Workplace Multiplier by Tola Akinsulire

Tuesday Edition: November 5, 2024

Welcome to the Workplace Multiplier newsletter. Published every Tuesday & Friday, we discover something crucial to help us on the way to winning at work and in life.

Don't Lose Your Powerful Focus

Time is money.

I bet you have heard this at some point in time.

It originated from "Advice to a Young Tradesman", an essay by Benjamin Franklin that appeared in George Fisher's 1748 book, The American Instructor: or Young Man's Best Companion, in which Franklin wrote, "Remember that time is money.

Let me share the full context below:

"Remember that time is money. He that can earn ten shillings a day by his labour, and goes abroad, or sits idle one half of that day, though he spends but sixpence during his diversion or idleness, it ought not to be reckoned the only expence; he hath really spent or thrown away five shillings besides."

When you read the full context of the quote, you can already see the gap in holding on to this quote in our contemporary times.

The quote originated during simpler times when people were paid by the hour and outcomes were generally similar hourly.

The work game is rigged differently now.

Time is not money.

Your focus is money.

Time does not deliver results – your focus produces results.

And you already know that keeping your focus on anything is a huge next-level ninja skill. According to studies, today's average human attention span is 8.25 seconds.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is official, we have now beaten the goldfish's attention span of 9 seconds.

Some reasons for shortened attention spans include technology use, multitasking, an "always on" culture, and not getting enough sleep.

You probably know what your poison here is – so I’ll leave you to deal with it.

Our conversation today is on how to leverage your focus to deliver the greatest results on the job.

The earlier you recognise that not all time is equal and learn to protect your high-focus time, the quicker you will see a bigger impact on your results.

This is why you have to protect your focus at work.

Allow me to share a few thoughts on protecting & leveraging your focus.

1 – Clarity on your High Leverage Tasks:

Not everything deserves your attention. You have to know that and selectively choose what you give your focus to.

The more you spend your high-focus periods on high-leverage activities, the bigger your results.

Your high-leverage tasks sometimes have a snowball effect of creating momentum for you to catch up on your other low-leverage tasks.

2 – Delegate Like a Don:

Here, I would like to steal a few thoughts from “The Mafia Manager” by V, Mario Puzo’s “The Last Don” & “The Godfather”.

Yes, their “thing” might be different from yours. It’s just the MAFIA aka “Mothers And Fathers Italian Association” to them.

At the head of the MAFIA syndicate is the Don or Godfather, the individual syndicates or families have their respective heads. These heads make decisions based on the span of authority given to them.

They make regular returns to the Godfather and as long as they behave, everyone runs their shop as they see fit.

Like the Godfather, you must master the art of letting your subordinates run their “territories” without getting hands-on.

My rule is simple – everyone on my team starts from a position of trust with me. What they do every day determines if the trust grows or is limited. They are not working to gain my trust – they are working to expand their span of control or otherwise.

I have no fear that they will make a company-ruining decision. Why? Because that is a one-in-a-million situation. Almost every mistake has a correction.

We will just need to do the hard work of finding the solution should the situation arise.

3 – Let Others Deal With Their Problems:

You must protect yourself from colleagues who want to palm their tasks to your table. Yes, you have to master the Jedi mind trick that allows you to send it back their way without sounding mean.

You also have to be alert to other people’s problems that may cause issues for you in the near term. You may need to step in earlier to address this.

But you must let people grow their work muscles by solving their own problems.

This works also in other parts of your life.

Once upon a time, one of my kids would forget to cover his piano after practice. After explaining that this was not good for the piano as dust would reduce its effectiveness, we agreed that there needed to be a “punishment” for him every time he forgot to cover it.

I gave him the task of coming up with 3 punishment options. After he came up with the 3, I told him to choose one. He did that.

Bingo. He solved his problem all by himself.

Now is the time to reclaim your focus and transform your workday into something meaningful and impactful.

Imagine the satisfaction of knowing that the time you invest brings you closer to your big goals and that your efforts aren’t scattered but laser-focused on what truly matters.

Every great result starts with a simple commitment: to guard your focus fiercely, to delegate with trust, and to draw boundaries that empower you and others to thrive.

These aren’t just work habits; they are a pathway to a fulfilling career and a lasting legacy.

Start today by identifying just one high-impact area to focus on, one task to delegate, one boundary to set—and watch the difference it makes.

The journey to success isn’t about doing more; it’s about doing what matters most with intention and clarity. Step forward and choose to thrive, lead, and create a future where your work fuels your purpose.

Your greatest results are waiting—take action and claim them.

You can win at work and in life.

Tola Akinsulire

I am a Workplace Multiplier

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Want to get in on some of the lessons I have picked up in my career? Get my eBook "21 Lessons I Learned in My Career - A Primer to Help You Become Better at Work". Get it here

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