Focus:
Time, Energy, and Attention
These three ingredients determine the quality of our interactions with others and the level of effectiveness we achieve at work and in our personal lives. Time is perhaps the only thing that is the same for all of us. We each have 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to pursue the things we care about.
This finite nature of time available forces us all to make tradeoffs. We cannot have it all—at least not all at once. In choosing to be one place with specific people, we forego being at another place with other people.
The way we spend our limited time speaks volumes about our priorities and what we truly care about. Of course, effectiveness is a lot more complicated than the sheer amount of time we devote to a particular activity or person. What we pay attention to makes all the difference. Being at work for 8 hours doesn’t mean I’m spending my time productively. What I pay attention to and what I do in response to what I notice is far more important.
A major problem in many organizations is that people are paid for the time they spend at work. We need to pay them for using their ability to focus their time and attention on the right things.
It’s a happy circumstance that attending to important things—things that matter—tends to be energizing. Simply putting in time tends to be boring. Being where I want to be is energizing; forcing myself to be where I don’t want to be saps my energy. I usually find the time and energy to do the things I love to do; I’m often too tired to tackle tasks I hate. Time does indeed fly when you’re having fun, and time flies when you’re engaged in challenging, meaningful work—when you know you’re making a difference.
The challenge to managers and leaders is to create a culture at work where everyone has a chance to make time fly.
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