Something we can all relate to lately: being distracted. It’s unavoidable in normal conditions to find your attention pulled in multiple directions, but major world events (after all we are STILL in a pandemic, though grateful for normalcy and vaccines) will only add to the distraction.
If you’re struggling to stay on task, cannot remember what you were doing before an interruption, or you're feeling unmotivated and exhausted these tips are for you.
1) Create a “Not Now” list.
When something pops up while you’re trying to get something else done, ask yourself if it is important, but not what you’re doing now, or BS and not what you’re doing now.
If it’s anything but what you’re doing right now, unload it by adding it to your not now list on paper or in an app.
This helps relieve your brain of the task or idea without pulling you away from what you are doing now. You can review the list later and move things to your task list or just leave it there.
2) Find a buddy to check in with each morning.
Yes, every morning. A quick 10-15 min call or video chat to share your top priorities for the day and quickly share the status of the ones from the day before. We do this every day in The Enclave.
It can be anyone — just an opportunity to create some external accountability without judgment.
You’ll be surprised how motivating it is to complete something so you can tell your buddy you did it.
3) Leave breadcrumbs for your brain: pause and write down your next steps.
When you get interrupted and need to switch gears, write down where you left off and what needs to happen next with the thing you are pausing.
This helps your working memory to get back on track more quickly when you return.
We can't always avoid distractions, but we can help ourselves to minimize distractions and find our way back again.
How do you manage distractions?
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