March 27, 2024

It’s a concept I’ve been playing around with for years. Full disclosure it’s self diagnosed and very possibly total BS. It’s just as likely that I’m simply an undisciplined thinker.

My mind and my interests jump from one concept to the next incessantly. At the same time once I’m focused I can’t hear or see anything but what I’m doing.

When I had employees I would tell them “just because I appear to be looking at you while you’re talking doesn’t mean I’m hearing anything you say”. I wouldn’t listen to “but I told you” as an excuse or reason for anything. If it isn’t delivered to me in writing you may as well have filled a balloon with it and released it into the universe.

Thus the planning, and the tracking, and the spreadsheets and the OKR’s, mind maps, project planners, databases and the list goes on.

If I don’t really try hard to stay focused I’ll just spend the hours of my life responding and reacting and truly producing nothing of value.

And then the fear. Am I focused and measuring the right thing? Am I spending enough time planning, too much time planning. What has to be done today ? What can wait? What can I skip altogether? What should I skip altogether.

Okay, you get the idea. I’m not going to fight it, I’m leaning into it. Thus my current reading project on forecasting and measurement , which now includes 4 books. I added the book High Output Management. It’s been sitting in my shelves unread since 2012. I started it today and it seems to be a great book. Long sigh … I wish I’d have finished it the first time around.

Day 7