Sometimes, the biggest issue a business faces doesn’t stem from a sales perspective, or a communication conflict, but rather something more essential, the thing that drives all human activity: focus. Everything we do requires us to pay attention to it, especially if we want it done right. Overloading, lack of priorities, and disorganization can prevent us from being productive to our best capacity. Mimecast CMO, Norman Guadagno, gives TOP CMO’s Ben Kaplan his secret weapons to combat focus deficiencies. Read now!

Reduce the load

While a long to-do or responsibilities list may make you feel useful and important, most times it just holds you back from putting extra care into the tasks that matter the most. It can be hard to get rid of chores: you may feel like they were there to add value to whatever you’re working towards. However, letting them go (after careful consideration) to place all your efforts into fewer things will allow you to create even more value through those you keep. More often than not, you were not giving them the time they deserved.

Humans are not very good at multitasking, so splitting your time and mind into a million little pieces to encompass every single thing will decrease your productivity, especially if you’re striving for the highest quality possible. Not only will you be less efficient, but your output will be significantly poorer. We, our bosses, and our peers all want to have tasks completed fast, but not by sacrificing the caliber of the results.

Put the process in order

While it may be tempting to do items 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 all at once, sometimes finding an order to work leads to more effective results. So you may feel like doing 1 and 2 on their own is a waste of time because they do not have immediate results, but doing them before actually reaching the other three tasks might mean you have more means to achieve the best outcome possible.

An example of this would be items 1 and 2 being internal, organizational types of chores. Doing them doesn’t have any real value for clients or work directly on the product, but it simplifies the process when you actually get to work on the product on items 3, 4, and 5. A neat spreadsheet, meetings to solve issues employees may have, or conversations about future opportunities can be more important than they seem.

Think short-, mid-, and long-term

Sequencing also means being prepared on all fronts. While you and your team may want to work on a final result that ends every problem and satisfies every need once and for all, it can take time, and the short-term needs are still there. You must be ready to sequence something that will probably be obsolete in the long term, but addresses a current issue that needs to be dealt with ASAP.

There are times when the infrastructure isn’t ready for that end-all-be-all project. Starting with a good enough quick fix that will probably end up discarded buys you time for your business to grow, learn, and be ready to face the next challenge. Planning ahead through sequencing can alleviate the pressure of getting it perfectly right at once.

Focusing your efforts

Achieving the right balance between being busy and having time to devote to each step of the way is no easy task, especially when you’re in a position with seemingly endless responsibilities. However, you may find that managing to reach that balance will make you more productive and organize the entire process for everyone. 

Remember: sometimes less is more, make sure to go through the motions orderly, and it’s okay to work on intermediate solutions before reaching the final one. Mimecast’s Norman Guadagno has gone to war against distraction with these weapons and, so far, he’s winning.

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