SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best

Part 3. SuperCompetent Key 3: Attention

Note

SuperCompetent people focus intently on their important Activities during their Available time.

ATTENTION is the capacity to concentrate.

This key allows you to filter or tune out environmental distractions unrelated to your current task.

Sylvia V. Francis, Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR)—someone to whom I'm connected on Linked In—recently wrote to me: "The folks who succeed in my environment are focused on: Getting the job done, their department's success, their company's success, the success of their own career; most importantly, they are not focused on the negative chat around the proverbial water cooler, whining and moaning about belt-tightening measures or how they're going to get the job done with less resources. They are proud of what they have accomplished at the end of each day."

Hear, hear! Sylvia's statement is a perfect introduction to the third key of the SuperCompetent pro: Attention. When you're working on an important proposal that must be completed by the end of the day, you need to give it your focused efforts to finish the task. So many other things compete for our attention and tempt us to do "just this one little thing." Switching from one thing to another distracts us from our primary task—and forces us to stay later to finish it. You need a great deal of discipline to concentrate on a single undertaking without being diverted by something more enjoyable (oooooh, shiny penny).

Many of the distractions seem ...