Truth bomb time... if you want to experience real success in life, you have to stay focused. I'm sure you've heard that a hundred times, yet it's still so hard to do. The truth of the matter is the ability to stay focused is a skill that needs intentional fashioning. It's something you have to work on and be consistent with. In a microwave society that pushes us to do more and do simultaneously with everything else we have going on in life, I invite you to slow down and really think about ways to really stay focused. Here are a few suggestions for doing just that.
3 Ways to Stay Focused in a Multi-Tasking World
Can I drop another truth bomb to you? Multi-tasking is a lie. I don't mean to burst your bubble or rob your vision of doing ten things at once - because I fell for the lie, too - but, it's really not a good thing, friend. Don't get me wrong, there are certain things our brains have been wired to do that make us look like multi-taskers, like walking and talking at the same time. But when it comes to anything beyond the normal walking, talking, and eating, there needs to be an undistracted level of focus.
When you find yourself stretched thin, trying to do all the things on your plate at once, sit back and think about these three ways to stay focused. I promise you'll notice a big difference in your performance and your outcome.
Focus on one thing at a time.
This tip takes first place because it's something that's rarely done anymore. You can think about making that call, emailing that client back, and sending a friend a text all in the matter of 30 seconds. Yet, spreading your thoughts across that to-do list can inevitably cause you to not make moves on doing any of it. Instead of focusing on ALL the things you have to do, focus on one thing at a time.
Practice brain dumping.
Another lie most people have been led to believe is that you can remember everything. Wrong. The brain is like a computer, meaning it's built with an in-processing and out-processing kind of programming. Just like a tangible computer, your brain also has a hard drive. There's a set amount of memory and once it runs out, your brain is likely to feel fried. You know that blue screen of death that happens when a physical computer gets pushed to its limit. Yeah, that can happen to us, too!
Practice brain dumping at least once a week... maybe even once a day if your thoughts, tasks, and activities bombard your mind. Brain dumping literally means getting everything out of your brain and onto paper. Whether it's a new business venture, a new program, course, product, to-do list - whatever - GET IT OUT OF YOUR BRAIN! Once you have the mental space to think, you can easily focus on one thing at a time.
Create to-do lists.
Going hand-in-hand with the last two suggestions is creating a daily to-do list. Chances are you wake up every day with a full list of things to do on your mind. Write those tasks and activities down. Take it a step further and put them in order of most to least important. Then, give each one of them a set time to get completed. At that point, it's up to you to follow completely through by staying focused on one thing at a time. And don't forget to take a second to celebrate and pat yourself on the back when you scratch things off that list!
Trust me when I say you'll feel much more accomplished at the end of the day knowing you were intentional about your time and spent it wisely. You'll be able to wake up each morning with a fresh and clean slate to tackle the day with ease because you know where your time is going and what you'll be doing.
This week's challenge.
I'm sure you know that your challenge will involved being focused in some way. But I want to challenge you to focus on one thing that will make you feel most accomplished. Do what's necessary to put that thing at the top of your list along with intentional effort of not letting anything else interfere. When you practice focusing on one thing at a time, you begin to create a habit of it - and a good one at that!
I'd love to know your focus "thing" for the week. Let me know in the comments below so I can cheer you on! You can do it! Also, I'd love to see you in my Facebook group filled with thousands of other people just like me and you. We're all on a mission to get aligned and inspired and we'd love to have YOU!
Comments