When you stay focused on your goals, productivity comes naturally.
Of course, then those pesky distractions come in to mess up your workflow and throw off your schedule.
If your day is anything like mine, you’re probably constantly being thrown distractions that limit the amount of work you are able to get done.
After all, you only have 24 hours in a day and no matter how you try to stretch them, they always add up to the same amount of time.
Learning how to tackle your problem head-on by limiting your distractions, can help you focus on what’s important—your goals.
Start with these six ways to stay focused on your goals and streamline your attention right this minute.
Tip #1: Learn How to Meditate
First, try meditation and breathing exercises. Distractions are often in the form of multitasking.
Attempting to do more than one task at a time will result in mediocre results. By learning mindfulness meditation techniques, you can train yourself to increase your focus.
According to the University of Washington, with just eight weeks of mindfulness meditation research, subjects saw numerous benefits. They experienced less negative emotions and improved memory even when multitasking.
When you can’t avoid multitasking, use meditation to train your attention and stay focused on your goals. Incorporate breathing exercises into your meditation to fully benefit from the practice.
Tips #2: Take Breaks from Technology
We spend too much time using technology—that is something we can all agree on. Fortunately, there’s a super simple solution. Turn off the tech and unplug on a regular basis.
Here’s what I’ve noticed.
I was playing this game called Words With Friends. In fact, you’ve probably played it yourself. It is fun to play, but I realized I played this game for 40 minutes a night every single evening before bedtime.
That adds up to nearly an eight-hour day. That’s a day of work that could have been accomplished.
This happens all the time whether you have a TV show you watch or another gaming app you play. Take back that time when you can find it.
Tip #3: Try Having a Focus Day
A focus day is a day when you spend the majority of that time working on what you are most focused on.
This might be a major project or your primary career goal. Spend at least 80 percent of your day thinking, working, and creating in that area.
You will need to have more focus days in order to get projects done at times.
However, even when you are not on a rushed deadline for a project, you still need to set aside focus days that are for just that–to focus on your overarching goal.
Tip #4: Stop Planning and Start Scheduling
When people work from a “plan” they tend to get less done.
Typically a plan or to-do list consists of loose tasks that you want to accomplish during the day. These can be things like, take out the garbage, send emails to publishers or clients, get coffee with your friend.
The problem with to-do lists is that they aren’t specific enough.
Schedule your time so that you’re not wasting your day. Instead of “email some clients” schedule the time, “Email clients from 10 am to 12 pm.”
When you being to schedule your time, you’ll see how important each minute is.
Tip # 5: Have an Accountability Partner
An accountability partner is more than just a study buddy or an after-work pal you have drinks with.
An accountability partner holds you to your goals and makes sure you carry out what you say you will. Choose an accountability partner based on what your goals are and who will help you best implement them.
When you choose a partner, start by setting your goals and sharing them with this person. Then commit to weekly progress reports to show how accountable you are to your partner.
If you think that you can shortcut the process by skipping the weekly reports, you’re missing out.
The greatest benefit comes from following through on those accountability checkpoints to help stay focused on your goals.
Tip # 6: Create a Vision Board
A vision board starts with the mental image of what you want.
- Focus on your goal and the intended outcome.
- Think about what you expect to receive as your return on your investment in time and energy.
- Think GRAND and focus on the big picture.
Then put this into pictures with printed visual graphics that you physically affixed to a large board. This physical action of envisioning your results and then searching out the perfect images brings your idea into fruition.
Now that you have a vision board, what now?
Spend time every day looking at your vision board. Then spend time visualizing the board mentally, expanding and adding to the board as you see fit. You can update the vision board to reflect your new goals and focuses.
How Will You Stay Focused on Your Goals?
A plan is only as good as the action that follows, so to make sure you actually follow through pick one of your favorite tips and commit to it today.
Let us know in the comments below, which strategy you will implement to stay focused on your goals and limit distractions.
As the beloved originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, Jack Canfield fostered the emergence of inspirational anthologies as a genre—and watched it grow to a billion dollar market. As the driving force behind the development and delivery of over 100 million books sold through the Chicken Soup for the Soul® franchise, Jack Canfield is uniquely qualified to talk about success. Jack is America’s #1 Success Coach and wrote the life-changing book The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be and Jack speaks around the world on this subject. Check out his newest book The 30-Day Sobriety Solution: How to Cut Back or Quit Drinking in the Privacy of Your Own Home. Follow Jack at www.jackcanfield.com and sign up for his free resources today!
Image courtesy of Chase Clark.
