How To Use The Daily Focus Sheet
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NAHIA G.GARCIAHow To Use The Daily Focus Sheet
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NAHIA G.GARCIAHOW TO USE THE DAILY FOCUS SHEET™
PURPOSE
The purpose of the daily focus sheet is to help you maximize your day,
eliminate distractions, work more efficiently, and create good habits.
While it might feel redundant or like a waste of time to spend time
planning out your day, research shows that taking a few minutes in the
morning (or the evening before) to preplan your day and set your priorities
can actually save you hours of wasted time each day.
THE “ONE THING”
Every day you should identify the ONE thing that you can do, such that by
doing it, everything else will become easier or unnecessary. It’s a
deceptively simple question that packs a powerful punch, because it
forces you to really clarify the very best way to spend your time.
Today’s ONE thing might be part of a bigger “ONE thing”—the project you
are most focused on—but it should always be your biggest priority for the
day, the task you tackle first. It is the one thing that will make the biggest
difference. (Inspired by Gary Keller’s The ONE Thing)
THE TO-DO LIST
While it is important to identify your ONE thing each day, chances are
there will be a few other tasks that need to be done as well. These tasks
should be split into one of three main categories—the A tasks, or things
that MUST be done today, the B tasks, or things that SHOULD be done
today, and the C tasks, or things it would be nice to get today.
Notice that there are only a few lines for each category. This is because
your to-do list should not consist of dozens of tasks. Always narrow your list
to the most important tasks.
THE MEASURE OF SUCCESS
How will you know you’ve had a good & productive day? Identify what
needs to happen for you to consider the day a success, then decide
ahead of time how you’ll celebrate your win. It’s pretty motivating to
have an excuse to pat yourself on the back every now and then!
PLANNING YOUR DAY
This worksheet is set up to allow you to plan your day in focused blocks of
time, as well as to plan for a quick “refresh” in between blocks to clear
your mind, move your body, drink some water, or grab a snack.
Research shows that a 60-90 minute block of time is optimal for focusing
on a single task, so try to plan your time blocks accordingly.
Here are a few other guidelines to keep in mind:
• Your ONE thing should be the task that gets blocked out first, followed
by your MUST DO tasks. If you can, try to reserve more than one block
of time—as many as you can—for your most important tasks.
• Be sure to set aside at least one block of time for “buffer” tasks—
responding to emails, phone calls, follow-ups, or taking care of the
items that other people need from you. (If your main responsibility is
handling these type of tasks, you will want to set aside more than one
block for this.)
• During your focused blocks of time, be sure to eliminate distractions as
much as possible. Turn off all notifications & alerts, silence your phone,
even consider turning off the internet if you the job you are working on
doesn’t require it. Let your SOLE focus be the task at hand, for the
amount of time you’ve allotted. The world will not fall apart in 90
minutes!
• Be sure to actually take your refresh break after you have completed
your focus block! Stand up, walk around, drink some water & eat a
healthy snack (something with lots of protein and complex
carbohydrates is ideal!) Your brain needs the mental break as well as
the boost in glucose to keep going. It doesn’t have to be long—5-15
minutes is fine—but DO take a quick break!
• If you finish a task in less time than you’ve allotted, you can either take
your break early or try to accomplish something on your “C Task” list.