Have you ever had a day that just went perfectly? You were focused and energized and everything on your to do list got accomplished with ease. Or if you have had a day like that, it was a long time ago and you’re probably wondering how you can have more just like it.
Well, I think I know the secret. Come close – I don’t want you to miss it.
UNINTERRUPTED, FOCUSED TIME!!!
If you think back to that perfect day of production, my guess is that you were able to stay focused for certain periods of time until you finished your tasks. Maybe the boss was away, maybe it was a Sunday and no one was in the office.
Nowadays with all the interruptions, technology being the biggest offender (I call them WOMD – weapons of mass distraction), we rarely get any blocks of time to really concentrate on the task at hand.
We think we’re good at multi-tasking but the truth is our brains are designed to focus on only one thing at a time. Don’t believe me?
Try rotating your foot in a clockwise direction and then at the same time, draw a circle with your finger in the air counterclockwise. If you’re like 97% of the population, your foot will eventually start rotating counterclockwise too.
(Women will typically reject this notion telling me that they multi-task all day long. It is true that we can do two things at once if one of those things is an unconscious activity like getting dressed or driving – scary but true. But if something takes conscious awareness – like writing and listening, you can’t do both at the same time.)
So when you’re trying to write a report and have the radio on, email open and cell phone set to vibrate, the chance that you’ll be able to get that report done without at least 3 or 4 interruptions in unlikely.
Another reason we seem so busy but actually get so little accomplished is because WE ARE BUSY. It’s just we’re not focused on completion, we’re focused on doing. If you do get that dedicated block of time, instead of saying, “I will work on my book for an hour” try committing to writing 10 pages or completing a chapter.
That way, you know what you need to accomplish in that time period and are much less likely to allow yourself to be distracted.
Personally I’ve found that I can work for about 90 minutes straight before needing a break. I take a 25-30 minute break (non-computer related) and then come back for another 90 minute stretch.
When I do this, my productivity goes through the roof. When I set out to write my first book “The Little Red Book of Hiring and Firing” it took me about a month to write the first three chapters. I was “working” on it an hour here and an hour there but I never seemed to get much done.
Then I read something about working in uninterrupted, focused blocks of time with a very specific goal for each block of time. I finished the book within two weeks. That’s the difference.
So think of something you’ve wanted to accomplish for awhile. Select a reasonable part of the goal that you could complete in 90 minutes. Gather everything you will need for that time period. Turn off and tune out all distractions.
Let’s say you’ve wanted to clean out your closets since the turn of the century. The likelihood that you will ever block an entire weekend for the project is unlikely. Life just doesn’t work that way.
Instead, this Saturday, hire someone to take your kids out for a couple of hours. Turn off the phone and taped episodes of Oprah. Get three boxes; one for items for charity, one for items to return or give away, and one for garbage. Everything that doesn’t go into one of the boxes can go back into the closet. Then put the box of garbage in the garbage. And the other two boxes? DO NOT put them back into the closet even for a second.
Take them out to your car. If they are sitting in your back seat, visible to the world, believe me, you will be more likely to get rid of them.
Lo’ and behold that task is complete. Lather, rinse, repeat!
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Entrepreneur and behavioral analyst, Nancy Roberts, publishes the award-winning ‘Success iNsights’ weekly ezine with hundreds of subscribers. If you’re ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun, get your FREE subscription now at info@insightspps.com.
Sign-Up for your FREE CD: