I was blessed to be able to work in the tremendous country of Australia for a couple of years on the Olympics, but I came close to being buried there.
I almost drowned.
I enjoyed body surfing, but because I am a tall guy, I needed to go out relatively far to decrease the chance a wave would slam me into the ocean floor. I was cautious, staying between the flags on Maroubra Beach (where I loved the large waves). However, after swimming from the shore a bit one time, when I looked back I was no longer between the flags and much further out than I expected. A riptide had “assisted” me.
No matter how hard I tried to get back, I was getting no closer to the beach. Those gigantic waves I loved were pounding me, especially when I finally gave up on my male ego and raised my hands so the lifeguards would see, and save, me.
But they didn’t see, or save, me. All raising my hand did was bring me closer to drowning. I was spent.
Praise God, a few body board surfers came within shouting distance, and I yelled, “I am not going to make it.” The body board one of them lent me is why I can share this story today.
Why this apparently unconnected story in a book review?
At work, school, or otherwise in life, do you feel like you can never get ahead of all the tasks you have to accomplish? Like you’ve been pulled out so far, that you can never reach the shore accomplishment-wise? Battered and soon to drown unless you somehow figure out how to swim harder and faster? Like raising your hand for help does no good? (I remember one case where, when I mentioned to my boss I was a bit overwhelmed, her immediate request was for me to create a list of everything I was doing. Hand raised, wave dunking me under.)
Well, if you feel like that, Michael Hyatt’s Free to Focus is the body board that can save you and get you to shore every single day.
With a sense of accomplishment.
Hyatt’s book is the right combination of facts, inspiration, and practical advice. Facts that show you why you need to change how you work. Stories and quotes that will inspire you to try.
And practical advice on how to.
It is a system he had to develop for himself, since:
My problem back then was doing to much-mostly by myself. Later I realized focusing on everything means focusing on nothing.
We are scattered.
And drowning.
We can stop both from happening.
Without going into specifics (that’s what the book is for):
If productivity isn’t fundamentally about improving efficiency and increasing success, then what is the goal? Why should we bother? That brings us to the real objective, and Free to Focus’s underlying foundation: productivity should free you to pursue what’s most important to you. The goal, the true objective of productivity, should be freedom…
Not just trying to squeeze more work in. Not measuring success on success. Instead, focusing on what is important. To you. True success will follow.
I received a pre-release electronic copy to review, but I was so impressed I pre-ordered hardcover copies for boss and myself. (Don’t tell him, it’s a surprise.) I will be getting more coworkers copies and discussing it with my peers and my team.
It’s that good.
As an avid user of Michael Hyatt’s Full Focus Planner, it didn’t surprise me his book would be so useful, and it has encouraged me to start leveraging the planner more fully. If you are drowning at work, don’t swim harder or raise your hand for help. Grab this body board. Apply its advice. You won’t regret it.
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