Colin Holbrow/ February 20, 2017/ Communication, Leadership

The two most common words I hear at the outset of a coaching conversation when I ask “How are you?” are  ” Busy ” and ” I need to focus “.

These two states of mind are directly connected. We feel guilty unless we are busy. We feel compelled and obligated to fill our time with jam-packed calendars, endless meetings, countless reports, and traveling in a hurried manner compulsively attached to our smartphone.


Human beings are not designed to be occupied every minute of our waking day


Each complex activity we undertake requires us to be focused exclusively on one critical task at a time and herein lies the issue. Human beings are not designed to be occupied every minute of our waking day. We need to find down time – time to give our mind, soul and bodies a break and to re-charge to be ready for when we really need to be in the state of being focused.

As this month’s featured Harvard Business Review article highlights, how we start and approach our day has so much to do with how we can access and bring focus into what is important in this moment.

I am an advocate of the five measures outlined in the article and sincerely hope this newsletter draws your attention and intention of being “focused”.

Once you read this article, take a moment to ask

  • Which of these five practices do you access?
  • What else works for you?
  • How important is it that you find your way to accessing “being focused”?
  • How consistent are you in bringing these practices into your daily routine?

Recommended Reading:

  • Harvard Business Review – “The Two Things Killing Your Ability to Focus”
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