Tracy contemplates focusing in rather than spreading herself too thin.
Lately, I’ve been wondering how I can improve my time management. Am I taking on too much or is there another reason I’m struggling to really shine in the areas I’m most proud of? Am I jumping from one task to another too quickly, without making sure that I’ve invested all that’s needed to accomplish my goal, or produce something that stands up to my level of expectation?
It’s not a simple query, so I thought I’d ask another bunch member to help me sort through it all. I called Craig and laid it all at his feet. I asked him if he’d ever felt this way and then waited for him to dazzle me with some top-notch advice. ‘Yeah, when I gave up learning bass guitar.’ Wait, what? That didn’t sound too inspiring!
Craig explained, ‘I tried learning bass during lockdown. It was my challenge to myself. If we’re all going to be at home, I’m going to learn another instrument! I had a bit of success which was encouraging, but then it became really challenging. I was making progress, but I wasn’t really putting the work in. And because I wasn’t putting the work in, I took a step back and thought “What do I need to really focus my time on? Is it being a better drummer?” Because, when I had time available to practice, I chose drums instead.’
This made sense to me. Craig is a fantastic drummer and has been playing for most of his life. He wanted to learn another instrument to increase his arsenal of expression. But, did time spent on that take him away from accomplishing other goals? If my heart’s not 100% there, the time can feel a bit wasted, even with the best intentions.
Craig continued, ‘I do regret it a little bit. But a funny thing happened – it made me a better drummer. When I learned to play bass, even though I didn’t gain proficiency and some could say that in the end, I ‘quit’, it made me hear things in a different way. All of a sudden, I was appreciating the space in between the sound in a whole new way and then finding ways to better fill it with my drum parts. So in a way, maybe I didn’t give up bass. Maybe it gave me a different appreciation and I learned something different from it. Mindset is critical.’
Craig’s insight drove me back to look at my diary. What can I snip here and there to give me time for a more in-depth focus on key tasks? I write myself a note on what I hope to gain from each task. Then, I can see when I’ve achieved my goal and move on more quickly. It’s an exercise in narrowing down. If I’m hyper-aware of what I want the outcome to be, I accomplish so much more. It turned out to be just the scramble I needed to shake up my week and help bring my goals back into perspective!
How do you focus in?
