Focus

2014 was an unusual year. I usually start a year setting goals and planning the things I would like to accomplish. But for some reason, it got off to a tepid start. In fact, I am not sure if it ever started. I seemed to drift from 2013 to 2014 unknowingly. Perhaps it was because we were in a time of grieving. Perhaps it was a difficult time of trial. But somehow I never found the motivation in me to set my year right.

Not that I didn't achieve much last year. 

Performance at work was outstanding. In fact, by the grace of God, it was our team's best year yet. I got involved in a mega project at work, which was outside my core responsibility. It took up a lot of my time; still I managed to juggle my core job rather well and was recognised for my contributions to the project. 

I proposed to the love of my life last year too. That took a bit of planning, with the engagement ring, self-drawn paintings, gathering of her friends for the surprise and lots of guitar practice. Suffice to say, I am an extremely happy man to be able to marry the girl of my dreams. With that also came planning for a new home, wedding venues, photoshoots in Vietnam and countless of spreadsheets for budgets and guest registry.

Ministry was particularly tough, with all that the church was going through. Keeping one's faith up was already a tall order. Keeping that of those placed under your care is even harder. Nonetheless, I do what I can, for these are the flock of the Most High.

I was asked to join another team as a part time member at work. It was a great opportunity, but also demanded a lot of my time. That was when I picked up Daniel Goleman's book on Focus, and gleaned a few great insights.

“Directing attention toward where it needs to go is a primal task of leadership.” 

― Daniel Goleman, Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence

In a rather rudderless year, I have tried doing many things, taking things as they came. Those demands pulled me in many directions. Ironically, I wouldn't say I was directionless - I was direction-full, just that they were all pointing everywhere. You could said I failed as a leader. I failed to direct attention to where it needed to go. And as a result, I became a follower. A follower of circumstances. A reactor, rather than an activator.

The thing with picking things up as they go, is that while it provided unexpected doors, you often can't prepare nor allocate your finite resources (time and energy management) to do everything. And at times, when you try to do everything, you end up achieving nothing. 

That was when I decided to streamline my activities - at work, at home, at church. I needed to do a few things, and I needed to do them extremely well. And as I grow older, I realise it's not just about time management, it's also about energy management. Gone are the days where I could stay up late, and I could also no longer be involved in incessantly long activities. Short, sharp and sweet. That's the way I like it.

Focus brings about an efficiency and effectiveness that augments productivity. It cuts the fats of distraction and highlights the meat of the matter. Have you been juggling too many balls lately?

In 2015, may your year be filled with focus, and let's get the goal setting going!