“My success, part of it certainly, is that I have focused in on a few things."
As an admitted attention deficit and attraction-to-distraction person, I can honestly say that keeping focus while completing tasks is one of my biggest struggles in my daily affairs. I do not feel I am driven to distraction as much as I willingly drive there while abandoning whatever it is I was working on. Then, as the distractions fade, I'm left wondering where the time went and what it was I was actually working on in the first place. I have been recently developing more ways to address and harness my peripherally challenged attention span.
I recently wrote about designing our environment in order to prevent distractions and be more productive, but I also know that removing distractions is only a sliver of the equation to keeping our focus and attention on the task at hand. I have also been incorporating other prevention measures like mindfulness and meditation. Surprisingly enough, I am able to focus more on what I am doing when I remind myself what I am doing and why it is a priority for me to finish, before focusing my energy on something else.
Photo by Sinthu Kasan on Pexels
I start repeating affirmations to myself to help me stay focused on my personal and professional commitments. As part of designing a more productive environment, I also placed some of these motivational mantras on Post-it notes around my work space. Another helpful tactic is having people who help me with crossing the most pressing items off my to-do list. I always want to share good news when I do my check-ins. That keeps me more disciplined and determined to accomplish what I am working on in a timely manner.
I still have moments where I struggle and feel the urge of distraction creeping out the corner of my eye, especially in this age of information overload and digital distractions. Sometimes it can feel like everything wants our attention and will keep vying for it if we allow it to. I'm looking at you targeted ad from my google search! But just briefly, until I refocus my attention. 😁 What are some of your distractions throughout the day that may prevent you from focusing on the task at hand? What might you do differently to prevent those distractions?
More Wellness!
