Consider this a quick reminder of something that you already know, but that we all sometimes seem to forget:  Real, meaningful, measurable progress can be achieved only when you let go of the minor things and focus on the major things.

Here’s how to put this idea to work today, and every day:

1. Track your activities and analyze how you are investing your time each day. If more than 30% of your time is being spent on things that have little impact on the big picture vision you are pursuing, or on things that others could easily do (if they even need to be done), then reallocate your effort to keep your focus on doing the things that matter.  Focus is the secret sauce that produces the most valuablel results.

2. Examine your recent decisions with an eye on whether they were made quickly enough, whether the right people were involved, and whether there is any way that you could have improved the process. Cycling multiple e-mails among several people about something trivial is never a good use of anyone’s time, but it happens with alarming regularity. Stay focused on the process and remember that the cost of no decision (or a slow decision) almost always outweighs the cost of a wrong decision made quickly (and corrected later).

3. Engage your team, your colleagues, your associates, and even your family in conversation about what you can do to help them be more effective in getting the things done that matter to them. They’ll realize that you see this as important, and even if they don’t ask you the same question you will be sharing your experiences and your perspective, which will lead to natural changes in everyone’s behavior that help keep you on track.

Enough said.  I share this today because across the past two weeks too much of my time (and the time of several others) has been lost to minor things that could have been much better handled.  All of the people involved share the blame, and I need to right the course of the ship if my June goals are going to be achieved before the end of the month.

How’s your progress going on your June goals?  Please post a comment and share your insights and observations!