10 Tips to Get Focused

“What gets your attention, gets you!” says Rick Warren about our harried lives.
I find that’s true from the minute we wake up and check social media, morning email, and texts all day long. Yikes, we need more help than ever to focus!

The best way to overcome distraction is to take a different approach.
Stop what you’re doing and try these 10 Tips to Get FOCUSED!

Here’s my personal arsenal of tips I employ to get back on track.

1) Email Yourself 3 Things to Accomplish

Put these 3 in the Subject Line of an email to yourself so when you are distracted by email, you’ll stay focused seeing that BOLD heading!

2) Leave a Note on Your Desk

Every time you leave your desk, jot a note of the next 3 things you will do when you return. This saves “start up” time, at least 10 minutes.

3) On the Hour & Half Hour Ask Yourself,

“What One Thing will I accomplish in the next half hour?”
Record it, track it, evaluate it. When you self report, you can self correct.

4) Single Focus during Your Productive Time

Multi-tasking is only for mundane tasks like cooking dinner, TV commercials, waiting on hold while Productive Time is single focused on a report, setting up a new app, and paying bills.

5) Write To Do’s that Arise in the “Notes” Section in Your Phone

To remember random things that come up, punch them into your phone instead of expecting to remember them.

6) List Tasks in Groups of Three

A long To Do list of items causes mental distraction while grouping 3 things together gives you momentum.

7) Write a Stickie Note of Bullet Points of To Do’s

Sometimes good ‘ole pen and paper is the best way to remember things.

8) Focus on 3 Priorities before Lunch and 3 before Dinner

interruptions happen, but if you challenge yourself to accomplish 3 priorities in the morning and 3 in the afternoon, you’ll get a lot done.

9) Plan a “Power Start” to Your Day!

Screen Writer Randall Wallace (Think movies like “Secretariat”) says he lays his clothes out the night before, jumps into them at 5:30 a.m., meditates, and is productively writing at 6:00 a.m. What’s your morning setup the night before?

10) Plan Tomorrow the Night Before

Confirm appointments and group your work into Time Blocks of 1-2 hours to stay focused. Bringing closure to a task is a great energy boost!

Today’s Tip:
“The palest ink is better than the best memory.”
— A Chinese Proverb

Write things down to stay focused since our minds can only remember 7 things at a time in short term memory.