“Productivity is a byproduct of focus. If you prioritize focus, productivity will follow.”
–Megan Flatt
Writing a book takes focus. Ask Megan Flatt, the author of Focused: Reclaim Your Time, Ditch Overwhelm, and Do Less Better. The book answers the questions: What if instead of hustling harder, we focused more? What if it's not about getting more done? What if we actually did less, but did it better? Megan says she used all the tools she shares in the book to write the book.
We talk about getting big projects done, why checking things off the list isn’t necessarily the main goal, and napping without guilt. We can’t just prioritize getting stuff done. That’s hustle culture talking. “But I want to get stuff done!” you say. Don’t worry. You can, but if you prioritize focus instead of productivity, everything shifts.
It’s like wellness. If you focus just on the number on the scale, you don’t get the full picture. You might get where you want to go, but not actually be healthy. If you focus on moving and choosing healthy foods, you move toward your goal, gaining benefits along the way. It’s the same with productivity and your business.
We also talk about:
- The fact we aren’t supposed to focus all the time. That means your work day has periods of focus and periods of rest or non-focus.
- Scheduling time for your important but not urgent activities
- Understanding that your highest contribution shifts and setting boundaries to protect time for what you deem to be most important
- Whether you are making time for the $10,000 / hour tasks or just the $10 / hour tasks
- Mapping your energy and creating your own daily, weekly, and seasonal rhythm
- How to make time for focus 3 ways: schedule it, plan it, set it
ABOUT MEGAN
Megan Flatt is a business growth strategist on a mission to make entrepreneurship easier. She believes you can have a thriving business, a community and a life — and you don’t need more time, you need more focus. She’s the founder of Focus Sessions and the author of Focused: Reclaim Your Time, Ditch Overwhelm, and Do Less Better.
In Focused, she shows you how to find your focus, what to focus on, how to make the time for focus. Megan started Focus Sessions, a science-backed system to provide dedicated, distraction-free virtual coworking to help people get their most important work done. The monthly membership helps you find your focus, create a solid plan and stay out of overwhelm. Megan’s favorite affirmation is “you have exactly the time you need.”
Besides helping business owners focus, Megan is obsessed with lattes, post-it notes and romance novels. Outside of work, you find her focus turned to her husband and two kids, probably near the water, in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can catch up with Megan at focus-sessions.com or letscollective.co or @focussessions.
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DOABLE CHANGES
At the end of every episode, we share three doable changes, so you can take what you've heard and put it into action. Action is where change happens.
But here's the thing: when we have a goal, a wish, a desire bubbling up in us, it can feel really huge. Sometimes we stop ourselves in our tracks based on how huge our desire feels. Change needs action, but it doesn't need huge action. When we focus on the next step, the next Doable Change that we can integrate into our lives, we don’t get stuck and we create momentum.
Choose one Doable Change that resonates with you today and really play with it. Fit it into your life, your days, make it work for you — then move on to your next Doable Change.
Here are Three Doable Changes from this conversation:
- MAP YOUR ENERGY. Start noticing when you have the most energy and do your best work. Start with a day. Do you have more energy in the morning or later in the day? Is there a point where you regularly have low energy? How can you shift your day to work with your energy instead of against it. You can continue tracking and see what changes over the course of a month or cycle.
- IDENTIFY YOUR HIGHEST CONTRIBUTION RIGHT NOW. What is your highest contribution in your business or in your life right now? Remember, this will change, but getting really clear on it helps you put aside or say no to tasks or projects that pull you away from your highest contribution.
- SCHEDULE AND PLAN FOCUS TIME. First schedule time this week for focus. Your week is probably pretty full, so just find what you can in your current schedule. Use your energy map to think about when your ideal focus time would be. Look ahead in your calendar (you might need to go a few weeks out) and schedule that time before it fills in with something else. Once you block the time, hold it firmly and use it for focused work. You can even join a Focus Session to get community and accountability around your focus.
