focus is picking

I have a stack of books to read. I have deadlines for some of them. I have personal learning needs for others of them.

I read several books at a time. I have them in every space I occupy. I carry them in my briefcase. I always have.

My problem is that by reading many, I seldom finish any. I sample and browse and skim and and lose track.

I’m realizing this week that if I want to meet my deadlines, I have to focus. I have to pick one book and finish it. And then pick another book. I’m trying to limit how many I carry with me.

I’m considering changing how I “always work” for the sake of getting something done.

So I’ll be reading The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith by Tim Keller.

Then I’ll be reading Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them by Ed Stetzer (not published yet. That’s why I have it).

Then I’ll be reading … other books.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

And I’m curious, does focus always mean one thing at a time?

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Mark Forster describes the AutoFocus system which lists everything and has you pick one thing at a time. Feels friendlier to me, and less complicated, than David Allen’s Getting Things Done.

5 responses to “focus is picking”

John | February 12, 2009 at 4:36 pm |

I just ran across Mark Forster’s blog before I saw your article. I think Forster would say that you could read more than one book at a time as long as you have a plan to keep coming back to each of them. Little and often.

Forster quotes Al Secunda saying “a minimum of 15 seconds work a day on any project will bring it to fruition.” I could believe that. When I don’t complete a project, it’s not because I give it some time but not enough, it’s because I quit giving it any time. If you commit to reading each book for at least 15 seconds a day, each book will get a lot more time than that most days and you’ll get through them all.
David Poon | February 13, 2009 at 6:12 pm |

Focusing on something will tune out everything else that you’re not focusing on, but what it’ll give you is clarity and true understanding. To me, focused reading means book + coffee + a place to hide away from other demands. Sometimes it’s a time of day ( early in the morning or late at night ), sometimes it’s a cafe tucked away in a street corner somewhere.

I’ve always understood focus in the focus always demand sacrificing attention on some other things.
Hannah | February 14, 2009 at 2:51 am |

I read several books at a time as well. Rarely finish a book for that reason, although I finished one tonight!

A friend told me, “If I can’t finish a book, I figure I already got what I needed from it.” That’s just a different kind of focus.
ChiliMac | February 18, 2009 at 3:25 pm |

I am trying this rule. I can read multiple books but one 1 per category I cover in my life. So I can have:

1 book to further my career
1 health book,
1 personal finance book,
1 book for my soul (fiction, history or a hobby such as photography)
1 spiritual book

This way I only have 1 book to focus on when I’m working on that area of my life but I’m not limiting my growth.

Oh, and of course the Bible, so I guess that makes 6 books.
Jon Swanson | February 18, 2009 at 3:36 pm |

hmmm. Nice way to be thoughtful. What will be interesting is to see how much
the categories blur.

Thanks!