Focus Digest: June 2023

Protecting the things that matter most… ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  Focus Digest: May 2023 Welcome to June, Friend. This monthly digest is for folks who want to create a more ideal schedule, get organized, and stay in control of the things that matter. If you are new to the digest...here's what to look forward to on the first Monday of every month: - A short article on a single concept around focus - A couple quotes that we've enjoyed thinking on - Links to interesting or related articles from our corner of the internet - Upcoming events and resource spotlights for our [Accelerator Members]( If this sparks any ideas I’d love to hear from you! (We send the digest once a month. If you'd rather not get the focus digest you can easily opt-out via the link at the bottom.) * * * HAPPENING NOW! The Productivity Focus Booster 🚀 Simplify and update your task management We are taking the [Accelerator community]( through our 3-step “RUN” framework, and hooking them up with all the templates, worksheets, training, coaching, and other tools you need to organize your daily tasks, overcome distractions, and stay focused on the things that count. ⚡️Step 1: Refresh In this workshop, find out how to audit and streamline your current tools and systems and get clear on what’s working for and against you. (Workshop replay available now for [members]( ⚡️Step 2: Upgrade Go behind the scenes during this live session, as Shawn Blanc will be sharing the ins and outs of his productivity system. Get fresh ideas for how to build a daily productivity system that plays to your strengths (even if you find “systems” annoying). (Workshop replay available now for members) ⚡️Step 3: Nurture Make your system stick. Create your own flywheel that keeps you focused on what matters most day after day. (Live call, TOMORROW: June 6) If your to-do list overfloweth and you have multiple areas of life to manage, it’s time to get a system that actually works. This Focus Booster will help you stop getting wrapped up in the incoming tasks of your day so you can focus on the important things — instead of letting them slip through your fingers. 👉 [Become an Accelerator member]( and get instant access to the Productivity Focus Booster content. (FYI: As a member, you’ll also get access to our entire course library and resource vault, including the advanced Time Management masterclass, our Margin Course, and our complete library of tools, templates, and cheat sheets.) Sign up now to get full access, AND save your spot for the next Focus Booster, Do Not Disturb, launching in July. 🚀 [thefocuscourse.com/accelerator]( [JOIN NOW »]( We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one.  — Confucius Protecting the Things that Matter Most For July and August we will be hosting our next series of workshops around the idea of “Do Not Disturb.” Which simply means, prioritizing your focus for the things in life that are truly important. Because “there are far more activities and opportunities in the world than we have time and resources to invest in.” (From [Essentialism]( Overwhelm is the tip of the iceberg for many. The number of choices we are faced with daily can be paralyzing. Many of which are inconsequential… But what about the choices that really matter? When it comes to our schedule, it often feels as though we’re just along for the ride rather than having any say over how we’re spending our time. Some things are too important be left up to chance. And so we battle decision fatigue while trying to figure out how to keep the most important things from falling through the cracks. Why do the things that matter most often get “what’s left of me” instead of the “best of me”? I find the fear of regret to be a strong motivator. “What do I not want to have regret over?” As much as I hate to admit it, protecting the things I love comes down to owning my choice. And a failure to choose is a choice for indifference. When I fail to choose, I fail to protect what is truly important. Decision MakingMore often than not, we can use up a lot of brainpower on trivial decisions that don’t have much bearing on the things we care about the most. President Obama was known to only wear gray or blue suits to limit his decision making on a daily basis. “I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.” And I often hear Shawn talking coaching [his business mastermind clients]( to eliminate small and repeat decisions from their business. A few ideas to preserve your decision making power: - Theme your daily meals - [Pre-determine what you will wear each day]( - Follow a workout schedule - Time block and plan your day The point is: find areas in your life to make a single decision that will free up some of your mental reserves. That way, your decision power is kept for the important stuff. Limitations We are finite beings with a limited supply of resource. Each of these can be depleted to a breaking point. - Limits in our time - Limits in our physical body - Limits in our emotional capacity - Limits to our mental / creative output - Limits in our finances If we don’t recognize our limitations we can unknowingly make trade-offs we did not intend to. When we double book a work meeting with a lunch date with a friend, we collide with our limitation of time and space. We’re not able to be in two places at once. Part of protecting the things we love is recognizing limitations (capacity) and making sure that the roles that are most important are not being neglected. While my role of employee often dominates the hours in my week, it is not my most important role. It’s our responsibility to own our limitations and make sure we are allocating our time, energy, and emotions for the things that truly matter. Saying "No"And one of the best ways to do that is by saying “no.” - No allows you to be present to the things you’ve said “yes” to. - No protects your finite resource of margin. - No holds back the tide of endless opportunities. - No keeps you sane. - “No.” Is a complete sentence. It will take some practice, but there are a lot of creative ways to say no. - “I would love to help, but I’m already at capacity.” - “That sounds like a great opportunity, but that would mean missing out on a birthday date with my son. Sorry, maybe next time.” - “After looking at my schedule, I just don’t see a way I could take that on right now.” - “Sorry, I’m not currently adding any new commitments.” Wrap Up The number of opportunities we’re faced with often out paces our availability or capacity. Saying “no” is a mathematical necessity. In order to protect the things that are truly important, we must protect our ability to make choices, be honest about our limitations, and practice saying “no” frequently. If we don’t, we may quickly find our schedule full of activities that do not accurately represent the things we truly value. It’s a fight to keep the things we love from being pushed to the peripherals. Upcoming Accelerator Membership Events - LIVE Workshop 🚀 How to make your productivity systems stick (Jun 6 @ 12pm EDT) - LIVE AMA with Accelerator Director Isaac Smith (Jun 20 @ 3pm EDT) - Weekly Focus Hours (Tuesday's @ 3pm EDT) When you're ready... An all-access pass to every single course and tool in our library, plus a community to help you get clear, take action, and keep going. ✓ Unlimited access to every on-demand course in our library ✓ Instant access to all the tools, workflows, and resources in our vault ✓ Monthly office hours and Q&A with our team ✓ Gain accountability and breakthrough with the community You'll also get access to our complete library of templates for time management (including the brand-new 2023 Digital Planner). [Join Accelerator and get instant access to everything]( Noteworthy Reading For more on the topic of living a focused life, dive into the articles below! - [Embracing Trade-Off’s and Margin]( - [Shawn’s Bizarre #1 Productivity Tip]( - [Margin is Essential For Living a Focused Life]( - [4 Reasons Productivity Systems Fail]( When we don’t purposefully and deliberately choose where to focus our energies and time, other people—our bosses, our colleagues, our clients, and even our families—will choose for us, and before long we’ll have lost sight of everything that is meaningful and important. We can either make our choices deliberately or allow other people’s agendas to control our lives.  — Greg McKeown That's it for this month's Focus Digest. — Isaac Smith Director of Accelerator [Unsubscribe from Focus Digest](. Or, to unsubscribe from everything, for ever and ever, [here](. Blanc Media, 714 Main St., Grandview, MO 64030, United States