Focus on what you can influence

Blog number 2 in a series on having a good day at work by focussing only on what you can control or influence. And ignoring the rest.

We can all get caught up in and react to things outside our control or influence – things other people say and do, difficult customers, someone calling in sick, the weather. This is HUMAN. But increasing our awareness of how much time and energy we spend doing this can build self-awareness and help us form better habits.

The Circle is a simple framework to deal with this. It comes from the 80s (and still works today!) and was popularised in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. It invites you to think about all the challenges and concerns you have in your work and in your life. Which of these things are inside and which are outside of your control and influence?

Managing our work and energy well means acting on what we can control and influence. And not wasting our time, energy and brain power on things we cannot change. This will minimise feelings of overwhelm and frustration. And help us to be more proactive and effective.

I’d encourage you to draw out these circles and fill them with everything that takes up your brain space in a typical day.

Where is your attention? What are you focussed on? What can you influence and how? What could you let go of?