4 Strategies to Sharpen Your Focus

Every business leader has trouble staying focused, but some find that distraction is a constant that gets in the way of productivity. 

Symptoms like inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity can get in the way of a productive, focused work day, and in extreme cases are linked to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The key to success is learning to work with those symptoms, not against them.

"It's about figuring out how to work with your strengths and downplay your weaknesses," says Abigail Levrini, psychologist and author of Succeeding with Adult ADHD (APA, 2012).

The tasks you don't enjoy or want to do require thought and planning if you have trouble focusing. Sometimes, you can easily offload a task or hire someone with the skill set you lack, but when that's not possible, you need to develop coping strategies to make sure you can focus when you need to.

Whether you have been diagnosed with ADHD or not, these four techniques will help you stay on task and focus your attention.

1. Identify your learning style- 

Figure out how you learn best, then organize your workplace to play up your strengths. "If you can identify your learning style, then you can start to build systems around it," Levrini says. 

For example, if have a hard time keeping track of information that's out of sight, creating an open filing system, color coding, and clear containers can help keep you stay organized. Likewise, an auditory learner who needs to prepare for an interview will recall his talking points better if they're read aloud.

2. Visually map your time and tasks-

 Map your day by the hour and review it throughout the day to help you organize your time. That visual cue will help you pace your day and budget your time appropriately.

Use free hours effectively by ranking your task list visually as well. Try color coding your list according to priority, with four or five levels of urgency. "Assign levels to each of your tasks," Levrini says. Do the essential, time-sensitive tasks early in the week while you're fresh, then save the optional ones for later.

3. Fidget to help you focus-

When you need to pay attention during a call or meeting, bring a small object that you can play with, such as putty. It should be something you can manipulate mindlessly while you listen. "That actually frees up your mental energy so you can focus a little better," Levrini says.

In general, releasing excess energy throughout the day will help you stay on task. "The longer you try to focus on something without moving around, your mind will start to tire," Levrini says. To improve your focus, climb the stairs between tasks, pace while you talk on the phone, or simply change your environment throughout the day.

4. Break up the tedious tasks. Boring tasks cause excessive distraction and procrastination. Forcing yourself to endure them will only exacerbate the problem. Instead, work in fifteen-minute bursts. Set a timer and try to do as much as you can before it goes off. Make a game of it.

When time is up, do something active, such as walking up the stairs or doing jumping jacks, then work for another fifteen minutes. That burst of activity will give you the energy you need to maintain focus. "By taking frequent breaks and building in physical activity, you don't get mentally fatigued and bored," Levrini says.

How to Make Every Minute of Your Day Matter

To effectively make changes in your life, you must know where you are now. What is working? What can be improved? To accomplish what's important to us in the 1440 minutes, we each have every day, we must determine where to direct our attention.

Clarity and productivity come from tracking what you currently do each day. I recommend monitoring 30 minute segments for two consecutive work days noting (generally) how you spent each time-block. For example, from 7:00 to 7:30 a.m. your entry might read: Commuted to work, read on eReader, checked mobile email

Many of us think we know how we spend each day. But by actively tracking what you currently do each day, you can really define how your time is spent. This will let you look at your existing results and have a baseline from where to start making improvements.

Once you're clear about where you are, you can begin your focused journey to where you want to be. Identify tasks or activities you can do differently. Make adjustments. Compare the new results against your baseline. With the changes you've made, are you closer to your desired results? If yes, continue. If not, readjust. Then track and observe.

I once worked with an executive whose time was best spent making calls.

When he asked me for suggestions about how to better focus his time I asked: "How many calls did you make yesterday?"

"About 10," he assured me.

"Bull," I blurted out before I could stop myself.

But he smiled and affirmed that while he'd like to make 10 calls a day, his time is eaten up with minutia resulting in more like four or five calls a day.

So I challenged him. I gave him a stack of 10 quarters and suggested he place them on one side of his desk. Each time he made a call, he was to move one quarter to the other side of his desk, a tangible reminder of his intention completed. When we spoke a week later, he assured me he was making more outbound calls, all because we'd identified where he was, determined where he wanted to be, and made getting from one to the other a game. 

