Sunday, July 11, 2010

Getting more done

Here are 7 tips to help you focus and concentrate on getting the
important things done!

1. Do What You Love.

Concentration arises chiefly from being deeply interested or vested
in an activity. So many people overlook this truth: No one can
become deeply interested in work that they don't like. Many people
struggle upstream all their lives because they are in a job that
doesn't fit them. They do not experience doing their best--and the
fulfillment that flows from this--because they do not like what they
are doing and lose their own self-respect. If this is true for you,
changing this is your starting point.

2. One Thing at a Time

Concentration is the art of continuous and intense application to a
task. To cultivate concentration you must have focus. As you're
growing this skill, it's a good thing to think and do only one
thing at a time. There's nothing wrong with writing a book and
doing home improvements in the same month. There is everything
wrong with starting projects and not finishing them. Creating bad
habits like procrastination and not finishing projects destroys
even the grandest dreams.

3. The Little Things Matter

In order to cultivate focus, you must bring your will to bear
strongly upon your work and your life. As Napoleon Hill said,
"Thoughts mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a
burning desire are powerful things." Begin to develop your focus
skills today in little things. Cultivate intense focus in whatever
you do. Say to yourself: "I am striving for excellence and will do
this well until it is done." Period. Even the most difficult tasks
yield to the power of focus and uninterrupted effort.

4. Nice and Steady

Vacillation is the enemy of focus. If you are erratic in your
habits and shift constantly from one thing to another, you may
appear to be busy but accomplish nothing substantial. To achieve
greatness, you must focus on one course of action and stay the
course. Your ability to dig in, to stay focused, to get up one more
time than you fall, to practice when you don't want to, and to put
temporary pleasures aside will allow you to more quickly achieve
your biggest goals.

5. Revel in your passion

Self-consciousness undermines focus. Greatness requires boldness.
Take a stand and live out loud. I wish I could deliver a big shot
of passion that would keep you focused and moving forward.
Unfortunately, that's not how it works. Only you can name and claim
your Why. What is the one thing that drives you, the one thing that
matters more than anything else? It has to be real and it has to
engage you. When you own your passions and how they make a
difference in the world, you will accomplish incredible things.

6. Feel it, Baby!

It is easiest to improve focus and change behavior in general when
you integrate an emotional component. This means that you can
reduce the need to white knuckle your way to high achievement
through sheer determination and hard work. You can go beyond a
logical connection to your effort and feel the emotion of why you
are doing what you do. When the emotional component of missing your
goal becomes more engaging than the temporary pleasure of not doing
whatever is required to enhance your skill or mastery, stopping
isn't an option.

7. The Bigger Picture

One of the payoffs of increased concentration is an improved
ability to make more money and better manage it. Yet, the need for
concentrated effort goes beyond business. You want to increase your
ability to concentrate in non-income producing activities, too.
Apply intense focus to everything you do. Why? Because the power of
concentrated effort will help you cultivate many other valuable
traits like organization, punctuality, thoroughness, an improved
memory, self-respect, and self-reliance.

Obstacles abound. Without concentrated focus, you will be unable to
persevere in the face of difficulty. Continue to grow your
concentrated effort to fuel you through obstacles, allowing you to
use them as stepping-stones to higher things.

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