Sitting in the airport as I write this, and I see someone intently writing a document on their laptop, in spite of a huge amount of noise and commotion about a foot away. This ability to focus on a specific task is powerful, and most of us experience it fairly regularly ("tuning out the world" and focusing on a task).
But what we can all do on a task basis is much harder to achieve on a day's basis. How many times do you get sucked into the chaos around you at home or at work?
In both situations (laser focus on a task, and getting caught up in adjacent chaos), time can fly by. I suppose the difference is how you feel at the end.
Goals, action lists, and priorities are your best friends in staying focused but the real challenge is self-discipline: do you have the force of will to stick to your plans?
I find it helps to have a "workout buddy" to help monitor progress against the goals you are trying to keep in the foreground. What about you? What techniques have you developed to keep yourself from being sucked into the chaos around you at work?
-- Post From My iPhone