How to Avoid Distraction and Find Your Focus
Last year, I wrote a blog about four steps you should be taking to improve your focus. With so many distractions around us, it’s hard NOT to look away for just a second when, suddenly, 30 minutes have passed!
Our phones, our kids, our pets, and our thoughts tend to derail us. Studies have even shown that many people report that being off track for even 20 minutes causes “significantly higher stress, frustration, workload, effort, and pressure.”
While some of us have different tolerances to disruptions, we’re also way worse at multitasking than we think we are.
And this is an issue that’s cutting into your free time and energy!
That’s exactly why I wrote that blog in 2019 and it’s why I am following up in 2020 with a deeper dive into avoiding distraction and finding your focus!
A Recap on Getting Focused
After a year of putting this into practice, I am 100% still on board with using the Four D’s to simplify your To Do list and get sh*t done!
Here’s how you can tell distractions to take a hike once you have a task set in mind:
DECLARE
DELEGATE
DROP
DO
Now, just because you go through these four steps doesn’t mean that distractions are just going to go away forever. But you will be more likely to say no to those distractions!
Mantras to Stay FOCUSED
It can be really hard to turn off the noise of the world and just focus on a task. If you can work on developing this still, you may just find yourself with a lot more free time.
Here are a few mantras I have personally found helpful to get me in the right mindset to power through work!
You have the power to focus! You get to decide whether or not distractions will negatively affect you or positively benefit you. Sometimes distractions can be good, but you need to be able to decipher when something is worth putting down what you’re already doing.
You get to decide if a distraction serves you or not. Before you stop what you’re already doing, ask yourself: is this distraction going to be helpful or harmful to staying focused on my path?
Creating clear & healthy boundaries will keep you focused on what is most important. Setting boundaries allows you to have a clear understanding of what you should say yes and no to. You get to take ownership of what you say yes to putting your energy into.
You should be kind to yourself even if you lose focus. Accept that you can’t control everything. Even the most focused people have to give into distractions every once in a while. Life happens and kids/sports/work/relationships sometimes pull us away from our main focus/goal, but the ability to bounce back & reset is critical when you are working on a task.
Focus is a muscle and I can strengthen it with time, patience, and practice. As with ANYTHING you have to build the habit. Allow yourself to be new at something and take things slow and steady.
Once you implement this mantra, circle back with me! I want to hear how it has helped you achieve your goals this year! YOU GOT THIS!
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