Focus or the lack of it at the office can make or break a sale, an account, or a lead and affect a company's value. Being mentally present is one of several skills you need to succeed at work and in any other facet of life.
Business coach Ivan Misner tells a story about how a young woman was too busy texting on her smartphone before she nearly ran into him on a crowded sidewalk. He uses this example to point out the woman was not mentally present in her surroundings. Other real-world activities illuminate the importance of mental presence, such as driving a car, performing surgery, flying a plane and caring for children. With any of these examples, you must be aware of what is going on around you or you may miss important details such as the car that stopped ahead of you, a sudden drop in a patient's blood pressure, or your son playing outside too close to the road.
Relating these examples to work-related activities to better develop the ability to succeed at work, Misner's overall message to business professionals stems from the tenet "be here now." This means when you're working, train your mind and body to remain connected to work-related things. Don't worry about home issues such as what's for dinner or who's taking your child to the dentist tomorrow. These distractions prevent you from remaining mentally present, impede tasks and, ultimately, hinder your professional pursuits.
Yes, it is difficult to forget about things outside of the work arena when you're so electronically connected to other arenas of your life through smartphone apps, text messages and email alerts. But outside issues should be addressed on your lunch break. If you need an extra 15 minutes to do so, stay 15 minutes later in the day to make up for your longer break, ensure your employer and colleagues get a full day of work from you.
The same techniques apply at home. When you're with your family, friends or spouse, don't bring work issues into that area of your life. Make clear to your supervisors that you need your personal time when you're not at the office. Leave your work computer off, don't check your work email and don't volunteer to be on call unless you're absolutely needed. Your loved ones will thank you for it, and they will appreciate how you're mentally present for them when you're at home or on vacation.
Learning to separate your personal and professional lives is one of the hardest lessons to master. Work and the financial reward attached to it are important. But you must balance work with personal fulfillment. When you take that 2-week summer vacation with your family, avoid any mention of projects or your difficult boss. Your loved ones are likely to have little interest in how Smith's incompetence caused you to stay late. If you do stay late at the office, be sure to make it up to your family later.
Create a mentally present habits in your life by training yourself to let things go until you can give a situation the proper attention. No one expects you to handle a business crisis on vacation, and your family knows that you can't truly handle everyday home issues while you're busy at work.
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