3.2.8 — Application Exercise

Select one active project, responsibility, or strategic initiative currently on your agenda. This exercise translates the concepts of focus, strategic prioritization, and intentional execution into practical action. The goal is to evaluate how attention is being allocated — and to realign it toward what creates meaningful progress rather than motion.

Follow the steps below with clarity and honesty:

1. Step 1 — Identify What Does Not Deserve Your Attention
   
   Review all tasks, responsibilities, and supporting activities tied to this initiative.
   
   Write down three actions you can eliminate, automate, delegate, or defer without harming progress or strategic direction. These tasks generate movement — but not meaningful advancement.
   
   As you evaluate, ask:
   
   • Does this action contribute measurable progress?
   • Is it aligned with the objective of the initiative?
   • Could a system, tool, or another person execute this instead?
   
   This step reduces noise, prevents unnecessary workload, and protects strategic energy.
2. Step 2 — Identify What Deserves Greater Attention
   
   Within the same initiative, identify one high-leverage action that requires deeper focus, higher priority, or uninterrupted execution time.
   
   This should be the action that:
   
   • Moves the initiative forward significantly
   • Removes a bottleneck or dependency
   • Enables progress in future tasks
   • Strengthens alignment with the defined objective
   
   Write one sentence explaining why this action deserves elevated focus.
3. Step 3 — Commit to a Next Action Block
   
   Schedule a specific time block — date and duration — dedicated exclusively to the action identified above.
   
   Protect this focused work period with the same priority you would assign to a critical meeting or external obligation.

When done correctly, this exercise reshapes how you work. Instead of reacting to demands or distributing energy evenly across responsibilities, you direct attention intentionally toward the highest-value activities — the ones that meaningfully advance execution and strategic progress.