Focus is a crucial element to have when dealing with any situation. Our emotions can take a hit, especially during this winter season. We are still facing issues like COVID and everything connected to this global pandemic. Learning how to separate what we can control and what we cannot. Knowing the problems we should focus on will help us accomplish more.

Did you know everyone holds an opinion on every topic, whether they know anything about it or not? Also, if you turn to google to search for the information, you could or will generate hundreds of documents. Who has time for all of this? As I am writing, I think you are saying the same thing.

How can we focus with so many distractions? The first step is this, get rid of them! Shut down all those distractions and decide what you need to focus on by prioritizing. When I am called to ask if I can coach or mentor, one of the first things we do is talk about themselves and their environment. We can physically look at the workspace to determine if it is organized and everything is functioning. Next, we can look at how their schedule is set up and how many interruptions they have. Finally, we look at what they describe as priorities for their focus.

Narrowing the Focus

• Remove distractions-organized workspace, fewer interruptions
• Calendar color-coded to identify areas spending time on. (Student Discipline, Teacher Conferencing, Student Learning, Professional Learning, Teaching & Instruction, Management )
• Goal setting- Identification of three goals to focus on for improvement.
• Celebrate- Identification of areas already a success to celebrate
• Schedule time to check email, open mail, respond to communications. (If you do not discipline yourself to this, you become disengaged, distracted, and hard to stay focused on completing tasks.)

Reflect, Resist and Renew

Make the changes and reflect on what you could accomplish with the focus you have made. Resist falling back into old habits and continue to renew the work you are doing to narrow your focus.

It takes a little time for individuals to get accustomed to changes you have made, even if they are small. Managing your time is critical to focus on the importance of the work needing to be done. Once you have mastered it, you can help your team do the same as you each work together to focus on the critical parts to the success of all.

• Uncategorized