Finding Your Mind Wandering?
Ever find yourself reading through a single-page article and at the end of the page you wonder what you’ve just read? You read it again and it’s as though you are reading it for the first time. Our minds are easily distracted; with our myriad of “things to get done”, it is no wonder we are sometimes unable to stay focused on even a simple task. Instead of focusing on the printed page, our minds stray to our To Do lists, yesterday’s ball game, the latest issues at work or any number of things.
Why are we so easily distracted? A couple of reasons . . .
First, the material we are reading may be boring and we really don’t want to read it. Second, is that “Focusing” on a task is hard work. If we haven’t trained our minds to really focus on the task at hand, our minds are not disciplined and we will think about anything except the topic in front of us. So how do we discipline our minds to stay focused? Try asking yourselves the following questions:
- Why is what I’m learning/doing important?
- How will learning this material or completing the task help my business succeed?
- What am I really trying to achieve here?
- What is the best and most enjoyable way to do this task?
Sum it up by telling yourself, “this task may be difficult, but it is helping me achieve my goals and that is exciting! I going to do the best I can on this. I like doing this because it moves my business forward!” Get your emotions involved. When you get excited about what you are doing, you will naturally focus on it.
Why you Need to be Focused
Getting yourself excited about the task is a good method to get yourself to Focus. The more excited and energized you are about accomplishing the task, the faster you will do it and the better you will be at the task.
The ability to focus and complete what you need to do for your business is important when you have limited time. This especially true when you are working full-time and trying to build your business on the side. You need to make the most of what little precious time you have outside of your full time job. Distractions that come in the way of your ability to focus can be detrimental to the business you are trying to build up. You need that “Focus” to accomplish what needs to be done to move your business forward. Focus also enables us to learn faster because when we are focused, we absorb the matter better. It enhances our learning. You have limited time and limited energy, so you need to use both wisely.
But getting yourself to “Focus” is not as easy as turning a switch on and now you’re able to focus.
Starting a difficult task when you are tired, like trying to work on something complicated in your part-time business after a long day at your full-time job will be an exercise in frustration. How to overcome this?
Will power
The best thing to do is to tackle a complex problem, something that will require a lot of thought or something that will take some time to master, is to do it when you are at your highest energy level and most motivated to work on the task. In other words, when your Will Power is strongest. Will Power is highest earlier in the day and decreases as you do through your day. Ever eat healthy during the day and snack late at night? I have. It’s because our Will Power is low.
How to use Will Power effectively? First, understand when your Will Power is the strongest and use that time to tackle the task. For many people their Will Power is strongest early in the morning.
For example, when I needed to create the babyboomercashnow.com website, I had the tools I needed (a web hosting site) and knew the end goal (create a website) but didn’t know how to create the website.
I needed to get up the courage to tackle something that was foreign to me. I rose early on a Saturday morning, determined that I would Focus and use the time when my Will Power is the strongest to get the website done that day. Armed with my pot of coffee, I listened to tutorials on steps I needed to take to create the website and worked on creating it. By the end of the morning, I had a working website.
The key was that I was well rested and had the resources at hand to set up the environment I needed to be productive. Below are 8 tips for when you are at home and need to Focus on a task. These tips will help you to prepare, set up your environment and get your task done.
Stop Reading email at Midnight
The ability to focus during the day starts with the night before. To be able to Focus you need to be relaxed and fresh. To do so you need a good night’s sleep. To get a good night’s sleep your mind needs to be free of clutter. Alexandra Cavoulacos and Kathryn Minshew, authors of The New Rules of Work, say to use a “Tech Curfew”. Decide by when you will stop reading email, and stick to it. And that email deadline should be well before bedtime so your mind has time to relax.
Determine What you will Focus on
Before going to bed make sure you prepare for your Focus time. This will include determining what you will work on and what materials you need to do the tasks. The last thing you want to do during your Focus time is to look for research material or have to do anything that will take away time and energy. Make sure you are prepared for the next day.
Silence your Media Prompts
I turn off the ringer to my phone (it will still vibrate and wake me up if I have an urgent call) and turn off media prompts. I don’t need to be notified of an email at 3 am or a What’s App text message. In today’s world where people have family and friends around the globe, it is common to receive notifications day and night. You need your sleep. The message can wait for a response in the morning.
The Next Morning
Put on some Relaxing Music
It is usually pretty quiet when I write on the weekends and there is no need to put on headphones. But I do anyway. I put on some “study music” via YouTube; something that lasts for a couple of hours with just a few breaks. I find that better enables me to focus on the writing. I’m listening to music as I write this.
Turn off Media Prompts during your Focus Time
I make sure media prompts are turned off during my Focus time so I don’t get distracted. You can also disable Facebook so it doesn’t notify you when a there is a Facebook posting. Personally, I don’t have automatic prompts for Facebook and Twitter set up. I choose when I go to those applications.
Keep a Note Pad close by
As you are working on the task, inevitably your mind will wonder and come up with 100 different tasks you need to do besides the one you are focusing on. There is no way to avoid this. Just make a quick note of that task and go back to work. Once you have written it down, your brain won’t keep prompting you to remember it.
Set a Timer on your Phone
Determine how long you will work on a given task and set a timer. So if you are devoting the next ½ hour to work on the task, you can set an alarm/timer for 30 minutes from now. If you pick up your phone after a few minutes, tempted to check Facebook just for a second, you’ll see your timer as a reminder to get back to work.
Take Short Breaks
I’m a coffee drinker and a cup of coffee takes 30-45 minutes to finish. At the end of the cup of coffee, I stretch and go to the kitchen and get another one, giving myself a break for a few minutes. Another tip to get the blood circulating is to take a quick walk for 5 minutes. Even if you are at home, walk the steps a few times. Get yourself moving.
Reward Yourself for the Accomplishment
I found writing for 30 minutes very hard when I first started. After 5 minutes, I wanted to stop. I’d look at my timer and see that only a few minutes had passed. To get myself to write for that entire 30 minutes was to reward myself. I love to read, so if I wrote for 30 minutes on the weekend, I’d rewarded myself with 15 minutes of reading a favorite novel.
Summary Paragraph
These tips will help you accomplish more in a shorter amount of time and you will move your business forward. Let me know if you have any tips for focusing at alan@babyboomercashnow.com
Action:
- Determine your area of Focus.
- Determine how long you will Focus
- Get your area free of distractions.
- Get excited about the Focus area.
- Do it!
- When you finish your Focus time, reward yourself in some small way.