Staying focused is critical, but it can be difficult when you're juggling so many balls at once. Continually changing focus diminishes productivity and constantly having to refocus on what you were just doing after an interruption compromises your workflow, prevents you from completing your most important tasks, and essentially forces you to spend more time than necessary getting things done.

To develop a "focus-to-finish" mindset, consider identifying what you are NOT going to do during the next 24 to 96 hours. We all have more to get done each day than is humanly possible. Determining what on your agenda can be safely pushed out for a day or three allows you to focus on what remains.

A simple kitchen timer set for 15 minutes can help you develop a "focus-to-finish" mindset. I personally love the timer website: www.e.ggtimer.com. For those 15 minutes, stay focused on the one task at hand. If, at the end of the time you have more to do, set up another 15 minute session and keep your focus on the one task for that time. This easy method helps you reduce interruptions and work single-mindedly in a very doable manner.

So how do you spend less money, get more done, and be happy? Seek clarity and focus until the task at hand is completed. With these two easy steps you'll make whatever it is you currently call your best even better.
 

DIE WITH NO REGRETS: FOLLOW THESE 43 LIFE LESSONS

Standard

If you want to live a personal and professional life with no regrets, follow these 43 life lessons, penned by H. Jackson Brown.

Aspire

1. Never give up when you truly believe. The person with big dreams is more powerful than the one with all the facts - the smartest person in the room seldom beats the one with the most passion.

2. Believe in love at first sight - be open to instant infatuation with respect to both people and business ideas.

3. Never laugh at anyone’s dreams - no one has the right to opine upon someone else’s desired future because no one can attest to the validity of an unrealized dream.

4. Find a job you like and you add five days to every week - I often tell my children), “I never worked at day at my startups because we were having too much fun.” Admittedly, not every day was a carnival, but I certainly enjoyed the majority of my startup workdays.

5. Every so often, let your spirit of adventure triumph over your good sense - good judgment arises from mistakes, mistakes arise from bad judgment. Thus, a bit of occasional bad judgment is good for you.

6. Great love and great achievements involve great risk - nothing ventured, nothing gained. Go venture.

7. Never let the odds keep you from pursuing what you know in your heart you were meant to do - entrepreneurs never calculate probabilities, even if the chances are one in a million, “one” is all you need to win.

8. Never deprive anyone (including yourself) of hope, it might be all they have.

Be Nice

9. Be the first to say, “Hello” - always set a friendly tone with a warm smile, a hearty handshake and a robust greeting.

10. Buy whatever kids are selling on card tables in their front yard  - and let them keep the change. 

11. Be kinder than necessary - there is an infinite supply of kindness, so don’t fear depleting it.

12. Give people a second chance, but not a third - be nice, but not stupid.

13. Be tough minded but tenderhearted - hold people accountable, but consider uncontrollable factors that impact someone’s performance.

14. Every so often, push your luck - push your luck slowly and deliberately, but be ready to quickly pull back, as you often won’t know you have pushed your luck too far, until after the fact.

15. Win without boasting, lose without excuses - internalize your failures and externalize your victories.

16. When lending people money, be sure their character exceeds their collateral - honesty matters, both yours and those with whom you associate.

17. It’s not your job to get people to like you, it’s your job to like people - you can only control your own actions and feelings, don’t try to control those of others.

18. Never resist a generous impulse - if you hesitate, you’ll quickly rationalize a dozen reasons to act charitably… later. Unfortunately, “later” rarely arrives.

19. Fight fairly. Give generously. Laugh loudly. Love deeply.

Lead

20. Become someone’s hero - when someone asks you to be their mentor, smile and say, “I would be honored.”

21. Do your homework and know your facts, but remember it’s passion that persuades - history if filled with passionate leaders, I know of none that were unemotional.

22. Ask someone you’d like to know to list five people they would most like to meet. It will tell you a lot about them - consider using this as an interviewing technique, you might be surprised by your candidates’ responses.

23. The shortest way to get anywhere is to have good company - one of the reasons I enjoyed my startups so much is that I had the pleasure of working with fantastic teams comprised of smart, dedicated and kind people.

24. Share your knowledge and you become immortal - mentoring matters, convey your insights freely to those who seek them.

