What do we want to focus on? 🧐

You have to focus on progress toward a specific thing in the medium term or sacrifice meaningful progress toward everything in the long term

Chris Williamson

I recently reached level three in my class of handyman. Obtaining a mower was an instant level up. We are multi-class characters in our journey through life. I am not just a handyman. I’m many things: 

• A husband 
• A son 
• A friend 
• A handyman 
• A climber 
• A fitness enthusiast 
• A writer 
• An anime nerd 
• A book lover, to name just a few 

That’s a lot of different focus areas. Where do I focus my attention? Which of these do I want to increase? What do I need to max out?

We can’t be great at everything, we have to choose

Choosing what do is is hard. Even harder is the realisation that we can’t max out all of our levels and be the best at everything. Not even close. We have to choose what we are going to be great, good and bad at. Even suck at. I love anime. I would love to be able to read Japanese manga. I am choosing to be terrible at this though. I am not going to start a new journey of learning Japanese. Similarly, as much as I love reading ancient history and philosophy, I choose to do so with translated editions. I am not going to learn Ancient Greek as much as I fantasise about this. – to travel to an ancient library to examine an ancient tomb – to have dust disperse into the air when you crack it open – to read and discover new insights and meaning in these hidden texts.  

We have to think about focus and direction carefully. We only have so much time so we need to be aiming in the right direction. I can’t become a better writer if I don’t intentionally put time into my day to write. If it becomes a case of ‘when I get to it,’ realistically I know that it won’t happen. Even if it’s something that we enjoy doing, life will get in the way. It’s easy to say you’ll do something later, and then simply not do it. Whether it be a case of moving something to the weekend (then you prioritise other plans), or into the evening (but I’m tired after dinner – an excuse I use a lot), or when you are on holidays or when you retire. 

We are responsible

In life we are responsible for where we end up and the direction that we take. It’s liberating. It’s also terrifying. If we make choices that aren’t aligned with our values or what we truly want, we’ll reach the later part of life full of regrets and not where we want to be. There will be no one to blame but ourselves. Let that sink in. It can also make it harder to make these important decisions. Our futures depend on the choices we make, after all.

We need to lean in and think about what it is we want and where we need to aim our focus and attention. We need to do an audit on our lives, our time, our attention. We need to realign where needed. We need to put down the phone. We might need to stop going to certain events if it’s not bring us any joy or value. We need to be forgiving and kind to ourselves as we get it wrong, make mistakes, and stumble along the way.

So what are my focus areas at the moment? They are:

• Writing
• Podcasting
• Business business
• Lifting
• Rucking
• Being a husband
• Contributing to community
• Family
• Coffee ☕️

Systems over goals

I’m putting systems in place to help me get there. Systems structure our day and define what we will do during that period. As an example, in the mornings I write for 30 minutes, rather than sitting down with a goal to write 300 words. By focusing on the system rather than the goal, I’m building a habit that allows for flexibility. Some mornings the 30 minutes might be sketching out an idea, or going through notes to link themes together. Other mornings the words will flow and I’ll reach 600 words plus. Systems over goals.

Systems link back to our ideal day. It’s how we choose to structure our day:

• We go on a ruck on weekends – following the route we have plotted (time it takes and the weight in the backpack are not the most important thing – it’s that we go)
• We go to the gym in the morning (whilst I want to lift equal to or better, if I have a bad day or my body isn’t as rested, that’s okay because squatting 70kg wasn’t the goal, the system of going to the gym is what matters)
• I write for 30 minutes with a coffee and sometimes with a candle lit
• I participate in the body corporate meetings to contribute to my community, and block time out in my calendar when I have a task to do
• We spend time with our families and review our calendar each week to make sure we have something in there
• I clean my coffee machine, intentionally drink a coffee, and have a ritual to invite mindfulness and stillness into my day
• I pay attention (not all the time, I do get distracted, and I am getting better) to my wife and spend time with her. We go on mini vacations. We giggle and laugh
• I review my day every night, writing down times we’ve laughed, highlighted, and what I can do to improve (such as when my wife was telling my she got her climbing gear ready and I said yes rather than looking where she put them)
• I focus at work, block out my calendar, decide what tasks are a priority, and focus and do one thing at a time

Habits made choices easier to have the character they want. Systems build the structure to enable us to focus our attention towards what matters so our habits have a place to thrive. So right now I’m looking at evaluating and building systems.

Till next time, Travis