Nerd Business

The Beauty of a Single Daily Focus

Your 'daily focus' is a single area of your life that you will direct full attention to for at least 3 hours; beginning bright and early in the morning.

I've been getting some impressive results using this strategy. For me, as simple as the technique might be - the process of discovery has been a long road. From trying to stuff as many tasks in one day as possible - to chunking out blocks of focus time - and now simply just choosing a single daily focus: I have evolved my time management strategy to near perfection. So if you try my daily focus strategy, as I will break down in this article, I think you'll be delighted with the results. Because if anything, I'm speaking from experience.

When you have just one objective for the day; everything is clear.

And that objective just needs to be really simple: progress. In just one specific area of your life. Whether it's for a client project or a monumental campaign to save your ass - choose a target you can focus on and create progress.

Then, the next day - when you wake up - you'll know exactly what to do.

I've witnessed some really interesting dynamics by following this discipline. Here are some insights; some advantages you might expect from a daily focus routine.

Everything else gets done faster
The interesting thing about having to focus on just one thing for an extended period of time - is that you'll subconsciously begin to clear the plate of tasks and "things that might get in the way" of that focus. And because you know that there's going to be a significant chunk of your day invested into just one area; taking care of random tasks is now justified (that is, when your not engaged in the focus at hand).

You'll find yourself taking care of things automatically; in preparation for tomorrow's focus. You can justify doing "those little things" that tended to bug you when you HAD to do them. Now you do them because you WANT to do them; to ensure you have a clear plate for your next daily focus.

You wake up with fresh ideas
There is something to be said about going to sleep with an intention to do something very specific the next day. Chances are you'll be dreaming up ideas, solutions & scenarios pertaining to your target focus all throughout the night. So in the morning; there will be no lack of creative power. Making it easy to jump right into action.

You get more done
With a plan to focus on a single objective for just 3 hours; you actually find yourself consistently working past the 3 hour mark because of MOMENTUM; not because of obligation.

Momentum is a beautiful force in our universe; and quite frankly I believe it to be the most powerful dynamic for manifesting reality. With a night's rest, a clear plate, and a target focus objective: you can start fresh on just about anything and really feel the momentum towards the third hour. Momentum you can bottle up for another day: or maximize right there for even more continued progress.

You get it done early
If you have multiple important things to take care of in a given day; the single daily focus strategy still shines. Because it forces you to get it done early. If you indeed have other tasks that you know need to be taken care of ASAP you can justify waking up at 7:00, 6:00 or maybe even 5:00 AM. As long as you get 3 hours of uninterrupted focus; you have at least fulfilled your Daily Focus objective; and put a positive spin on the next tasks ahead.

Hell, this is my second blog post of the day (a pretty rare event here on NB). Of course, earlier in the day I completed the main focus target. And later I outsourced the work I was planning to do tomorrow (so now I can focus on something else). Feels great!

What you get done, gets done thoroughly
You feel a sense of pride after making a solid 3 hours of headway on a given area. But at that point your day is not even half over. So throughout the rest of the day - as you casually take care of other matters - it's real easy to go back to the earlier focus target. Tweaking this or that; implementing new ideas; and perfecting your work.

Combined with 369 Time Management

The 'single daily focus' works exceptionally well after you have conquered the 369 time management strategy. It is in this strategy; that I outline how to chunk out your day - and how you should be doing it with 'blocks of focus time' consisting of 3, 6, or 9 hours at a time.

What I've been finding, is that now my 369 Time strategy works out even better - because when I plan for just a single 3 hour focus block in the morning it creates a nice balance between knowing that I will at least get something done; while leaving room for the potential of working even longer - without actually having to commit to a lengthy duration (which tends to set off an annoying mental preconception that there is a lot of work to do).

Furthermore, after completing the first focus block - the day is still young that there is plenty room for at least one, perhaps two additional 3 hour focus blocks that can be used to target different areas.

Life is what you focus on (and the chain reaction thereafter)

Disciplined focused time is an obvious route to manifesting incredible achievements in your life. Never underestimate the power of focused thought. Our brains are incredible thinking machines; yet it seems that many people never take the time to focus... on thinking!