Staying Focused

Living in the present is not always easy. There is no doubt about who is fully present when engaged in a conversation, a meeting, a game... Practicing total engagement in a world that encourages multi-tasking can be a challenge. Further, focusing while different technologies are sending reminders and prompts that someone else wants our attention can be difficult. 

More than once this semester I have had laughs and good conversations about the word “priorities.” The definition of the word means the most important. It cannot be plural. Yet, it is easy to get sucked into a life that expects us to have three, four or five priorities. Jim Collins, in his book “Good to Great” notes that great companies have a “hedgehog” - someone at the helm with one clear focus in mind. They know their Mission, what they are supposed to do, and they stick with it. The same goes for people. Once we know our priority and stick with it, everything about us improves.

For many of us, our children are our priority. That seems to be a noble charge for educators, parents and guardians. Before the school year started I had all faculty and staff write a note to themselves stating a goal for the year. They submitted their goal in a sealed envelope. In a few weeks I will return the envelopes. I wonder how many people stuck to the goals and may even  have it as their priority? Parents and guardians also tend to set goals at the beginning of a school year. My hope is that supporting the educational development of your children is a goal if not the priority. Staying focused on that goal/priority becomes increasingly challenging unless we are committed and have not allowed other distractions to fill our schedules.

This is a great time of year to recommit to our priority and goals. Could a goal have been to read to your child every day? Was it to write something every week? Practice a skill? Play together? Be together? The most successful goal setters I know have their goals written in places they are easy to see. They know the steps they need to take to achieve those goals. They often have a coach or a friend who reviews their progress and offers feedback. Achievers are deliberate about their goals and work to stay focused. 

We are entering the time of year that can be filled with distraction. If we keep our priority and goals in mind, we just might enjoy these busy days and at the same time help our children stay focused to do their best.

Cheers!

Mike

PS: Spell check just signaled that I had not made the word priority in the last paragraph plural. A good reminder that we need to teach our children and ourselves to think for ourselves!