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Yesterday morning I went to the Learning Professionals’ Gym, East Anglia’s forum for learning professionals. For those of you outside of the UK, East Anglia refers to Essex, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and probably parts of Hertfordshire. No doubt there will now be a debate about exactly where East Anglia starts and finishes!

Sue Parsons and Liz Bacon started the LPG a year or so ago, and I have been going along to meetings for a few months now. It’s a great way of meeting fellow learning and development professionals and gradually building relationships. A number of the members have collaborated on work together. Most of us are self-employed in ‘microbusinesses’ and it’s great to feel part of a team now and then.

Yesterday’s guest speaker was Paul Fuggle (rhymes with bugle) and his workshop presentation was ‘The Power of Focus’. Those of us who work in small businesses usually have to wear multiple hats, often at the same time, and Paul’s contribution to the day was designed to help us to be more focused. Here are some of the parts that stuck in my mind:

‘We are always focusing on something whether we are aware of it or not’. Think about it.

‘We are consciously or unconsciously directing thoughts and efforts all the time’

3 Key Elements of Focus:

  • The Power of Single Focus
  • Clear Focus
  • Heart-led Focus

There was one part of the workshop where we had two women and a man, all named Kate (you had to be there) pretending to be a chicken, an elephant and a monkey respectively, to demonstrate that it is more effective, when working on more than one project at a time, to concentrate effort on one project at a time. The analogy was used of the person who ends their working day with a dozen windows opened and minimised on their computer screen.

If you are splitting your focus between more than one project it is going to take longer to complete the project.

Clear Communication leads to Clear Focus!

I really liked the Heart-led Focus bit! It proved to me that I am doing something right, focusing on doing what I LOVE doing, which is helping others to achieve their goals!

Thanks to Paul and everyone for a great morning!