Focused Choices

Focused Choices
How to Identify and Embrace Your Daily Priorities

A 6-hour workshop to learn
the method of “Eyes-Wide Open Prioritization”

Next Offering is Virtual:

Saturday & Sunday, October 27 & 28, 2018
On the Zoom Video Bridge (or by Telephone)
2:00 – 5:00 p.m. Eastern

 

Many people recommend this daily discipline: To identify the top six tasks you want to get done today, put them in priority order, and then do them, in order, during your next available time. Those who implement this discipline report that it radically improves their productivity. They spend their time where it matters most. Important long-term projects get finished. Urgent work gets done on time.

So why doesn’t everyone adopt this discipline consistently? 

Three obstacles get in the way:

  1. It’s not always easy to identify those top six tasks. If you bog down figuring them out, you use up crucial time for doing the work. 
  2. It can seem like new information makes the list obsolete almost as soon as you write it down. Something comes up, or you are reminded of a lagging task, and suddenly you are uncertain whether your alleged “top priority” is really what matters most. This is particularly true if you do creative work, which always brings surprises.
  3. Even if you believe that a certain task is your top priority right now–you consciously believe that doing it would be the best use of your time–you may feel strong resistance to taking that action.

The typical advice for dealing with these obstacles is to “Just do it.” You need to “power through.” You should “force yourself” because you have “no choice.” This stressful, duty-based approach may show some results in the short-term. However, in the long-term it fosters a vicious cycle of burnout, fueled by guilt and self-doubt. You become your own slave master, whipping yourself to “do the right thing,” regardless of how you feel or what it does to you, because otherwise you are “no good.”

In reaction to that kind of self-flagellation and added stress, many people throw up their hands and don’t prioritize at all.

This class offers a true alternative: a self-respectful approach to identifying and embracing what matters most, then following through with determination. With this approach, a discipline of setting priorities creates a virtuous cycle of productivity, which fuels your sense of pride and confidence.

In this class, you will learn:

  • How to quickly reveal critical issues so you can be confident you’ve identified your top priorities
  • The secret to ensuring that your day’s decisions guide you effectively, despite interruptions and other events outside of your control
  • A powerful tool for choosing the best option when you are in the midst of the thorniest of conflicts
  • How to transform the unpleasant feelings that accompany making hard choices into a source of positive motivation
  • The key to handling resistance and temptation without just resorting to pressuring yourself

This class reflects my (Jean Moroney’s) distinctive perspective on productivity. The problems people have setting priorities are thinking problems–thinking problems that sabotage action. The remedy lies in learning how to manage your mind so that you can solve problems faster, eliminate emotional overload, and re-frame goals so that they motivate you to follow through. When you get your head in the game, action follows.

Testimonials from earlier offerings of Focused Choices

Attend this class even if you think you are good at managing your time. She’ll help you fine-tune your productivity tactics, as well as help you step back when necessary, to refocus and refine your central purpose. She can help you integrate the use of different methods to help you become more productive and relaxed, creative and happy.
— Yuen Liang, Business Consultant

Thank you for emphasizing the goodness in all of us. We are not in need of “fixing,” we are normal, good people who face conflicts which require focused choices. I now have tools to deal with conflicts so I can make good decisions that make me HAPPIER!
— Wallace Harding, Artist

Focused Choices offers a very manageable method to help you more fully consider all the pros and cons to any decision, large or small, so you arrive at the best decision possible, given your values.
— Kathryn Daley, Entrepreneur, Chicago IL

Definitely attend this class. Bring as much ‘baggage’ as you can carry and an open mind. The deliberate, methodical approach yields surprising results.
— David Disheroon, Graham, Texas

Jean Moroney is a master at creating systems that work to assist one in everyday thinking problems and Focused Choices is no exception. In just a few hours, you can learn a system for making optimal decisions in whatever time is available, minimizing and marginalizing both indecision and regrets. This is a great class.
— Lin Zinser, Naples, Florida

Jean’s teaching style is delightfully warm and engaging. She offers easy-to-follow fundamental thinking skills you’ll use daily for making relatively minor or more important decisions. You’ll give yourself the confidence that you have made the best choice, based on your current information and, as Jean calls it, your personal “values landscape.”
Ellen Kenner, Psychologist and Host of the Radio Show The Rational Basis of Happiness

This class helped me learn to reveal critical issues I didn’t even realize were relevant to a decision. For example, Introspection 101 directed my attention to an issue with my husband, that was the key to unlocking a problem with a neighbor. As another example, I’ve changed what I think when I “have no choice, or no good choice.” I now look at the unappetizing choices with a “make the best of it” attitude rather than a self-pitying attitude.
— Stephanie Bond, Rule 7 Consultant, Smith Falls, Ontario

 

 

This is a jam-packed, transformational class, for only $369.

In the first part (day 1 of virtual classes, the morning of in-person classes), you will learn tools for identifying your priorities.

In Unit 1: Figuring Out What Matters, you  will learn little-known prioritization mistakes and proactive skills for ensuring that you avoid them. You will walk away confident you can  reveal any critical issues for making your decision, even if they don’t occur to you at first.

In Unit 2: Untangling Complex Choices, you learn the secret to avoiding analysis paralysis. You will take away a system for analyzing seemingly unresolvable conflicts, so you can always make an appropriate choice in the time available.

In the second part (day 2 of virtual classes, the afternoon of in-person classes), you will learn tools for embracing your priorities so that you can act on them.

