebrations and other special events now because you have a checklist of what needs to be

done every Day, Week, Month, Quarterly, and same day each Year. This allows you to

anticipate the special moments in life. Looking at your calendar may just give you a boost of

hope and optimism. There is little more satisfying than being able to tick off things we have

completed! The sense of accomplishment can easily become intoxicating and addictive!

5. Stick to and honour Promises. Milestones are important events associated with a specific

point in time. Writing down every promise you make helps to build a reputation for

reliability. Protect your own time on vital projects by making appointments with yourself and

those important to you.

6. To earn the trust of others, only make promises you can deliver. Do not accept a commitment

until you have written it down. Writing down everything you want to do helps you clearly

see any dilemmas. It becomes very clear where help will be needed. That is how we

overcome being overwhelmed.

7. Some people often tease me about my diary. For the past couple of years I have been writing

little notes and summaries of things that I need to do and things that I have done that need

follow up and I take great pleasure in ticking the completed tasks off with a bright highlighter

or a red pen. But, not only is this a gratifying and satisfying exercise for me but it also allows

me to keep an accurate record to refer back to when necessary without needing to rack my

brain to try and recall the details. Far less stressful in the end!

8. Prepare a Prioritized Task List to guide your day. Re-writing a list of what needs to be done

every day may seems tedious and repetitive, but this step really helps you improve your skill

at estimating. Knowing how much can realistically be handled in a day may keeps you from

over-committing yourself.




9. We can better recognize when we are wasting time if we force ourselves to identify the

priority of each task to be done. The really important things (such as planning and

development time) are usually not urgent. Purposely evaluating the importance and urgency

of everything forces us to invest our time on what will pay off most.

10.Roll with the punches. “Cie la vie” —French saying for "that is life". When things go wrong -

reassess and re-prioritize!

11.Learn to say no - think before acting. How many times have you said “yes” to something you

later regretted? Before committing to a new task, stop to think about it before you give your

answer. This will prevent you from taking on too much work.

12.Some people become overloaded with too much work because they over commit; they say

“yes” when they really should be saying “no”. Learn to say “no” to low priority requests and

you will free up time to spend on things that are more important. It took me many years to

realize that I have the right and the responsibility to say “no” to someone if I felt that doing

something would interfere with other activities in my life that were more important. I felt so

much more empowered (and relieved) when I realised saying “no” to someone today does

not suggest that it remains an outright “no”! But when the “yes” is shared I feel confident and

comfortable that I can do whatever it is I have committed myself to, without feeling frustrated

and eventually resentful.

13.Continuously improve yourself Make time in your schedule to learn new things and develop

your natural talents and abilities. For example, you could take a class, attend a training

program, or read a book. Continuously improving your knowledge and skills increases your

self-confidence, your marketability, can help boost your career and is the most reliable path

to financial independence.

14.Think about what you are giving up to do your regular activities It is a good idea to evaluate

regularly how you are spending your time. In some cases, the best thing you can do is to stop

doing an activity that is no longer serving you so you can spend the time doing something

more



15.valuable. Consider what you are giving up in order to maintain your current activities.

16. Identify bad habits Make a list of bad habits that are stealing your time, sabotaging your

goals, and blocking your success. After you do, work on them one at a time and

systematically remove them from your life. Remember that the easiest way to eliminate a bad

habit, it to replace it with a better habit.

17.Don’t do other people’s work Are you in the habit of doing other people’s work because of a

‘hero’ mentality? Doing this takes up time that you may not have. Instead, focus on your own

projects and goals, learn to delegate effectively and rather teach others how to do their own

work.

18.Don’t be a perfectionist Some tasks do not require your best effort. Sending a short email to

a colleague, for example, should not take any more than a few minutes. Learn to distinguish

between tasks that deserve to be done excellently and tasks that just need to be done.

19.Beware of “filler” tasks When you have a to-do list filled with important tasks, be careful not

to get distracted by “filler” tasks. Things such as organizing your bookcase or filing papers

can wait until you have tackled the items that have the highest priority.

20.Avoid “efficiency traps” Being efficient does not necessarily mean that you are being

productive. Avoid taking on tasks that you can do with efficiency that do not need to be done

at all. Just because you are busy and getting things done does not mean you are actually

accomplishing anything significant.

Time management is a skill that takes time to development and to perfect. It also is a skill that is different for everyone. Your best bet is to try a variety of different approaches until something clicks in your brain and sticks in your routine. The most important step to take is to realise that you are important and that enlighted self interest sets you free to be the person you want to be for you and for those you love and surround yourself with.




