“You may think that if there is no purpose or no goal in our practice, we will not know what to do. But, there is a way. The way to practice without having any goal is to limit your activity, or to be concentrated on what you are doing in this moment.”
Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind Beginners Mind

Of course, having clear goals is important. And, equally important is just doing what you are doing, without rushing ahead to get to the next activity.

Heike Bruch and Sumantra Ghoshal — in their well-titled article “Beware the Busy Manager” in the Harvard Business Review — cite a study that found that 90 percent of managers squander their time in ineffective activities, and only 10 percent spend time in a committed, purposeful, and reflective manner.

“The smallest proportion of managers we studied — around 10% — were both highly energetic and highly focused. . . . Purposeful managers tend to be more self-aware than most people. . . . They pick their goals — and also their battles — with far more care than other managers do.”

As we all know, some days are just hopelessly busy, with tasks taking you in many different directions, but the number of those days can be reduced. We can never eliminate distractions, but we can lessen them and manage the ones that remain so that they don’t drain our focus and energy. This certainly improves our sense of satisfaction and effectiveness, since we maximize “results” while minimizing effort. To start, we need the intention to be more composed in order to experience more composure. Composure and focus aren’t achieved just by lowering the number of tasks that need our attention. More important is how we prioritize the tasks before us, as well as the quality of attention we bring to those tasks.

What are some of the specific actions of the 10 percent of focused and energetic managers?

1) They schedule regular “think time” and reflective time into their days.
2) They keep disruptive inflow of information to a minimum by responding to emails and phone calls only at certain times of the day.
3) They have well-developed strategies for reducing stress levels.
4) They are thoughtful and strategic about the number of meetings they schedule and attend.

Schedule regular think time – This could be a daily meditation practice or a regular walk – some time when you can allow thoughts and feelings to arise. Or, spend some time each day writing in a journal. I particularly appreciate my scheduled Sunday morning think-time – when I can spend time just thinking and visualizing where I want my business and my life to go.

Information flow – I think everyone knows this but few people do it: don’t answer emails and phone calls all day long. Take control of the information flow. When necessary, make clear agreements with those you work with – perhaps sometimes all emails are answered immediately; other times they are not.

Reduce stress levels – Begin by being aware of stress and finding simple ways to pause, stop, relax. Regular exercise, regular meditation, and regular think time are effective ways to reduce stress.

Strategic meetings – I love meetings – meetings that are creative, effective, and surprising. Often the times before and after meetings are the most crucial. Be clear about what kind of meetings you are having and what the intended outcome is – before the meeting begins. Have a clear plan for meeting follow-up – who will do what, when?