Comments on: 5 Ways to Stay Focused When Everything Is Important

By: David Dye

David Dye — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 15:36:38 +0000

Well said, Bryan – I’m reminded of the scene in Men in Black: “There’s always an arquillan battle cruiser…”

By: Bryan Phillips

Bryan Phillips — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 15:29:59 +0000

In certain circusmtances, the sky is always falling and 18 hour work days seem normal. However, upon waking up the next morning, the sky is still falling. These are some great tips. Thank you for sharing. I look forward to building my whiteboard(virtually) and putting a strategy in place based on this new information.

By: David Dye

David Dye — Sun, 04 Mar 2018 23:37:23 +0000

In reply to Alan Potts. Alan, I'm glad to hear this was helpful. Thank you for letting us know!

By: Alan Potts

Alan Potts — Wed, 14 Feb 2018 10:02:20 +0000

Nice informative post.

By: Karin Hurt

Karin Hurt — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 19:46:18 +0000

In reply to Ken Downer. Thanks so much, Ken. Yes!!! A strong vision is such an important start... at every level.

By: Ken Downer

Ken Downer — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 17:58:18 +0000

Great points here. I like your second one in particular, and see it as another way of asking, “What’s the vision?” If the vision is clear, applying it to your To-Do list can help shift focus from the urgent short term to the less urgent but ultimately more important longer term tasks.
Then, of course, progress comes from sticking to that MIT until it is done! Thanks for your insights.

By: David Dye

David Dye — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 14:56:42 +0000

There is an art to balancing the short-term urgent needs with the longer term achievements. It can help to ask “How does this immediate request compare in priority to achieving the long-term goal?” Sometimes today’s MIT really is taking care of an immediate need, then getting back to the bigger picture.

Thanks for the contributions and observations!

By: David Tumbarello

David Tumbarello — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 14:20:13 +0000

Where I work, there seems to be a pendulum swinging – from Give Me the Short Term Win to the other Plan for Long Term. The most important thing depends on the message I get in the a.m. … or the p.m. if I see my boss in the evening. This train of thought reminds me of another variable – access to your boss. End of the day is a good time for access (so I can have a discussion about the MIT) but as an empathetic person, I need to be mindful that he needs time and space to clear his desk.
As a client mentioned at then end of many phone call: “The world will keep spinning and there will be a tomorrow.” This philosophy is great and relieves a bit of stress, but gets us no closer to the MIT!