How to Stay Focused in a Frazzled World
By Sandy Schroeder
If your world is anything like mine, you just put one fire out and another springs up. Some are routine. Others are more demanding, but they all keep me moving as I try to stay productive in the midst of a million distractions.
If you can relate, you may be interested in Fast Company's tips on how to handle everything. They say determination is important, but being able to use whatever skills, knowledge and awareness that you have is crucial .
Tips to Use Your Determination and Focus
Plan your days in advance - At the end of the day, set up the next day's needs with meeting times, document deadlines, wardrobe, etc. That makes the next morning a breeze and keeps you relaxed for the day's work. Last-minute changes won't be a big deal because everything else is organized.
Tackle the tough stuff first - It's tempting to slide into the day with easy projects, but the hard ones will still be waiting. Start the day with a complicated project and just keep chipping away on it. Your reward will be watching your work come together and learning from it.
Get rid of the time wasters - Everybody knows someone who deals in gossip and trivia, or creates lots of routine stuff that swallows valuable work time. Find ways to insulate your work time allowing you to concentrate on the important stuff and meet key deadlines. Put all of the routine stuff in a block at the end of the day or find ways to delegate it.
Streamline daily routines - Set up healthy lunches with time for exercise and add mid-morning and afternoon breaks to walk, stretch or just relax outdoors. You will stay relaxed and find it easier to stay focused all day.
Keep a running goals list - When you clarify where you want to be, you will have more motivation to knock off daily projects. What's important in your world? Family, health, home, security, retirement? Then do the homework to find the solutions and programs needed. When you pinpoint what you want and what it takes to get it, the rest will come together faster.
Nothing's perfect, but the more you do to iron out the details the better it may be.
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