Finding focus by taking my time back

As I reflect on 2020 and think about 2021, one thing became abundantly clear – I never created, thus never committed to the foundations of Full Focus – the daily ritual and ideal week. Quarter after quarter, the pages were blank. As a result, the very habits and rituals I set out to establish in 2020 never got off the ground. Sure, I had a morning ritual: shower, listen to a podcast, walk to Caribou Coffee, order a large cold brew, walk home, plan my day. But, after that, my day was in the hands of others and Zoom all the way up to 5:00, or until everyone else’s ideal day came to a close.

Then, our company created Thinking Thursday’s – this block of time on Thursday mornings where there are no Zoom calls, no meetings, ideally no Slack messages or email. Three to four hours to just read, think, write, reflect – whatever and however we chose to use the time. Many used the time to “play catch up” on tasks, actions, emails, projects, but for me, that defeated the purpose of Thinking Thursday. It’s designed to be a time for curiosity, ideation and epiphany. A time to read, write and render. A time to reflect, reimagine and reframe. I took the time to do just that and create daily rituals and my ideal week.

I started with four buckets of time and gave them an identity – a personal purpose.

• Mind Heart Home – Time to connect with myself, family, friends.
• Read Write Render – Time to create ideas, plans, content.
• Teamwork – Time to collaborate with co-workers, peers, partners.
• Tasks – Time to complete actions, emails, updates.

Then, I thought about how much time should be dedicated to each bucket – a personal promise.

• 45% Mind Heart Home – Time to connect with myself, family, friends.
• 20% Read Write Render – Time to create ideas, plans, content.
• 25% Teamwork – Time to collaborate with co-workers, peers, partners.
• 10% Tasks – Time to complete actions, emails, updates.

Then I began mapping the my ideal week. I looked an my current calendar, my commitments, my projects, plans and priorities. Since I’ve been known to think in PowerPoint and Google Slides – I call it “slideation” – I began visualizing my ideal week and creating blocks of time for each personal purpose. Where I ended up was crazy close to my personal promise.

• 47% Mind Heart Home
• 19% Read Write Render
• 25% Teamwork
• 9% Tasks

I’m not calling this a new year’s resolution. It’s more of an end of the year commitment to take my time back. Once I commit, I just might create the very habits and rituals I need to have full focus and reach my goals in 2021. I guess only my time will tell.