By Chuck Mollor, Founder and CEO of MCG Partners
There are times when we all need to stop and reset.
Our calendars get full. Priorities compete for our attention. Meetings multiply. We move quickly from one commitment to another and, before long, being busy starts to feel the same as being productive.
It isn’t.
When that happens, it may be time to ask a simple question:
Do I need to focus—or refocus—how I’m spending my time and energy?
As leaders, focus is one of our most valuable resources. Where we choose to spend our attention affects not only our own effectiveness, but also the people and teams around us.
Here are five ways to create some space and get back to what matters most.
F — Focus on the important things early
Most of us know the one or two things that really need our attention. Yet those are often the very things we push later into the day while we answer emails, attend meetings, and react to whatever appears in front of us.
Protect some of your best energy for your most important work.
Whenever possible, leave space early in your day to think, solve problems, write, plan, or make the decisions that require your full attention. You may not finish everything, and that’s okay.
If you accomplish the most important thing, you’ve moved something meaningful forward.
O — Opt out of some meetings
Take a look at your calendar. It tells a story about your priorities—whether you intended it to or not.
Try an experiment. For two weeks, step away from meetings where your presence isn’t truly necessary. Ask someone you trust to send you the important decisions or takeaways.
Then see what happens.
Did the meeting move forward without you? Did you miss anything that materially affected your work? Could someone else represent your perspective?
Leaders sometimes attend meetings because they want to stay informed, not because they need to be there. There is a difference.
Review the last four to eight weeks of your calendar and ask yourself:
Is this where I should be spending my time, or simply where I have been spending my time?
That distinction matters.
C — Create an energy shift throughout the day
Focus isn’t endless.
After working intensely for a period of time, give yourself permission to change gears.
Stand up. Walk outside. Take the stairs. Grab a cup of coffee. Spend a few minutes talking with someone without an agenda.
The goal isn’t to add another productivity technique to your day. It’s to recognize when your energy and attention are fading and intentionally reset them.
Sometimes three minutes away from a problem is enough to see it differently when you come back.
U — Unplug before the day is over
It has become very easy for work to follow us everywhere.
One more email. One more Teams or Slack message. One last look at tomorrow’s calendar.
The problem is that our minds never receive a clear signal that the workday has ended.
Give yourself some separation between work and sleep whenever you can. Put the phone down. Step away from the laptop. Read, take a walk, talk with your family, or simply do something that doesn’t require you to respond to anyone.
Being constantly available doesn’t necessarily make us better leaders.
Being rested, thoughtful, and present often does.
S — Start a Stop/Start list
We often create lists of things we want to start doing.
We rarely spend enough time deciding what we should stop doing.
Try making two lists:
What should I start doing?
What should I stop doing?
Then compare those lists with your calendar.
If you say strategic thinking matters but there is no space for it on your calendar, something needs to change.
If developing your people is important but nearly every available hour is spent in operational meetings, something needs to change.
If family, health, relationships, learning, or simply having time to think matters to you, those priorities need space too.
Time is one of the few resources we cannot replace. Choosing where to invest it is one of the most important decisions we make.
Your Calendar Doesn’t Lie
One of the simplest leadership exercises I recommend is reviewing the past few months of your calendar.
Don’t look at where you intended to spend your time.
Look at where you actually spent it.
Categorize it. Meetings. Clients. Team development. Strategy. Administrative work. Business development. Thinking time. Personal commitments.
Then ask:
Does the way I spent my time reflect what I say is most important?
If the answer is no, don’t judge yourself for it.
Refocus.
Leadership requires us to continually make choices about where we show up, what deserves our attention, and what we are willing to let go.
Most importantly, take care of yourself.
Creating more focus isn’t about squeezing more productivity out of every hour. It’s about putting yourself in a position to be thoughtful, engaged, and present—with your colleagues, your clients, your friends, and your family.
Sometimes the most productive thing a leader can do is stop long enough to decide what deserves their attention next.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to refocus as a leader?
Refocusing means intentionally stepping back and evaluating whether your time, attention, and energy are aligned with your most important priorities. It may involve changing your calendar, delegating responsibilities, declining meetings, or creating more space for strategic thinking and your people.
How can leaders improve focus at work?
Start by identifying the most important work that requires your attention and protecting time for it. Reducing unnecessary meetings, limiting distractions, creating short breaks throughout the day, and reviewing how you actually spend your time can also help you regain focus.
How do I know if I’m spending too much time in meetings?
Review several weeks of your calendar and ask whether your presence was truly necessary in each meeting. Consider whether you contributed to a decision, provided expertise that couldn’t be delegated, or needed to hear the discussion firsthand. If not, there may be an opportunity to reclaim that time.
Why should leaders create a Stop/Start list?
A Stop/Start list forces you to consider tradeoffs. Adding a new priority without removing something else often creates overload. Deciding what to stop doing creates the capacity to focus on the activities that matter most.
How can leaders protect time for strategic thinking?
Treat strategic thinking as real work rather than something you’ll get to when your schedule allows. Block time on your calendar, protect portions of your day from meetings, delegate where appropriate, and create an environment where you can think without constantly reacting to incoming requests.
Why is focus important for effective leadership?
A leader’s attention sends a signal. When leaders consistently focus on the organization’s most important priorities, their teams gain greater clarity about what matters. When leaders are constantly reacting, shifting priorities, or trying to be involved in everything, that lack of focus can ripple through the organization.
Occasionally we need to stop and reboot. To determine if we need to FOCUS or RE-FOCUS how we spend our time and prioritize what we should be doing.
1. Focus on important things early in the day. When we’re rested, those big and multiple tasks don’t feel as overwhelming as if we wait until 4:00pm. Keep your calendar open early in the morning and dedicate your energy to that one primary thing. If you have time to get to other things, terrific.
2. Opt out of meetings. For two weeks, opt out as many meetings as possible. Ask a colleague to provide you with an update from those meetings. After those two weeks review whether or not you should attend that meeting(s) the next time. It’s amazing how much time you add back to your week by not trying to attend every meeting and be in the know on everything. Your calendar doesn’t lie. Review your last 4-8 weeks of your calendar to see where you are spending your time. There is a good chance you will shift and change where you need to spend your time versus where you have been spending your time.
3. Create an energy shift every 90 minutes. Research indicates that our bodies need a break every 90 minutes to refuel and recharge. Keep it short, like a three minute walk or a quick climb up a stairway. Find a colleague and have a creative, non-task or agenda-focused discussion.
4. Unplug from gadgets at least one hour before bedtime. Research shows that quality of sleep matters and that being in bed but still awake reduces daytime alertness significantly. Utilize those moments to decompress when you shift from your work life to your personal life and when you call it a day.
5. Stop or start doing list. The best any time of year resolution is to create a stop or start doing list which forces you to allocate the most precious resource of all: time. This will help you find the time to think about what really matters to you in the coming week, month or year. Again, your calendar doesn’t lie. Print out your calendar from the last several months. Where are you spending your time? Categorize and rank where you are spending your time to determine what you need to change.
Most of all, take care of yourself. Put yourself in a position to be more focused so you can be present and attentive when you are with your family, friends and colleagues.
