In a noisy world keeping Focussed on what matters is a growing challenge for Entrepreneurs, consultants and in the sphere of business. It’s very easy to become distracted by ‘shiny objects’.

In my recent post on Values I suggested, you will always make time for activities falling in line with your values. When you decide based on your values, you focus on what matters to you. You banish procrastination.

It follows, that if you spend a lot of time on tasks which prevent you from engaging with your “need to do” tasks, those need to do tasks probably don’t meet your values.

Do you always put that blog off until the last minute?

Is that Podcast interview getting postponed again?

Why do you always submit your self-assessment tax return in January just before the deadline?

Could it be these tasks don’t fit in with your values and why does it matter? For a start, you may as well enjoy what you’re doing. But knowing your values can help with career choices or as an entrepreneur what business path you follow. Perhaps you could outsource these tasks so that you can spend your time on what you should be doing.

To take this a stage further, your values will help you determine exactly what you should spend your time on and what you should be outsourcing.

So how do you get to establish your values?

Here are 7 questions to help you get started. List three activities for each question.

How do you spend your time?

What excites you most?

When are you most motivated and focussed and what inspires you most?

Household essentials aside, What do you spend your money on?

What do you spend your time thinking about?

What do you talk about when your with friends?

What do you read about?

You can make up a simple spreadsheet and see where you overlap. Alternatively there are dozens of websites offering free value analysis tools. Some are more detailed than others, but if you are serious about getting clarity and maximising your productivity, it’s worth the effort.