The world is designed to distract. Focus is an act of bravery.
We live in a busy world – cell phones, emails, social media, chatty co-workers. At times it seems as though the universe is out to distract us, keep our minds focused on the unimportant details and static in order to root us in place instead of moving forward. It’s an endless cycle. The distractions deplete our energy, frustrate us with the lack of progress, and scatter our attention until we give up and give in. What’s the point in trying today now that everything has gone so wrong? Better luck tomorrow, right?
Successful people create their own progress through action. They understand their distractions and the hurdles they face daily, and they come up with a plan to cut the chatter and allow their minds to focus on the task at hand. They drive through it, and only when it’s done do they allow distraction to invade. Could it be as simple as a scheduling distraction?
Practice makes perfect
As entrepreneurs, we spend a lot of time thinking. Maybe too much of our time is spent thinking because when we think, there’s a tendency not to act at all. With enough time spent thinking it becomes less about deciding and more about why we shouldn’t take action at all. Our contemplation turns into roadblocks to keep us where we are. We need to focus on action.
- Get physical. Make a list. Not on your computer, but on paper, with a pen in your hand, make a note on something that needs to get done. Make it several somethings. They don’t have to be huge tasks. They can be as simple as remembering to return a call. The simple action of physically writing something down gives it important in our minds. When the task is complete, cross it off and go on to the next. Don’t think about it, don’t contemplate the call or project worries or emotions on to the call, just make it. Just do it. And then just do the next task.
- Results first. Make a list right now. Grab your pen and write down five to ten things that need to be accomplished. Once that list is made, take a look at it. Many gurus will tell you to do the most important things first, and they’re not wrong, but the most important things are actually those that yield the greatest results. Making that phone call may not have been the most pressing thing on your list, but it may have actually had the most impact. When you organize your list, make sure you’re completing those things that have the greatest impact first.
- Avoid pitfalls. What distracts your day the most? For many of us, that distraction is social media. It’s a productivity killer. So, kill the amount of time you spend on social media. If you absolutely must have social media in your day, schedule it! Maybe use it as a reward system. Once you complete two of your important tasks, scroll through your feed for a set amount of time, then put the phone away. Complete two more, then reward with social media. Before long, you can up that to completing three tasks before your social media downtime. It’s not so much that social media is the killer as our lack of control over it kills our action. If we’re able to do social media on our terms, then we’re in control, and we can choose when to be active, and when to enjoy social media.
These are just a few ways you can practice to focus more. All of these distractions didn’t come into your life overnight. They came into your life, and you chose them to be distractions. It’s time to choose not to be distracted and instead choose to be active.
Small steps, big results
Action takes planning, and it takes a certain drive to get things done. We have a goal in mind, a place we want to be and a thing we want to achieve. We will never achieve it without action. While a simple phone call won’t launch us from the starting point to the finish line, it’s a small action that takes us a bit closer to that finish line. Sending an email won’t land us the contract of our dreams, but it puts us closer to that coveted deal. Everything in life starts with one simple step, one small action. The point is not to stop, don’t lose focus, and keep driving toward your dreams with one more checkmark on your to-do list.
At times it seems we’re alone, that no one in our circle understands the pitfalls we face or the drive that’s inside of us. When frustration takes hold and you don’t know where to turn, why not check out our book to help clear your mind and get you back on the path to success?
