In my first blog post, I wrote that to get the most from your time, life, and career, one of the critical talents you need to develop for yourself and all those you train or coach is time management.

Secret 4 is most critical to reaching this goal. Not implementing it can cause all manner of trouble. On the other side, getting it right can be a moment-to-moment blessing.

We begin with the problems. Can you relate to one or more of the following? 

1. feeling stressed because of all that did not get done today 

2. wishing you could be more productive, especially with the important things 

3. not being as satisfied as you would like to be at day’s end.

If you can, it could be because you have not implemented secret 4—that is, you’re not focusing on your most important now (MIN). The most successful people are focused on just one thing at a time—their MIN.

Request From a Client 

One of my clients told me recently, “Coach Jim, I want to know how you do it. You have 40-plus years of experience. I learn more from what you do than stories you tell about others.”

Secret 4 is the most challenging for me. First, there is a myth in our culture that multitasking is a sign of excellence. But many people—myself included—forget that multitasking is the root of the three problems I mentioned earlier. Instead of focusing on one task, we permit our brains to think about other things: “How soon is lunch? How long will this take? As I’m doing this, what else is not getting done?”

These thoughts and others like them build the desire to be doing something else. And because you can’t do it right now, frustration and low productivity result.

Helpful Hints 

Here are some insights to help you focus on your MIN.

Set a Timer 

I set a timer on my phone for 55 minute (32 minutes if I am having trouble starting). Then I tell myself, “You just need to focus for 55 minutes and you get a reward—a coffee or snack or a stretch.” It works wonders and prevents negative or distracting thoughts from creeping in. Sometime the reward is just knowing I was focused for 55 minutes.

Fear of What If 

A woman who is a vice president at a huge organization told me this: “If I go for coffee, I know I’m not going to get started. And that means I will have to work at home that night. I can just hear my 9-year-old saying, ‘Mom, why can’t you get your stuff done at work so we can talk?’ The wisdom of a 9-year-old can be very motivating. So can any fear of “what if.”

The Benefits 

Using these tips I’m making significant progress: 

• I feel almost no stress. 

• I accomplish more, and more of the important things. 

• I feel much more satisfied and that life is much more meaningful.

If you’re worried that focusing on your MIN will cause you to become overly self-centered, have no fear. My next post will solve this problem with secret 5.