Well, I think I officially have adult -onset ADD. I can’t focus. I have several projects going at once, in several different blogs, and I’m also thinking about upcoming trips, family stuff, what to have for supper, the latest quilt I’m working on… Yikes! Somebody stop me!
I blame Google for this. Nicolas Carr says Google is making us “stupid,” and I agree with him. We skim, we don’t read long blog posts, we jump from one page to another at a whim. No wonder none of us can manage to stay focused on the tasks at hand. This is serious.
Starting a small business means you must juggle many different things at once, but you must also focus on the task at hand, or you’ll never get your business off the ground. The phone is ringing, you want to check out a great article about marketing, you need to find someone who will do your bookkeeping. On and on. I’m not talking about time management here, as much as I am talking about needing to focus on one thing at a time until it’s done, then moving on to the next.
I decided I need to focus. So I did some Internet searching and came up with some of my own tips:
1. Prioritize your day as your start working. What are the 1-3 things you MUST get done today to get your business startup moving forward. Don’t list too many; you’ll just get frustrated. You can always add some if you get these done. Think 80/20 principle - what things can you do to maximize progress?
2. Minimize obvious distractions. Turn off your cell phone. Take off those email notifications. If you are working in an office, close the door and put up a “don’t disturb” sign.
3. Avoid BSO’s “bright shiny objects.” You know what I mean. The Internet is full of these tempting ideas, offers, links. One trick I’ve found for dealing with these things is Evernote. It captures the link in categories and you can go back to it later. Or not.
4. Make a “quick to do (QTD)” note when you think of something you need to do, then come back to it later. Work hard focusing on the most important thing for the day for a while, then stop and work on your QTD list.
5. Take time out to play. I can’t focus all the time, but I can focus for about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. Then I take a few minutes to check email (yes, turn off email notifications; they are just a distraction)., look at pictures, read a book. After 15 minutes, go back to your focus work.
Some tips from About.com Test Taking:
1. Anticipate your physical needs. Go to the bathroom, get yourself some water or a snack before you begin to focus.
2. Answer your internal questions. For example:“When am I going to get a loan?” Answer: “I don’t know the answer to that question right now, so I’m going to focus on what I do know right now.”
Like anything else, it takes practice. I learned focus when I was writing my PhD dissertation, and I managed to get it done in record time. But I still have to work on focusing every day. I still get distracted and have to re-learn what I need to do. Whatever it takes, you will find your own focus strategies, so you can get that huge list of things done for your business startup.
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