25. Everyone wear an invisible sign that reads “Notice me. Make me feel important.” - ask people questions about their passions and achievements, almost no one can resist this temptation to talk about themselves.

26. Hire people more for their judgment than for their talents - forget resumes and hire based on attitude and aptitude.

27. When there’s a piano to be moved, don’t reach for the stool - lead by example, never ask someone to do a task you would not do yourself.

28. Once a month, go to lunch with someone who knows more about your business than you do - you are never too old, too smart or too successful to be a protégé.

29. Celebrate even small victories - create a culture of celebration by publically praising achievements that would otherwise not be visible to your team.

30. Plant more flowers than you pick

Succeed

31. Learn to listen. Opportunity sometimes knocks very softly - everyone experiences several “big breaks” during their careers. Unfortunately, most people fail to recognize them when they occur.

32. Strive for excellence, not perfection - activity beats contemplation seven days a week.

33. Judge your success by the degree you are enjoying your peace, health and love - nurture all three of these treasures to the point of abundance.

34. Judge your success by what you had to give up to get it - as noted above, not even the entire world is ample payment for your soul. 

35. Remember that winners do what losers don’t want to do - outwork your competition and you will likely win.

36. Grind it out. Hanging on just one second longer than your competition makes you the winner - outlast your competition, survival is often what separates the winners from the losers.

37. Take care of your reputation. It’s your most valuable asset - honesty is a serial entrepreneurs most potent weapon.

38. Watch for big problems. They disguise big opportunities - great entrepreneurs turn challenges into breakthrough innovations. Embrace problems, never flee from them.

39. Earn your success based on service to others, not at the expense of others

Be Happy

40. Happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect - if you doubt this wisdom, consider all the rich, powerful and famous people who are miserable.

41. After you’ve work hard to get what you want, take the time to enjoy it - in Startup Life, Brad Feld advises entrepreneurs to spend 10% of the proceeds of a financial windfall on something frivolous. What’s the point of accumulating capital if you never derive pleasure from it?

42. Don’t think you can relax yourself to happiness. Happiness comes as a result of doing - as David Pink has noted, most people are motivated by mastery, autonomy and purpose. These needs are heightened with inactivity, which is why most happily retired people have active lives.

43. Be happy with what you have while working for what you want….

By,

Abin c Pascal
Asst. Manager Consulting
Bramma Learning Solutions Pvt Ltd
Mob: 9496695346 / 0484-2705535
Blog: abincpascal.wordpress.com

12 Leadership Traits You Need to Thrive in Tough Times

Trying to grow your business in this sluggish economy is a little like trying to swim through Jell-O. Ineffective or uncertain leaders definitely need not apply.

So what does it take to lead a small business through this ongoing economic mess? The blogosphere is humming with ideas lately. Here's a roundup of the important traits for entrepreneurs.

1. Listen. Tune in to what workers and customers are saying, and you'll find great ideas for how to move forward.

2. Give credit. Workers love leaders who acknowledge their ideas.

3. Be yourself. In our age of sound bites and phony smiles, tell your story honestly. It's rare and refreshing, and makes workers feel like they know you -- and want to help you succeed.

4. Communicate. So much company dysfunction can be prevented with clear communication. Otherwise, workers are in the dark. And soon, they won't care.

5. Don't be trendy. Avoid the "strategy du jour" problem. Choose a course and stick to it.

6. Beat anxiety. Stop worrying and turn your negative emotions -- regret, fear, sadness -- into teachers that help shape your character.

7. Be service-oriented. Leaders can be sort of self-involved, forgetting that they are in a position of leadership. To serve customers, shareholders and workers stay focused on others.

8. Be accountable. Define the results you want, and acknowledge when a screw-up is your fault.

9. Use empathy. Demographic changes have foisted more and more women into the workplace. Make sure your communication and leadership style is a fit for today's workforce.

10. Share the big picture. If your workers don't know the company's overall goals, it can be hard for them to solve problems. That leaves you having to micromanage every problem instead of being able to delegate and offer guidance.

11. Keep your cool. The days when being a screamer worked are long gone. If workers are worried about whether you're in a good mood today or not, little gets done.

