Becoming Free to Focus - Maximizing Productivity and Living Your IDEAL Life
By Christopher Levarek
“Productivity is not about getting more things done; it’s about getting the right things done.”
- Michael Hyatt
As an avid reader and writer, I set aside time daily to read books. I search for books that empower my goals which specifically relate to leadership, real estate and self-improvement. One such book which I am rereading for the third time is “Free to Focus”, by Michael Hyatt. Many books fail to scratch the surface on offering concrete solutions to the problems presented but instead present concepts forcing the reader to guess at the best way to achieve those concepts.
In “Free to Focus”, the opposite is true. Michael Hyatt does an amazing job presenting a total productivity system with which any individual can reclaim their time and be their most productive in all categories personal, family and business. A major point in the book is the idea of categorizing efforts of work into four distinct categories Desire, Distraction, Disinterest and Drudgery. By putting tasks into these four zones, one can discover where their time is being spent and if this where it should be spent. This then allows re-allocating those tasks in a way that allows an individual to work on what they are most proficient and most passionate about.
Let’s Dive into the Four zones as presented in the book by starting with the “Freedom Compass”, a visual of the four zones :
Desire Zone
This area is where you want to spend your time. In this zone, you are both passionate and proficient at the tasks or work being done. This means you will be not only good at performing those tasks but will enjoy doing the work. Imagine working on only those items you enjoy and are good at!
Distraction Zone
This area is where you spend time on tasks that you are passionate about however lack the proficiency in. An example might be if you enjoy doing web design however you are not very good at it. Spending time on tasks you are not proficient at but are passionate about could be an area where productivity is not being maximized.
Disinterest Zone
This area is where you spend time on tasks that you are proficient at but not very passionate about. An example might be if you are good at numbers and balancing the account business checkbook however you truly do not enjoy working on accounting tasks at all. Again, this represents a mismatch of time spent and possible opportunity to maximize productivity by focusing elsewhere(..more to come on this later).
Drudgery Zone
This area is where you spend time on tasks that you are neither proficient at nor passionate about. Not only do you not enjoy performing anything in this zone but you are bad at it. An example could be disliking writing and being a horrible speller or typist. These tasks should definitely be offloaded elsewhere to maximize productivity.
Bonus : The Development Zone
This area is an extra non-fixed area where you could be passionate about something however you are not proficient, yet. Or you are proficient at something however haven’t really developed a passion for it, yet. In both cases, having an open mind to the possibility of these tasks in this zone moving to the desire zone make this zone a worthwhile mention.
Now What? - Stop, Cut, Act
With an understanding of the above zones it comes down to taking the following three action steps :
Stop - Take a day to stop and evaluate your workday or work week. Create a vision or set goals. Organize all the items you do day to day into the four main zones above.
Cut - Learn to say no to requests. Automate as much as possible. Offload and move any tasks or items outside of your Desire Zone to better fitting team members or virtual assistants.
Act - Plan your ideal week. Prioritize the correct tasks that fall in your Desire Zone or move you closer to it. Make efforts to limit distractions and interruptions.
Finally, not listed in the book, I would argue simply the fourth step is Repeat! Take consistent action daily to improve your productivity and move towards working entirely in your Desire Zone. Regardless the setbacks, continue to work towards making your vision your reality.
Reevaluate quarterly or weekly and determine if you are offtrack or if new tasks need to be moved to certain zones. This is a constant effort until the the momentum and habits built ensure your time is consistently in the right area of focus.
In Final
In this digital 24/7 world we are living in, it is easy to spend time in areas we are neither proficient or passionate about. We highly recommend reading “Free to Focus”, by Michael Hyatt to change how you view your work day/week and take action to be at your most productive doing things you enjoy.