Focus and Personal Profitability

In an unstable economy, it is natural for people to be concerned with how much money they make and also their job security. What they may not realize is that both their personal profitability and their professional longevity depend in large part on their ability to focus. In many of the discussions that I’ve had with my coaching clients throughout the year, one thing has remained constant. Those who focus on their Most Valuable Activities (MVAs) are the ones who are the most stable financially and professionally. Those who over-diversify themselves and do not minimize switchtasking are always playing a catch up game both with their time and with their finances. Begin being more focused with your time by determining your Most Valuable Activities. Here are a few steps that should help you get on track with your activities and be more focused: 1. Make a list of all the different jobs you perform in an average work day. (Options may include sales, filing, managing employees, or filling out paperwork. Make sure you include work activities that may not be related to your primary job. (For instance, if you have a hobby profession or a side business, you must include those other activities.) After you’ve completed this list, take a look at how many different types activities you have. If you have more than five or six, that is a good sign that you are spreading yourself too thin. 2. Highlight or circle the two activities that are most valuable. By most valuable, I mean most difficult to replace; if you are not doing these activities, you would need to pay someone else too much money to do them in your stead. A synonym for “valuable” is usually irreplaceability. The more difficult it is to replace you in a particular work activity, the more profitable the activity is for you. Typically, these are areas in which you are gifted or highly experienced and highly trained. 3. Determine how much time you are spending in those Most Valuable Activities. Do this by writing down the number of hours you work in an average work week; include travel time to and from work, and time spent working at home. Add up the estimated number of hours that you spend in your Most Valuable Activities. Divide those hours by the number of hours you work, and you will have the percent of time spent in your Most Valuable Activities. (If your number is less than 60%, you may want to strongly consider a TimeGym Boot Camp.) 4. Finally, budget time in your calendar for your most profitable activities. Start by increasing the time you spend in those activities by 25%. Schedule that increase into your workweek and make a commitment to follow through on your improved schedule. Making yourself accountable to someone for this revised schedule will greatly improve your likelihood of success.