12. Think like an immigrant. When you arrive on new shores, you often see the business world with fresh eyes. Use your unique perspective to spot opportunities others are missing.

Be Prepared: 4 Ways to Out think Your Competitors

In The Art of War, Sun Tzu wrote that "It’s more important to outthink your enemy than outfight him." Even after 2,500 years, this maxim is still so universal and relevant.

Sun Tzu warns against waging war without a strategy or understanding what your ultimate goal is. Tactics are not strategy. In the business world it’s common for people to confuse the two, because engaging in tactics makes it appear as if you have strategy, even when you don’t. The best leaders must first understand what their goal is and then work to develop unique tactics that will help you achieve that goal. But they must also be prepared to change that goal, then employ new tactics to achieve it.

Here are some strategies to employ to outthink your competitors:

Search for unique marketing arbitrage opportunities-

 In the early days, Google search ads were very cheap and drove high-quality traffic to ecommerce sites effectively. Today mobile advertising is still relatively cheap and can be used in a similar fashion, but it’s getting more expensive. Street teams and guerrilla marketing have proven cost effective for many new soft drink brands such as Red Bull. Lots of companies employ technology evangelists, whose job is to attend hackathons and meetups to promote tools to programmers.

Find lower-cost suppliers-

This is what drove most manufacturing out of the U.S. to far flung regions of the world. It also drove technology companies to outsource engineering resources to Asia or Eastern Europe. Ikea actually pioneered this approach by moving manufacturing from Sweden to Poland, which was at the time a communist country and difficult for westerners to operate in. There are still opportunities to be had by finding low-cost suppliers, if you’re willing to put in the time, effort and energy to find them.

Take risks with your brand-

 Use spokespeople or content that other more conservative brands won’t use. Fiat has done this successfully by using Charlie Sheen, who was fired from his own show for unprofessional behavior, as a spokesperson. Virgin brands are well known for using unique, creative and outrageous marketing techniques. Its chairman, Richard Branson, once tried to circumnavigate the world in a hot air balloon. He was unsuccessful at the journey, but extremely successful at generating PR for his company.

Seek out and solve big challenges-

 Look explicitly for hard problems or difficult-to-employ strategies that others are avoiding and master them. Before Apple, everyone in the industry believed that a touchscreen only device was impossible to make. When the iPhone came out, it was revolutionary. A blog where one posts only 140 characters at a time sounds like a ridiculous idea, but that’s exactly what Twitter is. In many organizations there are systems, departments, technology or partners that people avoid because it’s viewed as difficult. Take on these challenges, master them and you will become an invaluable and unduplicated resources.

Study your competition, carefully evaluate yourself and be honest. It's only through truth and self awareness, combined with a careful analysis of the situation, that you will find your path to success.

6 Ways to Grow With Your Company

Starting up a company is a stressful, yet exciting venture. As the founder, you are the heart and soul of your company. In the early stages, you are the main driving force behind everything the company accomplishes.

But as success ensues and your company starts expanding, too often the startup outgrows a young entrepreneur's individual development and abilities. And with these growing pains, you will have to make decisions in areas where you lack real experience, knowledge or self-awareness.

While expansion is what you are after, it is imperative a young entrepreneur prioritizes and recognizes the importance of personal growth. By doing so, the product and company will have a greater chance of success. The more control you take of your own growth, the better it will be for your company, your employees and your bottom line.

Here are six tips on how to grow with your company:

1. Surround yourself with trusted individuals-

I am not referring to your mom or best friend. Find a mentor with the experience and industry expertise you lack but desperately need. Check out local meetup groups, reach out to organizations like SCORE or search the web for forums that feature experts in your field.

2. Take a deep breath-

Don't rush into decisions, no matter how urgent they seem. Take time to reflect on all potential outcomes, and seek advice before you make any decisions. It also helps to research similar companies and examine case studies. The more information you have in your arsenal, the more likely the decision you make will be the right one.

3. Reflect on the mistakes-

When things go wrong or you use poor judgment, figure out how you could have made a better decision. This exercise will grow your character and help you approach similar situations more effectively.