In Unit 3: Facing Unpleasantness, you learn a self-respectful way to handle the negativity that can come up when you take steps that challenge your old way of doing things. You will test drive a tactic that grounds you in the present and helps you resolve longstanding internal conflicts over time.

In Unit 4: Embracing Action, you learn how to use determination rather than duty to stay focused on what matters when you face barriers to action. You will see how a radically new attitude toward conflict can transform your experience of day-to-day work into a positive, productive undertaking.

This class is not for everyone. None of these tactics are “no-brainers.” If you aren’t already committed to working hard, there is no point in taking this class.

But if you are already working hard, then this class is for you. The tactics from this class ensure your hard work pays off faster. What you do with the time you save is up to you. Do you want to add a little balance to your life? Do you want to carve out time for a lagging pet project? Or do you just want to enjoy your workday more?

When you develop a self-respectful discipline at prioritizing your time, you open up possibilities for designing your life to be exactly what you want it to be.

Sign up now! Learn crucial prioritization skills that will make you more productive and less stressed. Cost: $369.

 

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This is a hands on class. During the class you get a chance to test drive the tactics with individual exercises using situations from your own life. Breakthroughs are common during class exercises.

During the class we will step through a workbook using a combination of lecture, discussion, group exercises, and individual exercises.

In addition, you will receive a laminated summary sheet with convenient reminders of how and when to use the tactics, plus a 55-page manual with write-ups of the tactics for quick review. You will also have access to soft copies of all of the materials.

After class, you get two months in the Thinking Lab, where you can access;

  • Live virtual classes going deeper on the skills
  • Over 100 hours of additional course material
  • Write-ups on dozens of related thinking tactics
  • One “Thinking Day”–a day you can join other Thinking Lab members virtually to work on a high priority project, ask questions of Jean, or just get encouragement to stay on task
  • Unlimited email feedback on work you submit for review during your time in the lab
  • Optional onboarding call with Jean Moroney to discuss your particular situation

 

Use Your Own Real-Life Situations in Class

Jean’s Focused Choices workshop offers an easy-to-follow method to make any decisions in your life, from relatively minor but distressing ones, to major complex ones. With her method, you make decisions fueled by your values, not by fear and avoidance, guilt, or duty.

I focused on some personal decisions in her workshop:

  1. How to deal with a perplexing, seemingly minor situation with a family member
  2. How to rekindle an exercise routine I enjoy
  3. How to find time to practice dance, a hobby I cherish (but rarely practice)
  4. How to jump start a project I’ve been procrastinating on
  5. How to decide what level of involvement I want in an organization

What a gift to learn Jean’s benevolent decision-making method by using real personal situations that you are actually facing.

— Ellen Kenner, Psychologist and Host of the Radio Show The Rational Basis of Happiness

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Prioritization is perhaps the most critical thinking people need to do to succeed.

Your priorities are unique–no one else has the full context to figure out what is most important to you. And when something comes up, you need to be able to think on your feet to adapt your priorities in the face of new information.

Not only that, your work situation is unique, so your time management systems need to be adapted to your personal circumstances. Only you can figure out those details. And when (not if) something changes, you need to be able to adapt.

Any change in your situation will disrupt your productivity–because it changes your priorities. When you change jobs, when your family situation evolves, when you add a new goal, such as working out regularly, the same thing happens. You create internal conflict. This is a side effect of growth.

As you grow, you need to keep focused on what’s important–to choose the better over the good, to choose what matters over what feels comfortable. That is why I call this method Eyes-Wide-Open Prioritization.

The Next Offering is Virtual:

Focused Choices–Virtual Class

Saturday & Sunday, October 27-28, 2018
2:00 – 5:00 p.m. Eastern
(11:00 a.m. Pacific, 12 noon Mountain, 1:00 p.m. Central)

Join with the Zoom Video Bridge or dial in with any telephone

 

How much is it?
Tuition for the 6-hour class is $369

 

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To sign up, please fill out the form here and choose the session in the drop-down box. You can either pay by credit card on that site, or put in the “PayByCheck” coupon to register and then send the check separately.

When I get your payment, I’ll send you a registration letter with more information.

Let’s sum up what you get from an investment of $369:

  • A prioritization process that handles the thorniest conflict
  • Powerful tools for coping with intense emotions that get in the way of making good choices
  • The secret to identifying what really matters without using up all of your time
  • The key to following through on priorities without driving yourself crazy
  • A chance to test drive the tactics on your own decisions during the workshop
  • Surprising insights into how to use what you already know more effectively
  • A detailed workbook for doing exercises
  • PDF of my new Thinking Tactics manual: How to Focus Your Thoughts for Action
  • A 2-page summary sheet for quick reference (PDF)
  • Complimentary membership in the Thinking Lab from the time you register to two months after the class so you can get more tactics, more practice, and more help

Register now and get between now and class as extra time in the Thinking Lab

Questions? Email me at jm@thinkingdirections.com and I’ll answer them.

Sign up now and learn how making focused choices can make you happier and more productive every day.

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Still unsure? Here’s my money-back guarantee:
If you have not already discovered one way you can be
significantly more effective in your decision-making at the end of the first unit, you can walk out then with a 100% refund. So what are you waiting for?

Tuition: $369

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Still not sure? Try a  no-risk sample

Willpower vs. Value Power is a free 1-hour sample class I am offering.  I guarantee, if you like the Willpower vs. Value Power class, you will find Focused Choices even more valuable. It builds on what can only be mentioned in passing in the preview.

Read more and register on the Willpower vs. Value Power page

 

 

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