Focusing is about saying No.
~~ Steve Jobs
We know that multitasking is not productive. We know it reduces the quality of what we’re trying to accomplish.
So stop.
Focus.
Focus on the exercise you’re doing,
the art you’re working on,
the book you’re reading,
the writing you’re doing,
the conversation you’re having,
the person in front of you.
Focus when you are driving!
Focus on the food you’re eating,
the walk you’re taking,
the fun you’re having.
Focus on the project you’re working on.
Focus on the meeting you’re in. If you’re not getting anything from it leave!
Focus on one thing at a time.
How do you do this?
Remove distraction.
Close the email tabs,
close the social media tabs,
turn off notifications everywhere,
turn the phone off, yes the power off. The messages will be there when you turn it back on.
And focus.
Slow down.
Your productivity will improve.
Your happiness will increase.
Trust me.
—
This post was previously published on Medium.
***
Here is a summary of Steve Jobs’ philosophy on the subject:
Video transcript provided by YouTube (unedited)
00:00
[Music]
00:06
steve jobs is most famous for founding
00:09
apple and turning it into one of the
00:10
biggest and most valuable brands
00:12
ever jobs credited much of his success
00:15
to one word
00:16
focus at the 1997 apple worldwide
00:19
developers conference
00:20
jobs shared this brilliant piece of
00:22
advice people think focus
00:24
means saying yes to the thing you’ve got
00:26
to focus on
00:27
but that’s not what it means at all it
00:29
means saying no
00:30
to the hundred other good ideas that
00:32
there are you have to pick
00:34
carefully i’m actually as proud of the
00:36
things we haven’t done
00:38
as the things i have done without focus
00:40
our ability to think
00:41
problem solve and make decisions will
00:44
suffer here’s steve jobs three tips to
00:46
get focused
00:47
number one don’t do all the work
00:49
yourself getting as much done as
00:51
possible in a day means delegating
00:53
this may be challenging for controlling
00:55
types to take on but it’s
00:57
absolutely essential to jobs the first
01:00
step is to surround yourself with bright
01:02
people
01:02
the next is to step back and let them
01:05
work it doesn’t make sense to hire smart
01:07
people
01:08
and tell them what to do we hire smart
01:10
people so they can tell us
01:12
what to do number two say no to
01:14
interruptions and distractions
01:16
technology is one of the greatest gifts
01:18
of productivity and one of the biggest
01:20
obstacles to maintaining good focus
01:22
the constant distractions from
01:24
notifications can easily take you off
01:26
track
01:27
instead of letting tech manage you
01:29
manage your tech by avoiding jumping
01:31
into emails when you start your day
01:33
you may get sucked into a whirlpool of
01:35
others needs
01:36
so do this last then when doing work
01:39
that requires flow
01:41
and sharp focus go airplane mode turn
01:44
off notifications and place that phone
01:46
in another room
01:47
and number three avoid unrealistic goals
01:50
as you think of the countless tasks
01:52
you’re likely to face this week
01:54
avoid setting goals you won’t likely be
01:56
able to accomplish or you just can’t
01:58
take on
01:59
be realistic about what and how much you
02:01
put on your plate
02:02
while planning out your day come up with
02:04
one or two primary goals you want to
02:06
accomplish before close of business
02:08
these should be goals that will propel
02:10
you forward not side track you from your
02:12
mo
02:12
to ensure success break these down into
02:15
smaller tasks
02:16
in support of those goals so it doesn’t
02:18
feel like you’re staring up at mount
02:19
everest when you begin your day
02:21
as jobs reminds us focusing is about
02:24
saying no
02:25
it isn’t easy but the payoff can be
02:26
quite rewarding i’m actually as proud of
02:29
the things we haven’t done
02:30
as the things i have done
***
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The post Focus appeared first on The Good Men Project.