Art of focusing

If I could just plan my schedule better I will get more done. I recognize this thought, or should I say assumption, and so does one of my clients. He and I and many others struggle with the fact that we think this all the time but we still don't feel very productive. We are often falling short of our daily goals for progress. And then we "punish" ourselves again with the thought that we should plan our schedule better. A Catch 22 thought!
It wasn’t until it dawned on me when I read this article in HBR: Being prolific is not about time management. There are a limited number of hours in the day, and focusing on time management just makes us more aware of how many of those hours we waste.
A better option is attention management: Prioritize the people and projects that matter, and it won’t matter how long anything takes. Attention management is the art of focusing on getting things done for the right reasons, in the right places and at the right moments. So start the day with sitting back and analyze what needs to be done and why instead of when.