How to Keep Focus on Strategic Issues

Schedule a meeting – with yourself for 2 hours during a time of day when you are most effective.  For me,   that is first thing in the morning. I would not stay home or go to my office, as either place is full of people that need you in some way.  Instead I would go to a restaurant, stake my claim for 2 hours.  I would order breakfast, a pot of tea and get at it, I would ask the waiter to keep the tea coming and I would take care of him with a big tip. After one visit he would remember me and have the tea brewing the moment he saw me. At that table, I turned off all my devices and looked at those issues I needed to address but were taking a back burner to the pulls of everyday life.  I could plan the next steps that I could do between my “meetings”.   A few steps each week moves you quickly forward.  A few rules I made with myself: First, if someone asked me to meet at that time, I could only say yes if I had another time that week available for my “me” meeting. Second, I avoided telling anyone, including my assistant, what the purpose of the meeting was so they wouldn’t use it as quasi available time. No one will treat this meeting with the importance it deserves.   Third, keep meetings at your most energetic time of day.