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William McBride [email protected]
Westcrowns Academy - recommended Reading
20 November 2013 10:27
John Paterson [email protected]
"18 Minutes": The Book That Helped Me Finish My Book
Two years ago, by the time I reached the holidays, I was having major problems focusing, paying
attention, and staying focused. The “always-on” nature of my social media work had given me a
bad case of ADD and I knew I needed to do something.
Someone suggested that I read 18 Minutes: Find
Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done by Peter Bregman who blogs at the
HBR. This book was just what I needed to address my bad habits and start turning things around.
Each chapter started with a personal story that illustrated a concept related to managing
unproductive distractions. What was most refreshing and different about this productivity book is
that it gave me permission to stop trying to get everything done efficiently. Instead it expertly
guided me on how to focus on what matters and ignore the rest. The book offered daily techniques
that help you reach long-term goals.
If the truth be told, I don’t think I would have ever made the deadline on my second book,
“Measuring the Networked Nonprofit”, if I had not read the book and put some of the advice into
practice.
Bregman suggests setting year-long goals. His strategy for that is how to survive a buffet. There are
so many good choices with a buffet that you end up stuffing yourself and over-eating. The way to
avoid that discomfort is to limit yourself to putting five items on your plate. That forces you to be
strategic about what you pick. The same discipline applies to setting an annual goals. He identify 5
things to focus on for the year.
Having a focus helps you say no to activities that fall into “all the rest” bucket. Saying no is a
muscle that needs to be exercised daily. This year I’m incorporating a couple of techniques. First,
I’m going to create an ignore list in addition to my to do list. Second, I’ve always kept gratitude
journals, but now I’m also to keep a “no thanks” journal or record what I’ve said no to.
But keeping your focus day in and day out for an entire year can be a real challenge. Bregman has a
method for that. It is the 18 minutes in the title of his book. The 18 minutes refers to the
importance of creating a daily habit of reflection and focus on what you want to accomplish,
knowing that you won’t get everything done. Here how it works:
Step 1: Morning Minutes (5 minutes)
Before your turn on your computer, plan ahead for the day. Decide what will make the day
successful and that will further your focus for the year. Put that on your calendar and don’t take
more than three days to do it.
Step 2: One of Reflection for Each Hour (8 minutes)
He suggests setting a watch or timer to remind you each hour. When you hear the beep, reflect and
ask yourself if you’ve been productive in the last hour. This is similar to the pomodoro technique.
Step 3: Evening Minutes (5 minutes)
Shut off the computer and review how your day went. What did you accomplish? What could be
improved? What I have learned?
It’s a simple, powerful technique to help you select your
It’s a simple, powerful technique to help you select your
daily focus deliberately and wisely and remind yourself of this focus throughout the day. But your
daily ritual needs to support an annual or yearly theme. This is the time of year to ask and answer:
What is the year about? It is the time of year to create good daily habits so you achieve it.
I’ve managed to make the techniques he suggests a habit and it has really changed the way I
approach my work. I still battle distraction, but after two years of using the 18 minutes a day, I
know so much more about what triggers the distraction and how to keep focused.
Photo: AE Pictures Inc. / Getty Images
William A McBride
FIoD FRICS MBA
Managing Director
Westcrowns Contracting Services Limited
0044(0) 41 613 6060
www.westcrowns.co.uk
www.lumaglass.co.uk
www.harndec.co.uk
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