My Top 5 Takeaways from Michael Hyatt’s Free To Focus

Last summer I read Michael Hyatt’s book, Free To Focus. I do not say this lightly, this book was life changing. I had watched my husband implement the things he learned when he read it, but until I read it and implemented these things in my own life I did not realize how important this would be. 

I highly recommend taking the time to read this book. (Grab your copy HERE.) There are links on his website to the activities he recommends. Take the time to do these. 

Here are my top 5 takeaways: 

1. What is your plan? Michael asks us to look at our life, not as it is, but as we want it to be. In a realistic world, how do you want you life to be? Do you want to wake up in the mornings and feel like you have a direction? Yes, you have 2 kids and lots of things going on, but what do you envision for your life?
   This was really important for me to take a minute and step back and think about. If we just go with the flow, life happens to us.

2. These 2 statements changed everything:

   1. Productivity isn’t about getting more done, it’s about getting the right things done.

   2. Achieving more by doing less.
      
      I LOVE this concept. I have read so many books on productivity and time management. They are usually directed at getting MORE done; a “how can I conquer the world concept.” However, if we are not working towards the important, none of it matters. Or if we work ourselves into burnout or even worse, nothing we have done matters.

3. Eliminate, delegate, automate. One of the first activities is to write down all the things you do. I’ll be honest. The thought of this made my anxiety shoot up a little. I am involved in quite a few things and I didn’t think I really wanted to see that list. I had already done the eliminate part the year before. I was 8 months into my journey into minimalism. I knew the things on my plate were not things that I could eliminate. But I did not understand the power of delegate and automate. Once I looked at all the things and saw where I could delegate or automate tasks, it make quite the difference. And I even found some areas that could be eliminated.
   In this section Michael also talks about Batch Work. I use it so much that I have an entire blog post and video about it HERE.

4. Quarterly goals. Many times we make New Year’s Resolutions. They never work. Why? Because how do we really plan out for an entire year? Or we add too much on our plate at once. The Full Focus planner (which I highly recommend) is a quarterly planner. You need this! Get yours HERE. While some goals might span the entire year, focusing on one quarter allows you to break things down into manageable pieces and truly get things accomplished.

5. My Big 3. I have always found myself to be a productive person. It’s the stopping that has been the hardest for me. I used to feel like I worked all day. Every day. The reality is, being truly DONE is not going to happen. If you are someone who likes to accomplish things and feels fulfilled in that, it’s hard to truly feel finished. But when I started prioritizing things into goals it made such a difference. You need to work on something each day to bring you closer to your goal. This helps you set your priorities. When you start a week in the planner it asks you to reflect on the previous week. You also need to look forward to the next week and see what the 3 most important things are for you to accomplish. Then daily you choose 3 things that are the most important. After that you can list out the small things you need to get done each day as well. Because I am focusing on priority, I am able to be DONE. It’s an amazing feeling.

It all comes back to getting the right things done so you have time for the important things. I don’t want to look back and my kids feel that all I did was work. Do I have to work while they are home some days? Absolutely. Do I have to say, “not right now, Mom needs to finish this email.” Of course. But I have found a place of peace in my schedule that I didn’t know existed. Here is something crazy - I try to work a 4 day week right now. I do work remotely and my job is flexible. As long as I accomplish my goals, my boss is happy. Through these concepts I have been able to work less, but get more done. 

When I tell you this book has changed my life, I am not being dramatic. I hope these concepts make the same impact for you that they have for me!