I was talking about focus the other day and thinking about how that applies in all areas of my life. I guess that sentence was vague. How ironic. I’ve been scattered since I got laid off.

OK, here’s an example of focus. We all multi-task; probably way too much and at inappropriate times. I could go into texting while driving, which seems to be the pet peeve of the world at this point. (That trivializes TWD, it should not be done, period.) But I am talking about listening to the Get Inspired! Project. If I just listen, my mind starts to wander and then I don’t get the full impact. I miss things. So I listen and read along. This is perfect for me. It keeps me in the moment, which seems to be an underlying theme with all the inspirational people on the site. They all seem to have focus on a certain issue and they all seem to live in the moment. Or is that the same thing? Hmm.

Take the focus thing, and the multi-tasking thing out to other areas of life. For parents, do you listen to your kids as they are talking to you? Broader scenario: Do you listen to your spouse, or people who are significant in your life?

Example 2: While typing that last sentence my youngest daughter came in to talk to me. I have to take a second and totally switch focus and not think about how this entry is going to end. Actually just that interruption changed the content, at least to some extent.

What I really need to do is take my own advice. In my book, Someone Else’s Tomorrow, I talk about something called mini-days, which basically is a system of focus. You have designated times for tasks and have to refuse to be deviated. One example of this that is more common is checking e-mail only twice a day. (10AM and 3PM or something like that) If you look at every e-mail as it arrives (impossible for some people) you are constantly being interrupted. By designating times, you are in control and e-mail doesn’t control you.