Defeating the Distractions
I just spend the day in working with my team the office on content creation and a couple of key projects, and it’s surprising…
See, some of the stuff we have been working on has been on the back burner for weeks, maybe even months. We’ve cracked on with it today and we’ve managed to resolve the issues we had and complete these projects in just one day.
With focus it is amazing how much can be achieved in a relatively short space of time.
Weapons of Mass Distraction
Most often, the big issue is distraction, isn’t it?
It’s the distractions that get in the way. We have more things than ever competing for our attention. These days we have the potential for more interruptions than at any previous time in history… SMS messages, email, phone calls, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Skype, Zoom, Snapchat, LinkedIn… If we are not careful, messaging apps and social media can quickly become a weapon of mass distraction.
But there are some really simple ways to stay focused
When you focus, it’s so much easier to achieve the stuff that really matters.
When you kind of switch off the noise and get into the detail of that thing that you really need to do, it can often be much quicker and easier to deal with than you expect. The issue is not the time it takes to do, it is finding the time to be focused.
How to stay focused
How can you maintain a clear focus to enable yourself to actually resolve something quickly and get the outcome you desire? One of the things that I like use is something called the Pomodoro technique.
- Set a timer for a specified period, like 20-25 minutes. During this time focus on just one thing and ignore EVERYTHING else. I actually find turning on ‘Do Not Disturb’ on my Mac and switching my iPhone to flight more helps with this. I then set a timer on my phone for the time I am allocating to my task (the maximum time I set for any one focused period is 25 minutes).
- When the timer goes off, give yourself a five minute break. Use those five minutes to do other stuff: make coffee or a cup of tea, go to the toilet, check your email, look at Facebook, that kind of stuff. You might also want to set a timer to make sure you get back to work when the five minutes are up.
- Start another 20 minute or 25 minute block, followed by another five minute break, and keep repeating until your outcomes are achieved.
The essential thing is to make sure you’re not getting distractions during those key moments, because it’s the distractions that get in the way, that will slow you down.
It’s the distractions that stop you from achieving your outcomes.
Oh, and one last thing… remember don’t aim for perfection. Done beats perfect every single time.
