The Sixth Sense

Familiar anyone?!

My friend, Chris, sent me this yesterday which I thought I’d share with you all:

I decide to water my garden.
As I turn on the hose in the driveway,
I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage,
I notice mail on the porch table that
I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table,
put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table,
and notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back
on the table, and take out the garbage first.

But then I think,
since I’m going to be near the mailbox
when I take out the garbage anyway,
I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my checkbook off the table,
and see that there is only one check left.

My extra checks are in my desk in the study,
so I go inside the house to my desk, where
I find the can of Pepsi I’d been drinking.

I’m going to look for my checks,
but first, I need to push the Pepsi aside
so that I don’t accidentally knock it over.

The Pepsi is getting warm,
and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi,
a vase of flowers on the counter
catches my eye — they need water.

I put the Pepsi on the counter and
discover my reading glasses that
I’ve been searching for all morning.

I decide I’d better put them back on my desk,
but first I’m going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter,
fill a container with water, and suddenly spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight, when we go to watch TV,
I’ll be looking for the remote,
but I won’t remember that it’s on the kitchen table,
so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs.
But first I’ll water the flowers.

I pour some water on the flowers,
but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table,
get some towels, and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall, trying to
remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:

The car isn’t washed.
The bills aren’t paid.
There is a warm can of Pepsi sitting on the counter.
The flowers don’t have enough water.
There is still only one check in my check book.
I can’t find the remote.
I can’t find my glasses,
and I don’t remember what I did with the car keys.
Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today,
I’m really baffled, because I know I was busy all day,
and I’m really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem,
and I’ll try to get some help for it,
but first, I’ll check my e-mail….

Anyone struggle with this?!

Tags: Focus, Life

The importance of focus (and why I refuse to)

A week or so back I said via Twitter that I had a blog post brewing about focus. Well, here goes.

For starters, I do need to say that I think focus is vital. If any business, organisation, or church is going to move forward and be successful, the ability to stay focussed is so important.

Most of us have been told the importance of focussing on one thing. We mustn’t be distracted. We shouldn’t jump from one thing to the next. It is vital that we finish what we start before shifting onto something else.

For years - to be honest - I have felt guilty about this thing of focus. Why? Because I can’t do it! Believe me I try. I have an idea, I get it started, but then I have another idea. And it starts off well, I give it my all, and then I get bored.

Here’s the harsh reality. I am great at starting things and terrible and finishing them. I cannot stay focussed on one thing in order to see something through from start to finish. 

So, after years of trying and failing, I have decided that I am wasting my energy trying to do something that just doesn’t come remotely naturally. What if, instead of focussing on what I can’t do, I shift my attention to what I can do? Like having creative ideas and getting things started. And then I can make sure I partner with other people who are great and taking things through to conclusion.

I get bored really easily. I need things to change. A lot. I need new ideas, new ventures, new projects, new design opportunities. What if I accept that staying focussed on one thing for the long haul is just not worth my while? And, instead, I could give everything to maximising my creativity when it comes to ideas and kicking things into motion.

Having said this, I think there are two layers (at least) to focus. There is the layer of vision and the layer of plans. I don’t have a problem staying focussed with the big picture vision when it comes to leading Mosaic for example. A vision simply cannot be changing all the time. But the multiple plans and projects involved in making a vision become reality can and should be. And, here’s what I’m learning. I’m much better when I’m jumping between projects, moving when I have fresh impetus and creativity.

The truth is though that I need to get better at compensating for my weaknesses. I need to work more strategically with the right people to ensure that projects I initiate don’t just get left unfinished.

Anyway, that’s enough about me and my struggles with focus. What about you? What does focus look like in your life?

Tags: Focus, Leadership, Life