Keeping Your Focus

Just a moment ago I had someone come up to me and ask about the little device on which I type the first drafts of Career Action Steps. It’s an Alphasmart Neo — a full size keyboard with a six to eight line screen that does nothing else but type. That’s it. Type. No e-mail or internet. No beeps or bells or whistles. It just turns on (no “booting up”), and I type and then later send it to my computer for polishing.

I explained to the person that what I like most about it, besides the “instant on” feature,” is that it focuses me. There are no distractions. I can get my head into these little missives without realizing that I just got an e-mail or, worse yet, that nobody cared to e-mail me today!

How is this a career issue? When was the last time you were focused on something? When was the last time you took on a task and didn’t have any distractions? (Besides someone asking you what device you were using to get away from any distractions!) Focus is key to any work — but especially in fundraising work, probably one of the hardest jobs to get focus in. Think — if you could only do, say, major gift calls, how much more money would you bring in? It’s the distractions of tomorrow’s mailing, today’s bowl-a-thon, and yesterday’s personnel fire that’s still smoldering that erode your ability to get done the job you’re paid to do — and judged on at the end of the year.

I’m not suggesting that you can take away all the issues that distract your focus from your job. But what I am saying is that like I do with my Neo, you can provide yourself devices and situations that allow you to grab enough focus so that you can be productive in the area that means the most to you — as long as you’re not bothered by someone asking you how you’re doing it!