This post contains a list of Areas of Focus examples below. Scroll down if that’s what you came here for. I will also discuss how to decide on your Areas of Focus and why you should also have sub-areas of focus.
If you’re setting up a new GTD system, you probably have a few questions about the Areas of Focus list. It’s not a standard productivity tool used outside of GTD, although Tony Robbins recommends something similar in The Time of Your Life.
What are the Areas of Focus?
In GTD the Areas of Focus list is the 20,000 feet horizon of focus. It lies above projects (10,000 feet) and below goals (30,000 feet.) Unlike projects and goals, though, Areas of Focus are not something you can check off as complete. Instead, they are the areas of your life.
Think of the areas of focus as the source of all your projects and goals. They are the parts of your life you have a responsibility to maintain – the categories of your life under which all your projects and tasks can be placed.
Many Areas of Focus are common to all of us. Everyone has to maintain their health, finances, relationships with family, etc. However people also have parts of their lives that are unique, so your areas of focus list will be individual to you. If you need help figuring yours out, look at the examples below.
“What do you need to maintain?”
David Allen – Making It All Work
How to Know if Something is an Area of Focus or a Goal/Project?
The thing that differentiates an Area of Focus and a Goal/Project is the finish line. A project can be checked off as complete once you have gone through a certain number of action steps. A Goal is essentially a project with a longer time frame, it too can be checked off as complete. You might have a goal to climb Kilimanjaro in the next five years, and once you’ve done it you can check it off. Similarly, a project to publish a book by the end of the year can be completed and checked off of your project list.
An area of focus on the other hand is not something that can checked off as complete. It is instead something that needs to be maintained across time.
It creates projects/goals
An Area of Focus is actually the source of your projects and goals. ‘Climbing’ may be an Area of Focus in your life from which the project ‘Climb Kilimanjaro’ came. Just as the project ‘publishing a book by the end of the year’ could have come from an Area of Focus – ‘Writing.’
It is a large part of your life
You might still be wondering if something should be classed as an area of focus or not, especially if you find you already have a long list (over 15 items.)
Ask yourself this question: “Is this a large part of my life?” I play football occasionally, but I wouldn’t call it an Area of Focus. I have an interest in baking, but again, I wouldn’t call it an Area of Focus for me. Why? Because it’s not something that I feel I need to maintain – it’s just not that important to me. It’s not a large part of my life.
Areas of Focus Examples
This is not an exhaustive list but should give you a good idea of what an area of focus is.
Life Related
- Partner
- Children
- Family
- Social Life
- Health
- Finance
- Home Management
- Cooking
Interest Related
- Reading
- Dance
- Musical Instrument
- Photography
- Videography
- Writing
- Painting
- Drawing
- Sculpting
- Singing
- Foreign Language
Fitness Related
- Running
- Stretching
- Yoga
- Strength
- Hypertrophy
- Sport(Football, Tennis etc.)
- Martial Arts(Kung Fu, Jiu Jitsu etc.)
Work Related
- Sales
- Budgeting
- Training
- Customer Service
- Quality Assurance
- Product Placement
- Product Development
- Public Relations
- Client Communication
- Event Planning
- Research
- Financial Reporting
- Logistics
- Recruitment
- Social Media Presence
- Coding
- Teaching
Sub Areas of Focus
Below his Areas of Focus are sub-areas that need maintaining. Having a list of your Areas of Focus with sub-areas can be helpful as a trigger list.
Creating an embedded list would be the quickest way to make such a list, but as you add more items, it becomes less readable. Using a mind map can help here. It is a much more visual way of presenting the information, and the divisions and sub-areas are easily distinguishable.
Above, you can see David Allen’s Areas of Focus mind map, along with sub-areas, to get a good idea of how this might work.
Meet Gregory, a writer and the brains behind Face Dragons. He's the go-to guy for getting things done.
Gregory's been living the digital nomad life in Asia for as long as anyone can remember, helping clients smash their goals. He writes on topics like software, personal knowledge management (PKM), and personal development. When he's not writing, you'll catch him at the local MMA gym, nose buried in a book, or just chilling with the family.
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