Leading Acquisition Series: How to Focus Your

Time & Attention to Be More Productive!

Dr. Glenn Lamartin
Defense Acquisition University
glenn.lamartin@dau.edu
February 3, 2021
 Poll #1: Getting Things Done

• I feel under pressure to get things done at work

2 www.DAU.edu
 Time and Attention Challenges

“Busy-ness,” it’s
a 21st Century
badge of honor

3
 Time and Attention Challenges

• But it takes a toll on us

in many ways and can
lead to:
• Stress
• Loss of productivity
• Lower quality of life

4
 What is Busyness?

• The quality or condition of being busy

• Lively but meaningless activity
~ Dictionary.com

5
 Question #1: How do I spend my time?

• Think about the activities that consume your work week

• Which among them would you describe as “busyness”?
• Please post some examples in the chat box

6
 Objectives

• Transform into thinking, acting, and interacting as an

Acquisition Leader
• Recognize challenges that get in the way of what we NEED to
be doing with our time and what we need to focus on
• Describe strategies that can help you
1. Focus your time
2. Focus your attention

7
 Poll #2: Time Challenges

• I am challenged to complete all of my work assignments

within my scheduled work week

8 www.DAU.edu
 Mastering Time Challenges

9
 Managing Your Time

Childhood to Adulthood
Managing Your Time

Pre-School
&
Elementary Middle
School School
High
School
College
Others Involved

Work

Childhood Adulthood
10
 Consuming Your Time

Work Environment
Consuming Your Time

Key Leader

Branch Chief
or
Others Involved

Department
Team Head
Leader or
Functional Supervisor
Expert

Adulthood

11
 Time Management

“I am definitely going to take a course on time management… just

as soon as I can work it into my schedule!”
~ Louis E. Boone

12
 The Time Management Myth

13
 Priorities
• Which comes first, the compass or the clock?

Where you are headed is more important than how fast you are going!

14
 Setting Priorities

The most important tasks usually aren’t the most urgent;

however, we tend to let the urgent tasks dominate our lives!
15
 The Two Planes

Plane of Observation
• Understand the whole picture
• Develop strategy
• Create time/space for reflection
• Build the capacity to act wisely

Plane of Action
• See the “picture” in action
• Execute strategy
• Learn by doing
• Adapt on the fly

16
 Poll #3: How do I spend my time?

• Think about the activities that

consume a typical work day
• Do you spend more of your day in
the Plane of Action or the Plane of
Observation?

17
 Theories on Use of Time
• Frederick Taylor—”Scientific Management”
• Early 1900s
• Division of labor between management and workers
• “One best way”
• Rules and processes to increase productivity
• Stephen Covey—”The 7 Habits of Highly
Effective People”
• 1980s
• Self improvement guide
• Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind
• Habit 3: Put first things first
• Time Management Matrix
18 www.DAU.edu
 Time Management Matrix—a Tool You Can Use
Urgent Not Urgent

Important

1 2
3 4
Not important

Source: Stephen R. Covey (1989). The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Franklin Covey Company

19
 Quadrant 4: Not Urgent, Not Important
Urgent Not urgent

Important

1 2
3 4 Lots of
Not important

meetings
live here

Source: Stephen R. Covey (1989). The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Franklin Covey Company

20
 Quadrant 3: Urgent, Not Important
Urgent Not Urgent

Important

1 2
3 4
Not important

Interruptions
Distractions
Off topic phone calls
Email you have to reply to
right away or it loses value

Source: Stephen R. Covey (1989). The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Franklin Covey Company

21
 Quadrant 1: Urgent, Important
Urgent Not Urgent

Crying baby
Important Kitchen fire
Family emergency
Real, hard deadline for an
important project
1 2
3 4
Not important

Source: Stephen R. Covey (1989). The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Franklin Covey Company

22
 Quadrant 2: Not Urgent, Not Important
Urgent Not Urgent
Strategic planning
Career planning
Important
Reflection
Family/friendships
Wellness
1 2
3 4
Not important

Source: Stephen R. Covey (1989). The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Franklin Covey Company

23
 Time Management Matrix
Urgent Not Urgent

Important

DO PLAN
1 2
3 4
Not important

DELEGATE ELIMINATE

Source: Stephen R. Covey (1989). The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Franklin Covey Company

24
 The Truth About Perfection

“Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more

to add but when there is nothing more to take away!”
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

25
 Why We Fear “Eliminating”

• There is something
holding us back and
that word is

NO!

26
 Power of A Positive No

Only by saying no to competing demands for your time can you create
the space for the important yeses in your life – the people and activities
that really matter!
27
 Question #2: Why do we fear delegating?

• Recall some times when you

could have delegated a job to
someone else
• What made you hesitate to do
so?
• Please post your ideas in the
chat box

28
 Delegating: Perfectionism

It’s a service to allow others the natural process of making, and learning
from, their own mistakes!
29
 Question #3: How can you put the Time Management
Matrix to work for you?
• Consider the Time Management
Matrix
• How can you use it as a tool to
manage how you use your time?
• Please post your ideas in the
chat box

30
 Priority Dilution

Priority dilution is when we

delay the day’s most important
activities by allowing our time
and attention to shift to less
important tasks

31
 Mastering Attention Challenges

32
 Your Attention

“Attention is a limited
resource, so pay
attention to where you
pay attention.”
~ Howard Rheingold

33
 Poll #4: Attention Challenges

• I struggle to focus on one thing at a time

34 www.DAU.edu
 Daily Distractions

• Human beings are wired for

distraction – it’s called the
“novelty bias”
• There are three things we
can do:
1. Decrease stimulation and
distractions
2. Stop trying to multi-task
3. Build the “focus muscle” in
our brains
Source: Chris Bailey (2019). Hyper Focus: How to be more productive in a world of distraction. Penguin Books

35
 Question #4: How can you minimize distractions?

• Consider your work environment

• What are some of the ways you
can minimize stimulation and
distractions so that you can
focus your attention?
• Please post your ideas in the
chat box

36
 The Multi-Tasking Myth

“To do two things at once is

to do neither!”
~ Publilius Syrus

37
 Your Attention Space

Attention space

Complex Task

Source: Chris Bailey, Hyperfocus: How to be more productive in a world of distraction

38
 Your Attention Space

Attention space
Other Task

Complex Task

Source: Chris Bailey, Hyperfocus: How to be more productive in a world of distraction

39
 Building Your “Focus Muscle”

• Here are some ways to build your focus muscle:

• Mindfulness practices (yoga, martial arts, journaling, meditation, etc.)
• Practicing “radical uni-tasking”
• Creating a distraction-free
environment
• Practicing self-care (eating well,
sleeping enough,
good work/life balance)

40
 It’s About Time

“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same
number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Louis
Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas
Jefferson, and Albert Einstein!”
~ H. Jackson Brown

41
 Discussion

• What works for you?

• How might you put what we’ve discussed today to
work?
• Master your time challenges…
• Master your attention challenges…

Dr. Glenn Lamartin

Defense Acquisition University
glenn.lamartin@dau.edu

42
 Leading Acquisition Series
• What—webcasts by experienced practitioners on
important leadership topics based on DAU’s Acquisition
Leader Development (ALD) initiative
• 3 MAR—Building Collaboration and Cooperation, Dr. Steve Firestone
• 7 APR—Making Change Happen, Dr. Tom Bagwell
• Why—provide insights and tools to help you succeed
• Who--individuals at all levels, regardless of rank or
position
• When—first Wednesday of each month, 1230-1400

JOIN US!
43