He also noted that you need to have to make yourself
reprioritize at least twice a week, if not once a day.
"Every minute you make judgments about what to do,
but begin the day with strategic focus. It takes more
discipline than anyone has—you just do best you can."
The Procrastinator’s Place of Refuge
McCoy continued, "The people I’ve seen fail at
this—even at the highest level—are the ones who allow
that multitude of balls in the air to become the ‘procrastinator’s
place of refuge’ from what’s really important. That’s
the biggest fight for people like me. We have difficult,
stressful things to do. It’s easy to get caught up in
fielding everything coming at you and, at the end of the
day, you’ve made no progress on the truly important, but
difficult, things."
Tools for the Art of Multitasking
The greatest asset in maintaining this type of focus for
McCoy is a 'superb executive assistant' who works closely
with you on the strategic priorities. Use the assistant to
take all the calls—and let no one else schedule your time.
"Next—everybody has to come up with the tools and
tricks on what’s do or die. Block out quiet time. That’s
your thinking time.
"I also try in fashioning a day, to focus on my
whole life, not just my job. I want to know at the end of
the day that I’ve done something for my family and the
rest of my life—even if they’re little, mundane things.
That gives a sense of accomplishment for your whole life
that will energize you.
"I’m a big believer in multitasking in meetings. I’m
blunt about it—I bring other things to do in a meeting. I
will sit there and do other things during presentations and
if there are sidebar discussions. I’ve learned to listen
intently and do other things at same time. You just have to
make every minute count. This can be disconcerting to other
people—to avoid that you have to continually demonstrate
that you are engaged."
According to McCoy, technology is a huge tool in
multitasking. He uses a Blackberry and Palm when out of the
office and advises, "Treat yourself to technology. It’s
wonderful. Every once in awhile, just buy yourself a new
pen. Maybe it just costs a dollar, but you’ll use it to
get something done."
