5 tips for a killer focus
Focus, a much-discussed concept in the field of entrepreneurship. How do you use this as a coach? What exactly can you do to increase your focus? And how can we motivate you to say no (even) more often, so that you really have a killer focus gets?
In this article you will discover why focus is important and how you can improve it. That is not out of the blue: it comes directly from practice and our own experiences as coaches.
Different hats
There you are. Maybe you're just starting out as a coach, or it's your full-time job. Either way, you want to help others in their development and growth.
But working as an independent coach is a profession in itself. You always wear different hats, which you can read more about below: that of artist, entrepreneur and manager.
And that is precisely why focus is so important. There is so much to do, so how do you set priorities? How do you keep an overview? How do you keep all those balls in the air?
What roles does an independent coach have?
1. The artist
This is the part of you that loves the content. He loves the profession. This is the part of you that orders several books at the same time, watches hours of videos, reads blogs and specializes in her or his profession. The absolute coach in you. With this part you develop the products. You can do that, and you have experience with it, especially if you meet the wishes of your target group.
2. The entrepreneur
The entrepreneur in you takes risks. And focuses on the business. What kind of website, which proposition, which business models, how to communicate, which onboarding flow, who is my target group? The entrepreneur is mainly concerned with the future. How can I win more orders, what goals do we have to achieve and what is our mission and vision?
3. The manager
The manager wants to immediately establish structures and coordinate processes. And wonders what resources would be useful for this. A manager wants to achieve maximum results in a minimum period of time. Continuously working on productivity and efficiency. The entrepreneur is concerned with the appearance of the website, the manager mainly with the systems behind it.
Now that you know these three roles, you understand that the trick is not only to look at how you portray yourself as an artist. The trick is that you wear different hats throughout the day. And at the same time you maintain focus on the whole.
Because all these roles are associated with many different tasks and responsibilities: customer contact, making products, ordering notebooks, setting up programs, developing websites, branding, coaching, emailing, following up, making quotes, sending invoices and so on. The list is endless.
As a coach you are constantly juggling the different roles. And that is precisely why focus is so important.
The good news is that a few small but very effective tips will give you much more focus. Before we get to those tips, it's important to be aware of multiple levels of focus.
What levels of focus are there?
In practice, focus is often about two different things: staying on course and working focused on your tasks. We therefore make a distinction between focus on macro and micro level.
Focus on macro level
At the macro level it is about general matters, such as your strategy within the three roles. Various questions arise. Which direction am I going? How do I deal with new opportunities and possibilities? And to what extent can you stick to a set goal?
Focus on the micro level
We zoom in on the daily activities at a micro level. What happens in the here and now. This also manifests itself in various questions. How long can I work concentrated on the same task? How do I prevent loss of concentration? And what can I do to maintain focus during all my roles?
From practice
Geert Hidding: “Focus on the macro level is one of mine superpowers, but I didn't use it enough for a long time. I was inclined to focus mainly on things that I was naturally good at. In my case this is coaching and creating structures. This is less true for entrepreneurship. This is where I lost my focus the quickest. Secretly this was avoidance behavior, because inside I was just insecure about my entrepreneurship. Even though I am able to focus well, I have had to learn to continue to focus on entrepreneurship at a macro level.”
Five tips for one killer focus
We have selected and written down the best tips. These are tools that we use day in, day out to have and maintain enormous focus. And when we stray, we use them to guide us again back on track to get.
1. Bring your attention to the here and now
The first tip is to shift your attention to the here and now. Our problem is that we quickly wander into the past ('Back then I had…') or the future ('What if…'). In that 'time machine' we lose a lot of focus.
Fortunately, bringing your attention to the here and now is easy to train. For example, with this short exercise: before you start a new task, take one minute to focus on your breathing. It is always in the here and now, so your focus is immediately where you want it.
2. Choose your priorities
The second tip is to divide your tasks based on priority. You increase your focus by making conscious choices. For example, use Eisenhower's priority matrix.
