18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done by Peter Bregman
Authors: Peter Bregman
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myselfcentered on my areas of focus and to help me ignore the things that were distracting me. So that with each step I took—each action I chose, each call I made, each time I sat at my computer—I moved further in the direction I had set out for my career and my life.
A daily plan helped me tremendously. I structured my day so it supported me in becoming the kind of consultant I wanted to become. That meant making explicit decisions, ahead of time, about where I would spend my time and where I wouldn’t. It meant lists and to-dos—but not too many—and a calendar that truly reflected who I was and what I was trying to accomplish. And it meant gentle, but consistent, reminders to stay on track.
Because doing work that matters is much harder than doing work that doesn’t. And the desire to escape from hard, meaningful work is ever-present. So it helps to have some structure—not so much that it gets in the way, but enough so you keep moving forward deliberately and intentionally.
Each morning, I ask myself some questions: Am I prepared for this day? Prepared to make it a successful, productive day? Have I thought about it? Planned for it? Anticipated the risks that might take me off track? Will my plan for this day keep me focused on what my year is about?
The chapters in this section will guide you to prepare for—and live—each day so you can answer those questions with a resounding “Yes!” After considering the importance of looking ahead, we’ll explore the best way to create a plan for what
to
do based on your annual focus, whileconsciously choosing what
not
to do so you don’t get distracted. We’ll look at how to use your calendar to ensure you actually get all your to-dos done. And we’ll see how a short beep and a few minutes in the evening can help you stay on track. Finally, we’ll pull it all together in the 18-minute plan itself, your key to getting the right things done each day.
This section will pave your path to a fulfilling day that brings you one strong step closer to a fulfilling year.
21
Dude, What Happened?
Planning Ahead
W in, my mountain biking partner, and I looked down the ten-foot drop.
“Should be fun,” he said as we backed away from the edge and climbed up the hill to get some runway. I wasn’t so sure. He got on his bike, pedaled to get a little speed, and took the plunge, effortlessly gliding over the rocks, roots, and stumps.
My turn. I felt the adrenaline rush as I clipped my feet into the pedals. My heart was beating fast. My hands were shaking. I took a few tentative pedal strokes forward and inched up. I felt my front tire go over the edge and I started to descend, checking my speed as I weaved around the obstacles.
Suddenly I hit something, and my bike abruptly stopped. Unfortunately, I didn’t. I flew over my handlebars and ended up on the ground, lying beside my bike, front wheel still spinning.
“Dude,” Win said, laughing, “you okay?”
“Yeah.” I brushed the dirt off my elbows. “Dude, what happened?”
Neither of us knew. So I picked up my bike, climbed the chute, and did it again. Not just the chute, the whole thing: the adrenaline, the weaving around the obstacles, the abrupt stop, the flying over the handlebars.
“Dude,” Win laughed again. I was officially in the movie
Groundhog Day
. I climbed back up the chute and did it again. And again. I must have done it five times before I figured out what was stopping me.
Me.
A mountain bike has to be moving fast enough to make it over an obstacle. The bigger the obstacle, the more momentum the bike wheel needs to roll over it. There was one big unavoidable rock, and each time I came upon it I unconsciously squeezed on my brake. That slowed me down just enough to turn the rock into an insurmountable wall.
I needed more speed to keep moving, so I climbed back up and did it again. I stared at the rock and picked up speed, keeping my eyes on it right to the point where I squeezed on my brakes
A daily plan helped me tremendously. I structured my day so it supported me in becoming the kind of consultant I wanted to become. That meant making explicit decisions, ahead of time, about where I would spend my time and where I wouldn’t. It meant lists and to-dos—but not too many—and a calendar that truly reflected who I was and what I was trying to accomplish. And it meant gentle, but consistent, reminders to stay on track.
Because doing work that matters is much harder than doing work that doesn’t. And the desire to escape from hard, meaningful work is ever-present. So it helps to have some structure—not so much that it gets in the way, but enough so you keep moving forward deliberately and intentionally.
Each morning, I ask myself some questions: Am I prepared for this day? Prepared to make it a successful, productive day? Have I thought about it? Planned for it? Anticipated the risks that might take me off track? Will my plan for this day keep me focused on what my year is about?
The chapters in this section will guide you to prepare for—and live—each day so you can answer those questions with a resounding “Yes!” After considering the importance of looking ahead, we’ll explore the best way to create a plan for what
to
do based on your annual focus, whileconsciously choosing what
not
to do so you don’t get distracted. We’ll look at how to use your calendar to ensure you actually get all your to-dos done. And we’ll see how a short beep and a few minutes in the evening can help you stay on track. Finally, we’ll pull it all together in the 18-minute plan itself, your key to getting the right things done each day.
This section will pave your path to a fulfilling day that brings you one strong step closer to a fulfilling year.
21
Dude, What Happened?
Planning Ahead
W in, my mountain biking partner, and I looked down the ten-foot drop.
“Should be fun,” he said as we backed away from the edge and climbed up the hill to get some runway. I wasn’t so sure. He got on his bike, pedaled to get a little speed, and took the plunge, effortlessly gliding over the rocks, roots, and stumps.
My turn. I felt the adrenaline rush as I clipped my feet into the pedals. My heart was beating fast. My hands were shaking. I took a few tentative pedal strokes forward and inched up. I felt my front tire go over the edge and I started to descend, checking my speed as I weaved around the obstacles.
Suddenly I hit something, and my bike abruptly stopped. Unfortunately, I didn’t. I flew over my handlebars and ended up on the ground, lying beside my bike, front wheel still spinning.
“Dude,” Win said, laughing, “you okay?”
“Yeah.” I brushed the dirt off my elbows. “Dude, what happened?”
Neither of us knew. So I picked up my bike, climbed the chute, and did it again. Not just the chute, the whole thing: the adrenaline, the weaving around the obstacles, the abrupt stop, the flying over the handlebars.
“Dude,” Win laughed again. I was officially in the movie
Groundhog Day
. I climbed back up the chute and did it again. And again. I must have done it five times before I figured out what was stopping me.
Me.
A mountain bike has to be moving fast enough to make it over an obstacle. The bigger the obstacle, the more momentum the bike wheel needs to roll over it. There was one big unavoidable rock, and each time I came upon it I unconsciously squeezed on my brake. That slowed me down just enough to turn the rock into an insurmountable wall.
I needed more speed to keep moving, so I climbed back up and did it again. I stared at the rock and picked up speed, keeping my eyes on it right to the point where I squeezed on my brakes
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