4. Set up clear communication channels-

While it isn't always fun to hear complaints about your management style, it is necessary to keep on top of your company and employee morale. Make sure you have a system in place for employees to air grievances, as well as provide you a constant loop of feedback.

5. Utilize an executive coach-

Even with decades of experience, Google's Eric Schmidt found an executive coach and advocates that everyone else get one too. People evolve constantly, and in the fast-paced world of startups, a coach can help you focus on that growth.

6. Know yourself-

This job isn't easy. Lean on your closest relationships for support and develop your own sense of self. When you are comfortable in your own skin, you'll be a more mature leader.

How to Set the Right Goals for Your 

Business

When you start a company, there is no limit to how big a future you can envision; but usually, you lack the resources to turn that vision into a business.

To close that gap, you have to be great at sales. And the sales pitch you must deliver over and over again is different for each kind of person whose support your venture needs. For example, to attract talent, you need a different sales pitch than the one you would deliver to potential investors.

Regardless of the recipient of your sales pitch, what you have to offer is intangible. I call it emotional currency. And it comes in three different bundles -- all of which fall under the broad conceptual umbrella of goals.

Before getting into why each of these are different and important for your startup's success, let's examine the concept of emotional currency. Since startups can't pay high salaries, how do they attract and retain top talent? The answer is to make talented people feel that they are working on a very challenging problem in an environment that respects their ability to solve it.

Big companies, driven by the need for efficiency, are unable to provide meaning to individual employees the way startups can. This means the individual workers must fit within a corporate process in which new ideas are often considered unwelcome. Because you are starting a new company, you can decide to create a work environment that top talent will find more meaningful.

In order to mint such emotional currency, you must choose the right mission for your startup. Such a mission should tie together your values and passion to help potential employees, customers, and investors understand why your startup exists.

For example, Delphix, a Silicon Valley startup that built a system to help app developers get their products to market faster was able to come up with a mission that helped its CEO, Jed Yueh, recruit engineers who have leading design experience.

Yueh believes that the key to recruiting this top talent is to create an environment that allows them to work on the hardest engineering problems. More specifically, he believes a startup can recruit top talent if it satisfies three criteria:

Going after a significant market opportunity that will enable the company to reach $1 billion in sales
The product delivers a huge benefit to customers -- what I call a quantum value leap -- that can be measured in 100 percent to 1,000 percent benefit improvements to customers
Delivering on that promise requires solving a complex and difficult engineering challenge
The lesson: Choose a mission for your startup that you and the talent you want to hire will find deeply meaningful.

The second long-term goal explains to investors how they will profit. In my interviews with over 200 entrepreneurs, I frequently hear that being acquired or going public is not an end point but a milestone in the journey.

But when an entrepreneur goes to investors to raise capital, there is a discussion of how the investor will get a return. I think most startup CEOs do not think it looks good to the press to talk about their interest in achieving wealth. Such a discussion may worry potential customers that the CEO will be gone immediately after the IPO and the company will fall apart right after.

The general rule is that the long-term goal of an IPO is more difficult to achieve because it usually takes longer to reach the lower limit of sales -- $100 million -- and profitability needed to persuade the general public to invest in IPO shares.

Seeking to be acquired is a less ambitious goal – generally a venture does not need to be as big in order for a big company to buy it.

Finally, and most difficult to articulate are short-term goals -- a series of real-options that help your startup learn faster than competitors how it can get customers to pay for a product that meets their needs before it runs out of money.

As a startup CEO, you should understand the concept of real options and apply it. Jeff Bezos has been using this concept since he founded Amazon. He looked at e-commerce and placed his first bet on making money selling books online. If he succeeded at that, he would apply the profits to selling compact disks and videos, and if that succeeded, he would move on to other product categories.

Real options are inexpensive bets that are designed to help your startup learn the most it can in the shortest possible amount of time while spending the least amount of money. If you make the right series of bets, you are more likely to get the most learning out of your limited resources.

That will put you in a position to get customers, grow enough to raise more capital and set a new series of short-term goals.

Turning your vision into reality requires setting the right goals. A mission statement can help you recruit and motivate top talent; a long-term goal can make it easier to raise capital; and short-term goals enable you to make the most effective use of your limited resources as you chase your startup's mission.