by Cathy Sedacca
I’m easily distracted.
But I know I’m not the only one.
I’m especially susceptible to distraction when facing a task I’m not necessarily looking forward to and which requires heightened focus. It’s things like determining budgets, assembling expense reports, writing reviews, making cold call—did someone say squirrel?!—writing follow up emails and thank you notes.
In other words, it’s a lot of the glamorous things that come with life as a business owner.
Make a deal with yourself
Last week, I had one of those projects that I had been putting off for a while, but that really needed to get done.
So I tried something new.
Even though I knew the task would likely take longer, I made a deal with my brain that I would devote just one hour to truly focusing on making a dent in the project.
Here’s what happened:
- That hour went by quickly!
- I accomplished more than I expected.
- It felt good to make real progress on something I’d been putting off. And it actually motivated me for the next one-hour time period that I devoted to the project the next day.
- The world did not come to an end because I made myself unavailable for that hour.
That project actually required three one-hour increments to complete, but I found that I was able to walk into it fresh each time, and remain energized until I completed it.
I was amazed at how well it worked—successfully negotiating with my brain to let go of everything else for an hour.
Four tips to fight distraction
I didn’t invent this concept, but here’s my best advice for anyone wanting to do the same:
Pick the right time. Set yourself up for success by choosing a time when you have the most energy, are typically not as busy, and don’t have other deadlines to worry about.
Get in the right mindset. Don’t start until you are able to put all other to-do items out of your mind. I find that it helps to write them all down so that I can quit thinking about them for a bit.
Remove all distractions. Take steps to ensure you won’t be interrupted by your phone (or any other sources of distraction). Play music if it helps keep outside sounds to a minimum.
Ask for help. Tell the people around you what you’re doing so that they can help support your efforts.
Give it a shot the next time those performance reviews or expense reports pile up on your desk. It really can help you power through those less-than-scintillating tasks.
(How do you think I got this blog post written?)
Cathy Sedacca is director of sales and marketing for Sage Business Credit. She partnered with Karen Turnquist to found Sage because she believed they could do what had been done by others, but better. Working closely with clients who share the same vision for their own business is the best part of her job.