The following comes from Brian Tracy's wonderful book Time Power:The foundations of good work habits can be summarized in two words: focus and concentration.
Focus is what is important to your most important goal. Focus requires clarity concerning the desired results and the relative priority of each step that you need to take to achieve those results. When you think of focus, think of a photographer adjusting his lens to keep the key subject sharp in the center of the picture.
To be truly effective at work, you must be continually adjusting your lens to be sure that what you are working on is the most important thing you could be doing at the moment to achieve your most important goal. The worst waste of time is doing something very well that need not be done at all.
Concentration requires the ability to stay with a task until it is 100 percent complete. Concentration means that you work in a straight line to get from where you are to where you want to go without diversion or distraction.
FOUR STEPS TO HIGH PRODUCTIVITY
1. Set clear goals and objectives in writing.
2. Develop a detailed plan of work and action for achieving your goal.
3. Set clear priorities with each of your work tasks organized in a hierarchy of value and importance to the desired result.
4. Concentrate single-mindedly, without diversion or distraction, on the most important thing you can do to achieve the goal. This is the real key to getting things done.
