Here is a little video for you about planning and focus. Important elements for your success.

Planning and focus are the keys to being productive. I hope you enjoyed the video about staying focused on the task at hand. I think that so many of us have that problem, it was worth mentioning.

I looked up the name of the software I use that has all the configurable timers. It's called Action Machine Pro. I forgot to mention that it also tracks the timers you set up and their usage so you can create reports and see how much time you are spending on certain tasks.

What steps do you take to make sure you stay focused? I would like to know. Please take a minute and share by leaving a comment so other readers can benefit from your knowledge.

Some time soon, I will talk a little more about the planning process and give you some good resources to help as well. Planning and goal setting was the first module in Alex Jeffreys coaching program and with good reason.

Now, a little off topic. Below is a picture of Camilo Villega, who won the Honda Classic golf tournament last weekend. That is my son's head in the foreground just before he got his autograph.

Camilo Villegas, winner of the "Honda Classic" signing autographs.

It's good to see celebrities that don't mind taking a little time for the fans. It means so much to the kids. My son couldn't stop talking about it all night. We even bought him a frame so he could put the picture in it along with the autograph.

Well, the year has come to an end and I am looking forward to 2010. Not only is this a time for planning the upcoming year, but it's also a time of reflection when we look back at our accomplishments as well as our failures. I mention failures because they are just as important as our accomplishments.

Failures are the way we learn. My mentor, Alex Jeffreys, likes to call it failing forward. The important thing here is that you made the effort and took action. Thomas Edison literally had thousands of failures before he found the correct filament to create a working light bulb.

Determination and tenacity prevailed and the rest is history. But I have found that it's not just enough to to take action. You need to take "intelligent action". This has nothing to do with how smart you are, it's about being focused and sticking to a game plan.

Concentrate on the things that are working for you. Shut out the distractions as much as possible. More than likely you are like me and still work a full time job. Your time is very valuable so must make sure that you are productive with the little time you have.

This was something that I learned this year and it has helped me immensely. I easily tripled my productivity compared to what I was doing before. Have a "to do list" of your most critical action items. Turn off your email, Skype, Messenger, or anything else that might tempt you to deviate from the task at hand.

Then "Get Er Done!"

Of course, this is not easily done if you don't have a clear cut plan of attack. That is why goal setting and planning should be your number one priorities. Not only do you want to plan on a daily level, but you want to plan on a weekly, monthly, and a yearly level.