Using this matrix you can place all your tasks in one of the four categories. The first quadrant is your focus area. But don't forget the second quadrant.
A nice expression that goes with this is as follows. 'Urgent matters are rarely important, and important matters are rarely urgent.' So plan! This way you increase your focus on a micro level.
3. Work on committed action
Why is it that so many people have good intentions, but they quickly disappear? This often has to do with a lack of committed action. In other words: to act on what is important to you for a longer period of time. Then you lose focus. You jump from one to the other.
Being committed means doing something regardless of what you think or feel at that moment. Not because it is always fun, but because it is important to you.
For example, suppose you resolve to write a blog every week. Things go well for the first few weeks, but there will undoubtedly be a moment of doubt. It is precisely then that committed action is required.
Fortunately, committed action is a skill that can be trained. For example, using an implementation intention: consciously choosing to do a specific task at a set time. No matter the situation. For example: after breakfast I write five sentences to a new blog.
The next step is track: track your progress. The better you do, the more you develop yourself in delivering committed action. This way you immediately increase your focus.
4. Take action
How do you make sure you get moving? That you actually get more done? And so your plans are not castles in the air?
A nice trick comes from Marla Cilley, who mainly focuses on housework. For people with insufficient motivation to get started, she recommends the five-minute rescue plan. You walk into the messiest room in the house and set a traditional kitchen timer for five minutes. You tidy up and clean until the alarm goes off. Then you can stop.
But you guessed it: most people move on. They've already started anyway, and it's not that bad. Plus, they see results immediately.
When we look at micro-level tasks, this is a good strategy for getting started in the first place. This way you are immediately in 'focus mode'.
5. Choose your accountability partners
Top athletes receive guidance with almost everything. Physically, mentally, technically, tactically, in terms of lifestyle, there is support in every area. In other words, they create an environment that helps achieve better performance.
As far as we are concerned, entrepreneurship is also top sport. Day in, day out you are ready to excel. And those days go by trial and error.
In short, good support is always welcome. Hence this tip: look for accountability partners. Because what you deal with, you become infected with. Accountability partners are coaches, mentors, specialists, like-minded people or friends who encourage you. At the same time, they provide a stick behind the door if you get stuck.
From practice
Tom van Ruiten: “Looking back on my journey as an entrepreneur, 'focus' is the most limiting and also redeeming word. I have been moving between different ideas, companies and projects since I was fourteen. Taking on three to four projects at the same time was the norm. I was the best at ignoring the word focus.
I then thought of the so-called multipreneurs which sometimes have dozens of companies. If they can do that, then I can do four projects at the same time, right? But that's not how it works, I only noticed fifteen years later.
Only now do I understand what focus really means. For a long time I was afraid to choose. Afraid to bet everything on one thing. Because if you lose that, it hurts even more. Now I know better. It is precisely when you focus your attention completely on something that you turn it into something beautiful. You finish it, maintain your concentration and do relevant work. Focus is fantastic.”
Recap
Now you know why focus is so important for you as an independent coach. And which five tips will help you killer focus develops. Just a quick summary of the most important things.
- Being an independent coach is like juggling: you keep several balls in the air. That's not always easy!
- All this requires only one thing, both at the micro level (tasks) and at the macro level (goals): focus.
- Focus is a skill you can develop. You do this as follows:
- Focus on the here and now
- Choose your priorities
- Work on committed action
- Take action
- Ensure accountability partners
Hopefully some new insights will help you on your way to more focus. But then it only begins, because insights alone are never enough. What matters is action. We can help you with that.
Book a focus session now and meet Trackler and Geert Hidding.
Book a no-obligation focus session with Geert
About Geert Hidding
Geert Hidding is a Performance coach who helps ambitious professionals achieve their (business) goals by working on better focus, more peace and optimal performance. More about Geert can be found here.
About Tom van Ruiten
Tom van Ruiten is Founder of Trackler and has years of experience in coaching and training people in the field of self-leadership and personal growth. More about Tom can be found here.
