Work on one area at a time

Like a grain of sand slipping through the hour glass, our moment by moment focus should be on one thing at any one time.

Now I will give a caveat, there are some people who can do one thing with their bodies and one thing with their minds at the same time - namely, you can knit a jumper and read a book (don't believe me - i've got a photo to prove it), watch the tv and do the ironing, listen to your kids and wash the dishes, read a magazine and ride your exercise bike, you can listen to self-help tapes and paint a wall, you can walk and meditate. All of which are good to do, but

But in most cases, we need to be able to concentrate on those single minute decisions that we make. But chances are also good that as we know we should be thinking and focussing on one area at a time, we are usually thinking (or worrying) about something else.

Do I write that proposal or do I allow my mind to wander down to that email screen that's just popped up (hint turn off the email when you're working);
Do I work steadily for half an hour on a project that I need to work on, or do I sit here and wonder why my partner hasn't called / the woman in the next cubicle is always trying to take credit for my work / whether I have enough money in the bank to pay my bills...or whatever it happens to be that crosses your mind.

This is where your goal list comes in handy. This is also where you need to write down all those things that you are thinking about. Get them down on paper, get rid of them out of your current mind set and then decide whether you can do anything about them NOW, or whether you really should focus on what you know you can and should be doing. And save those other things for when you can focus on them properly.