Your Focus is Your Greatest Asset. Here's How to Protect it.
Things are moving fast. The way you lead through it matters more than ever.
Hi, I’m Andrea J. Miller, and welcome to On Leading Well.
In a world that’s exponentially changing, leadership isn’t about doing more.
It’s about choosing what matters, thinking clearly, and moving forward with intention.
If you want to lead with clarity and resilience in an AI-driven world, you’re in the right place.
Let’s begin.
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You’re Not Burnt Out. You’re Overloaded. Here’s the Fix.
Most leaders I work with aren’t struggling because they lack clarity.
They’re struggling because they have too many priorities and no space to think clearly about any of them.
They start the day with a plan.
They end it with 19 browser tabs open, half-finished work, and the very real sense that they’re falling behind.
They’re productive.
But they’re not progressing.
Sound familiar?
You’re not broken.
You’re just stuck in a system that rewards reactivity over strategy, and burns out your most valuable asset in the process: your ability to focus.
The Real Problem: You're Running Out of Executive Capacity
Here’s what’s actually happening.
Your prefrontal cortex - the brain’s executive function -is where true productivity lives.
It’s responsible for prioritization, long-term thinking, problem solving, and emotional regulation.
But it’s limited. And modern work floods it early with:
Slack pings
Constant interruptions
Context switching
Decision fatigue
Fire drills disguised as meetings
By the time you need to think clearly about what matters most, you’re fried.
This isn’t a time management problem.
It’s a cognitive load problem.
The Fix: Two Lightweight Systems That Create Real Relief
I didn’t fix this by blowing up my calendar.
I didn’t buy a new productivity app.
I built two simple, high-trust systems:
One that clears my head before the chaos hits
One that helps me act on what matter, even when I feel overloaded
Combined, they take 15 minutes.
They’ve helped me stay strategic on days I would’ve otherwise drowned in noise.
System 1: The Morning Reset
This is a 10-minute practice to reset your brain and restore your ability to think clearly before you start solving everyone else’s problems.
It’s not complicated.
No need to over-optimize it.
Just pick one and stick with it.
Examples:
Box breathing (4-4-4-4 count)
Breath focus
Body scan
Mindfulness or transcendental meditation
Silent sitting with a timer
The science behind it is clear:
Your brain can’t function strategically without rest between demands.
This gives it that rest, deliberately, before the day takes over.
Here’s what to expect:
Week 1: You’ll feel fidgety. Normal.
Week 2: You’ll notice less internal noise.
Week 3: Decision-making feels faster, cleaner.
Week 4: Others start asking what changed.
The signal that it’s working?
You can hold two competing problems in your head without spiraling.
System 2: The Strategic Task Prompt
This might be the most deceptively powerful tool I use.
The problem isn’t that you don’t know what to do.
The problem is that you know too much.
When you finally get a quiet block of time, you're overloaded with options.
You scan your list.
You pause.
You default to urgency.
And the work that truly matters gets pushed again.
The fix:
A short, daily AI prompt that helps surface the next best move.
Here's how it works:
Each morning, you prompt ChatGPT (or another chatbot) with a structured request for a 1–2 hour strategic task aligned to your current priorities.
You’ll get one clear, focused suggestion.
You’ll either think:
“Yes, that’s it.”
Or:
“No, but now I know what it is.”
Either way, you’re moving in the right direction.
Template Prompt:
“Each morning at [TIME], send me one specific, strategic action I can complete in 1–2 hours to [YOUR PRIMARY GOAL] as a [YOUR ROLE/SITUATION].
Focus on tasks that:
– [Strategic Outcome 1]
– [Strategic Outcome 2]
– [Strategic Outcome 3]
– Can be done today.
Make it practical, clear, and confidence-boosting.”
Use Cases:
🧭 Job Seeker:
“Each morning at 9am, give me one task I can complete to land a Head of Ops role in healthcare. Focus on tasks that:
– Build visibility with hiring managers
– Show strategic thinking
– Expand my network”
🧭 Freelancer:
“Each morning at 7am, give me one task to grow my writing business. Focus on tasks that:
– Build credibility
– Generate leads
– Improve client systems”
🧭 Team Leader in Transition:
“Each morning at 8am, give me one action to lead my team through restructuring. Focus on tasks that:
– Build trust
– Clarify shifting priorities
– Sustain team momentum”
Note: I’ve been working with ChatGPT, and it knows me (a little scary, but true), so you’ll need to provide it with sufficient context about you and your current workload for this to be truly effective.
Why These Systems Work
Because they’re designed for reality, not fantasy.
They don’t assume a perfect morning
They don’t require monk-like focus
They don’t need you to overhaul your life
They work because they:
Protect your brain’s most strategic time
Provide clarity with frictionless action
Create movement, even when you feel overwhelmed
And together, they create the mental scaffolding that the modern workplace requires.
The Setup (15 minutes, total)
Step 1: Choose your reset
Pick one method. Block 10 minutes. Do it before Slack. Repeat for 5 days.
Step 2: Customize your prompt
Choose your main goal
Define three strategic outcomes
Drop it into the template
Ask ChatGPT to turn it into a task to run it daily (you can do this in the o3 and o4 mini models). Commit to doing the task before noon.
You don’t need to optimize. You just need to start.
Final Thought: Your Brain Is Your Greatest Asset. Protect It.
You don’t need a life overhaul.
You need less friction between your focus and your actions.
These two systems return your executive capacity to you.
So you can stop reacting and start leading with intention again.
If this helped, share it with a colleague navigating similar challenges.
And if you want more clarity-driven, human-first tools to lead in the AI era:
Subscribe to On Leading Well.
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