I'm reading a book called the Power of Focus: This is a book I started reading in 2008 and because I lacked focus, I never finished it. One of the things I did do however, was get to the chapter about identifying your bad habits. I underlined them. Most of them were work related and were solved after I quit my job. However, I now see that while those are gone, a whole host of others cropped up and some have remained the same.
The exercise is awesome and the author(s) advise at least an hour to complete the process. Here are some of the ones listed in the book to spark ideas of your own:
* Not returning phone calls on time
* Being late for meetings and appointments.
* Poor communication between colleagues and staff.
* A lack of clarity about expected outcomes, monthly targets, goals, etc.
* Handling the mail more than once.
* Allowing bills to go unpaid, resulting in interest penalties.
* Talking instead of listening.
* Forgetting someone's name sixty seconds (or less) after being introduced.
* Hitting the snooze alarm several times in the morning before getting out of bed.
* Working long days with no exercise or regular breaks.
* Not spending enough time with your children.
* Eating at irregular times of the day.
* Leaving home in the morning without hugging your wife, husband, children and/or dog.
* Making reservations at the last minute (restaurant, travel plans, theatre, concerts).
* Not following through on time as promised, with other people's requests.
* Not taking enough time off for fun and family - guilt free!
* Having your cell phone on all the time.
* Procrastinating on everything.
* Controlling every decision, especially the small stuff you need to let go of!
Those are just some of the suggestions. There are only 26 items on their list and I'm still writing mine down; I have way more than 26.
I'm a hot mess! And yes, switching impulsively from one task to the next, without finishing the first keeps me unproductive, but I'm just starting this book again...four years later.
Can you say PROCRASTINATION.
I believe in full disclosure though and if my foolishness helps you out, then I'm happy to oblige. My full list will be out on Monday's post. Try this exercise and tell me how many you have so I'll feel ok about myself, ok?
Um, yeah... I think I can relate to ALL of those! I think it would be interesting to for me to do this exercise tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that... ;)
ReplyDeleteMy total was a 10 out of 19. It could have been higher:
ReplyDelete1. if I set an alarm in the morning. = ) I don't ever hit the snooze button.
2. if I made promises to people.
3. if I made reservations.
4. if I left home in the morning.
5. if there was clarity about expected outcomes, monthly targets, goals, etc.
One passion that burns in my soul, and I know could only be a gift from God, is to experience raw transparency.
My new awareness from this experience with your post.
Procastinating on almost everything, needs a total of 2 instead of a 1 (I add almost in order to acknowledge victory in a few areas of my journey).
Lack of clarity about expected outcomes, monthly targets, goals, etc. needs a total of 3 instead of 1.
That's a reality check of 15 our of 19. Now the good news. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Looking forward to being more productive for HIS mighty Kingdom.
Ready to FOCUS. How long have I been doing this? OOOPPS.