Reclaim Your Focus

Do you find your mind going all over the place to consider all the things you want to do this week, all the people you want to connect with, all the things that you promised you’d do or follow up on and so many other things swirling in your brain?

Do you waste time responding to emails and making your list of action items and tasks instead of getting things done?

Have you ever had this experience? You want to get something started and yet, you can’t seem to focus?

Here are the action steps you can take today to reclaim your focus and get more done in less time. I used these exact steps to write, edit and self-publish my first book in 13 days:

• Decide what specific tasks need to be addressed and how much time you’ll take to do these. Do them quickly, if you can’t do them quickly delegate or defer them for a short time. This will stop the nagging tasks that are getting in the way of allowing you to focus.
• Play concentration music, without words that will help you to settle and focus on the task at hand. I just find a soundtrack that I enjoy by searching YouTube. I use the key words “Concentration Music” and then select the one I enjoy. Try a few to discover the one(s) you enjoy.
• Put your phone on “Do Not Disturb” mode.
• Shut down your notifications, close your email, your calendar and your social media accounts so that you don’t hear the notification dings. (Those notification dings will stop the flow of your focus and make every task take ten times longer.)

All of these actions will help you to silence the outside world so that you can reclaim your focus.

Next, connect to your inner focus by taking a few deep, calming and cleansing breaths. This helps to clear away any of the niggling doubts, worries, tasks or clutter that may be vying for your attention.

Finally, simply allow for the flow of words and information to come forth. Sometimes, I’m surprised that the message I write is not what I thought I would write initially. That’s okay. Just let whatever message comes through you go out in the world.

I believe that someone needs the message you’re sharing, somewhere, at some time.

The more you practice this focus time, the easier it becomes. Just like building strength in your muscles, the more you practice, the stronger you become.

If it concerns you to silence your notifications, just remember that whoever is trying to get your attention will be fine for the short time it takes you to finish your task.

Unless you’re a 911 operator, or the sole care provider for a dependent, who needs to keep your phone on, you can easily follow these steps to reclaim some focus time for yourself.

You’ll discover that the more you practice this focus time, the easier you’ll be able to settle in and get an article written, an email sent, or a good dent in a bigger project. The more you reclaim your focus, the faster you’ll accomplish all that you dream of completing.

Go ahead, try it. I hope you’ll be delightfully surprised by how quickly you can get more done.

I believe that you have the potential inside of you to BE who you want to be, to DO what you’re passionate about and to HAVE the success you’re striving for. It’s in you.