Resources

Learning Assets

Articles

Is Your Job Giving You ADD?—by Brett Thomas and Paul Landraitis

Symptoms of Organizational ADD—by Brett Thomas and Paul Landraitis

Why We Need to Manage Attention—by Brett Thomas and Paul Landraitis

Time Wasters; Chronic Time Abuse—by Steven Burglas, in Harvard Business Review

Into the Zone—by Jay Tolson, cover story for July 3, 2000, U.S. News & World Report

A New Perspective on Business—by John Beck and Thomas Davenport, Harvard Business School Press

CNN Multitasking Study—by Porter Anderson

How to Run Effective Meetings by Timothy JohnPress

Firefighting by Knowledge Workers—white paper by Roger Bohn and Ramchandran Jaikumar

Historical and Contemporary Models of Attention Processes With Implications for Learning—by Bruce F. Dykeman in the journal Education (December 22, 1998)

Getting the Attention You Need—by John Beck and Thomas Davenport, in Harvard Business Review

Books

The Attention Economy: Understanding the New Currency of Business—by John Beck and Thomas Davenport

Timeshifting: Creating More Time to Enjoy Your Life—by Stephan Rechtschaffen, M.D.

Audio



Attention Management audio module

Speech on Attention Management—by Rand Stagen

Video

All video segments feature Rand Stagen and can be viewed via your www.Stagen.com class page:

Your Most Productive Day of the Year •

How People Misuse Technology

Focus Like Tiger, Concentrate Like Michael •

Multitasking Makes You Stupid

Three Simple Exercises to Enhance Focus •

Creating Weekly Routine Time Blocks

You Must Be Present to Win •

Scheduling Appointments With Yourself

The Weekly Focusing Process •

Review Questions

Review Questions

1. What are the four symptoms of organizational ADD? Which ones have you observed in your

organization? Please describe.

2. What is meant by “continuous partial attention”? Give a personal example of this (yourself or

someone you know).

BMG100 BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

MODULE OVERVIEW

BACHELOR OF COMMERCE | THE DA VINCI INSTITUTE | MANAGERIAL LEADERSHIP ODYSSEY | 47

http://www.Stagen.com

http://www.Stagen.com

3. What is meant by “trapped in the Reactive Zone?” How do people get trapped there? Give an

example of a time that you were trapped in the Reactive Zone. Describe this experience.

4. What is the process or dynamic used to shrink the Reactive Zone?

5. What boundaries can you establish in your work environment to help minimize the

Distraction Zone?

6. According to the University of Michigan study (funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research),

what is the percentage of waste associated with multitasking? How many hours a week is that

estimated to be?

7. What is the difference between time blocks and setting appointments with yourself?

8. What do you need to do in order to close your door (or have “do not disturb” hours) without

giving coworkers the wrong impression that you are shutting them out or are not being

available to them?

9. Which kind of communication (synchronous or asynchronous) is best for expressing praise or

disappointment with an employee? Which medium (in person, phone, email, or other) should

be used? Contrast these two modes of communication by using examples from your own

experience.

10.Which kind of communication (synchronous or asynchronous) should be used for data

exchange, progress reports, and simple reporting? Which medium (in person, phone, email,

or other) should be used? Explain.



Review Questions

Review Questions

1. What are the four symptoms of organizational ADD? Which ones have you observed in your

organization? Please describe.

2. What is meant by “continuous partial attention”? Give a personal example of this (yourself or

someone you know).

3. What is meant by “trapped in the Reactive Zone?” How do people get trapped there? Give an

example of a time that you were trapped in the Reactive Zone. Describe this experience.

4. What is the process or dynamic used to shrink the Reactive Zone?

5. What boundaries can you establish in your work environment to help minimize the

Distraction Zone?

6. According to the University of Michigan study (funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research),

what is the percentage of waste associated with multitasking? How many hours a week is that

estimated to be?

7. What is the difference between time blocks and setting appointments with yourself?

8. What do you need to do in order to close your door (or have “do not disturb” hours) without

giving coworkers the wrong impression that you are shutting them out or are not being

available to them?

9. Which kind of communication (synchronous or asynchronous) is best for expressing praise or

disappointment with an employee? Which medium (in person, phone, email, or other) should

be used? Contrast these two modes of communication by using examples from your own

experience.




10.Which kind of communication (synchronous or asynchronous) should be used for data

exchange, progress reports, and simple reporting? Which medium (in person, phone, email,

or other) should be used? Explain.

End Notes

1 For a detailed analysis of Ken Wilber’s pioneering Four Quadrant Model as applied to all fields

of natural science, social science, art, and morals, ambitious readers can refer to Sex, Ecology, Spirituality. Several schools of thought refer to “integral theory” as a cross-disciplinary approach. However, calling something integral does not ensure that it is genuinely integrated. When Stagen documents refer to “integral” or “integrally informed” we are referring to Ken Wilber’s “AQAL Integral” platform. AQAL integral includes all quadrants, lines, levels (stages), states and types – in other words, it includes every known dimension in existence. Think of Ken Wilber’s AQAL integral as the “gold standard” of integral methodology. For additional background information on integral theory see the extensive works of Ken Wilber or visit www.IntegralUniversity.org.

2 The Attention Economy: Understanding the New Currency of Business by Thomas Davenport

and John Beck, published by Harvard Business School Press.

3 Firefighting by Knowledge Workers, white paper by Roger Bohn and Ramchandran Jaikumar,

University of California.

4 This article is available on the Stagen Leadership Institute website.

5 Multitasking Makes You Stupid by Sue Shellenbarger, The Wall Street Journal, March 2003.



http://www.IntegralUniversity.org

http://www.IntegralUniversity.org

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