Scattered Smothered Covered: How to Reclaim Your Focus and Increase Productivity

Scattered Smothered Covered. The most popular way to order a Waffle House hash brown. And the way many executives, salespeople, and entrepreneurs run their lives.

If you grew up in the South or have ever been to a Waffle House it is likely you are familiar with the term. Technically it represents hash browns which are scattered on the grill, smothered in onions and covered with cheese.

But it also represents a tendency in life. We run around scattered in our minds, smothered in personal and professional obligations and covered up in the daily grind of trying to get it all done.

Think about it – is it fair to say you have been less than 100% clear and focused in the past three days? The past 24 hours? Two hours? If you have no idea what we are talking about right now this could be you.

Consider life without this mess of scattered, smothered, and covered. With a sense of clarity, of FOCUS, of purpose, of certainty. In sports this is called being in the zone. In psychology it is often referred to as a state of flow.

You have an optimal state of being for whatever you are taking on. And it’s not scattered, smothered and covered. You know it when you’re in it. Can you think of a time you have experienced this? What’s different about how you operate, your mindset, your conversations, your experience of life?

“There is never enough time to do everything, but there’s always enough time to do the most important things.”

Brian Tracy

Three Steps to UN- Scattered, UN- Smothered, UN- Covered

1. Take something off your plate. So much of personal and professional development implores us to learn more, do more, achieve more. There is of course merit in this. But you cannot do MORE of something without doing LESS of something else (See MORE LESS Method). What are your lower value activities? Which of these can you do less of, or not at all? Are there areas you can you delegate?

“What is THE ONE THING I can do, such that by doing it, everything else becomes easier or unnecessary?”

Gary Keller, The ONE Thing

2. Get a bigger plate. I remember listening to Zig Ziglar years ago while leading an insurance agency in Southern California. He told the story of the “little bitty ‘ole fryin’ pan”. There are several versions of this story. One relates a fisherman releasing the big fish and keeping the small ones. When asked why, he replied, “Cause all I have is a little bitty ‘ole fryin’ pan…”

Is it time to think bigger? To work harder? Or smarter? Maybe hire an assistant? Go ALL IN? Learn a new skill? Perhaps update technology? What disciplines can you engage in to expand your personal and professional capacity?

3. One bite at a time. This means carving out minimum standards that consistently move the needle in the critical areas of your life. Sometimes the hardest part is taking that first step. For more on this read Performance Standards for Entrepreneurs and Salespeople and EAT MORA DAT.

Your choices matter. Especially in what you put on and take off your plate. Choose powerfully my friends.