5 min readJul 7, 2020

706-How to Focus on the Big Picture During a Crisis

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How to Focus on the Big Picture During a Crisis

5 Ways You Can Stay on Track Towards Your Most Important Outcomes

Your ability to focus on the big picture during a crisis will ensure you don’t get sidetracked and stay on course towards your most important outcomes.

When you experience a crisis, it’s common to give more attention to what appears urgent. While that will help navigate through what’s needed, it can also make you lose sight of the big picture.

What Does it Mean to Focus on the Big Picture?

To focus on the big picture means to see a situation in its entirety. It’s seeing the whole picture.

The big picture is the end outcome. It’s what matter most and what you are working to accomplish.

When facing a crisis, the small details often get more attention, which can divert attention from the overall objective.

Staying focused on the big picture is the ability to envision a better outcome.

Benefits of Focusing on the Big Picture

When you focus on the big picture, the benefits include:

It will help eliminate unnecessary effort or activities.
It will help identify areas for improvement.
It will support you in bringing others together to work towards a common outcome.
It will allow you to let go of details that won’t matter after a crisis is over.
It will place more importance on what you are doing daily.
It will guide you in deciding how much time and energy you give to minor details and things that are important.

Knowing how to deal with what’s important during a crisis, while staying focused on the big picture, is required to reach the success you want.

Common Reasons Not to Focus on the Big Picture

Common reasons to not focus on the big picture include:

The need to have small wins or the feeling of accomplishment.
Not having clarity on the end outcome.
Feeling overwhelmed, with too many things requiring attention now.
Being reactive rather than proactive.
Not having a system to track what’s important.
Relying on your memory to keep track of what needs to be done.
Believing you don’t have help to get through the crisis you are facing.

5 Ways to Focus on the Big Picture During a Crisis

Here are five things that will help you focus on the big picture during a crisis and ensure you keep your eye on what matters most.

Schedule time for thinking. When dealing with a crisis, clarity of thought is vital, because it will help you make better decisions. When you give yourself time for reflection, you will eliminate confusion. That means you will have greater clarity on what needs to be done.
Have a system to keep track of what’s important. Instead of relying on your memory, having a system will help free up mental energy. This will aid you in staying focused and not lose sight of where you are going.
Break large tasks into smaller tasks. Having a system can also help you manage all your activities. This means the minor details will get addressed, while keeping your eye on the end outcome.
Avoid decision fatigue. During a crisis, you can be pulled in different directions and may have to make many decisions daily. That can cause mental fatigue, which will affect your performance. The system you create to track of everything is what you can rely on to decide how to continue making progress.
Find an accountability partner. It’s better to get help when going through a crisis. Having an accountability partner will ensure you stay focused on what’s important. An accountability partner can also ask better questions, which will help you see things from different perspectives.

Final Thoughts

A crisis tests your ability to focus on what’s important. There is a saying, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”

As you develop the ability to focus on the big picture during a crisis, you will feel confident to address what you need to, without getting sidetracked. This means you will keep your objectives top of mind, no matter what is going on.

If you don’t learn how to focus on the big picture during a crisis, you will give time and energy to things that don’t matter in the long run, which will slow your progress towards your objectives.

Action Step: When dealing with a crisis, give yourself time to think so you can get clear on what’s important and what you can let go. As you gain more clarity, ensure you have a system to keep track of your action steps.

Question: What are other ways to focus on the big picture during a crisis?