Focus over Frenzy
Intro
Activity isn’t progress. In a workplace that rewards speed, the ability to choose a few vital outcomes is your real advantage.
This lesson helps you separate motion from meaning — so your energy goes toward what truly matters.
Many teams equate fast with effective. But speed without clarity only amplifies noise. Focus isn’t about doing less — it’s about aligning effort with outcomes.
If Lesson 1 was about identifying what drains your attention, this one is about directing that attention toward deliberate results.
What focus actually means
Focus is best defined as directed clarity. It's not just concentration on a task, but also alignment with purpose. We often blame distractions for our lack of focus. But focus does not arise in the absence of distraction, it appears when we're in the presence of intention. You can stare a task for hours and still not be focused if that task does not really matter.
From to-do lists to vital outcomes
Like many people, I've experimented with various to-do lists: apps, planners, notebooks. They worked for a while, then quietly lost their pull. To-do lists bring comfort - they give a heightened sense of control and a small rush of accomplishment each time you tick a box. But when everything lands on that list, we find ourselves using it to create the illusion of progress, rewarding quantity over quality.
If that sounds familiar, try shifting to vital outcomes - few results that genuinely move your work or your team forward.
Each week ask yourself: "What three outcomes, if achieved this week, would make everything else easier or irrelevant?" At first it might feel unnatural; we're used to measuring effort, not effect. But once you start reframing from doing to achieving, clarity sharpens. For example, if your to-do was "write a report draft", your vital outcome could be "deliver a report that helps leadership make a faster decision of X".
You’ll find a Priority Scorecard at the end of this lesson to help you plan your vital outcomes.
The cost of split focus
Multitasking is not a skill, it's an illusion. No one can do two things at a time and do them well. By the time you finished replying to a chat message during a meeting, the conversation has moved on. You spend minutes catching up; not because you lack attention, but because attention must reload context each time it shifts. Over a day, that switching adds to lost accuracy, slower creativity and a constant feel of hurry.
Ask yourself "What's the smallest number of things I can do today and still genuinely call it a good day's work?" No, this is not about laziness. It's about narrowing focus which will increase your effectiveness and calm.
Designing a focus habit
Here's a practical approach to anchor your week around outcomes, instead of tasks:
Define your top three outcomes each week. Frame them as what you want to achieve, not what your need to do.
Align your calendar with these three outcomes. Block time in your calendar for deep work connected to these outcomes.
Whenever possible, protect your energy peaks (mornings for some, afternoon for others) for your most valuable work.
Review at the end and reflect whether your actions matched your intentions for the outcomes.
Focusing on outcomes gives you permission to own your time again. You decide what success means for the week before the week decides for you.
Reflection
With the insights from your Noise Audit and your weekly outcome list, can you identify one pattern of frenzy you can stop - a recurring task, habit, expectation that doesn't really truly serve their outcomes?
Once you know what matters the most, the next challenge is deciding how to respond to what you can't control. In the next lesson, we'll explore how to bring composure into uncertainty.
Priority Scorecard
The priority scorecard helps you translate intentions into clear, measurable outcomes, see the alignment between effort and impact and avoid task accumulation by forcing you to focus on a few vital outcomes.
This is not a planner but a decision compass. It helps you say no to the nonessential by showing what truly deserves your time.
Structure
Keep it light: three outcomes per week, no more. Assign each outcome its own line, with a few columns that create reflection.
Outcome - phrase each one as an achievement, not an activity.
Why it matters - a short sentence on value forces clarity of purpose
Main actions - list only the 2-3 key actions that will actually move the needle; this prevents task bloat
Impact level - helps you prioritize further when everything feels important. You can asses the impact based on the outcome's contribution to business goals or personal growth.
Status/Reflection - at the end of the week review if your actions matched your intentions; think on what helped or what hindered your focus?
| Priority | Outcome (What I want to achieve) | Why it matters / Value created | Main Actions (How I’ll move it forward) | Impact | Status/Reflection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deliver a report that helps leadership decide on X | Speeds decision, clarifies options | Draft key insights; validate data; review with team | High | 90% completed |
| 2 | Improve team response time by 10% | Builds customer trust, reduces escalations | Review backlog; refine routing logic | High | In progress |
| 3 | Plan Q2 development priorities | Creates alignment and visibility | Sync with PM; outline goals | Medium | Completed |