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Top Ten List for Handling Distractions
By Julie | January 30, 2008
For most people, lack of desire is not the reason we don’t accomplish what we want. Most people I know are dreamers. The ones who are not, used to be. They had a dream that was never accomplished, and so, they let it go. Dreams are hard to achieve. They require diligent work, and in the beginning, offer little return. Most people either give up before they begin, or after much effort they become tired and stop. I wonder how often a dream was on the verge of being grasped but the achiever didn’t know and quit just before it would’ve paid off.
One of my biggest challenges is not the work itself. I usually feel an internal drive to be accomplishing something. Unfortunately, I have so many things I want to do, that I get distracted by them, or by my kids, a quick article on the Internet, a book, a game of solitaire that turns into a half hour, and a million other things. Everyday I wake up with a mental list, sometimes a written one, of things I want to accomplish that day. When I go to bed, it’s never all done. Sometimes I did not do enough, other times I expected to do in one day things requiring an entire week, or month.
This morning I woke up motivated, I got a ton of things done before lunch. After lunch, my streak was gone, and I couldn’t get moving. I played with my kids, watched some YouTube videos, played a little Minesweeper. I had to force myself to start a project with my preschooler. I love doing things with him, and once we got started we had a lot of fun. But, when I lose my motivation, I have to force myself to even do the things I enjoy.
I was thinking of all this and that I needed to come up with a blog entry for tomorrow (today for you). I realized I could kill two birds with one stone. But since I’m easily distracted I actually started thinking of what would happen to those birds with the stone, then I never wanted to say that expression, or think it again. So, even as I prepared to write an article on how to handle distractions, I got distracted.
Here is my top ten list for avoiding distractions: (When I don’t get distracted from following it, it helps me immensely.)
Identify it: What do you want to accomplish. What is your dreams, or dreams? In order to plan a trip, you have to figure out where you want to go. While brainstorming, you may want to consider the potential benefits your goal would give you if it were accomplished. Does it take a lot of work, but offers little? Are you sure this is what you want to do? What do you find yourself naturally participating in, something no one ever has to force you to do because you love it so much?
Write it out: Now you have something, or if you’re like me, many somethings you want to accomplish. Write if down on paper. It could be a simple line that says, “I want to (fill in the blank). Or you could detail supplies, or tasks you’ll need to get started on. Sometimes writing down will help you see the direction you need to go, and may point out flaws in your plan. Also, having something on paper makes it more real, it commits you to it more then just saying, “Someday that would be nice.”
Prioritize. Sometimes when I write down a list of my goals, it’s so long I don’t know where to begin. Then I get intimidated, and feel like I won’t be able to accomplish any of it. So I tell myself it’s pointless to start. But, since I have genuine interests listed, I usually end up accomplishing some of it anyway. If your list looks too long, take another peek. Cross off the things you’re less interested in, leaving the ones you really want.
Don’t look at the whole picture: Even after you’ve narrowed down your goals, the task can still seem daunting. But if you can break it down even further you’ll find an impossible task really contains a lot of small possible projects. Want to write a book, but you’re afraid you’ll never be able to write that much? Write a chapter. It’s much smaller, takes less time, and feels like an incredible accomplishment when you get it done. And, once you’ve written one, you should be able to write another.
Do the chores first: Every goal has parts that are not fun. If you have a creative business, and hate facts, well, someone is still going to have to do your accounting. It’s probably wise for you to know a little about it, even if you detest numbers. For me, the boring tasks that are part of the bigger goal are the hardest for me to accomplish. This is even true of housework. I love to read to my kids. I’m not fond of doing laundry. But I know if I get behind it takes a long time to catch up. When they bring me books, I try to tell them we’ll do a load of laundry, then read. They like helping me, and being read to, so they’re happy. Then, I don’t spend hours doing laundry, because I took care of the bad chore. Then I was rewarded by time with my kids.
Accountability: If you really want to accomplish something, it’s best if you can set up some agreement with another person to hold you accountable. Someone who will check on your progress to make sure you’re working. If this person guilts you (a little) if you make too many excuses, that could help. I’ve had goals I didn’t share, because I was afraid I’d fail and someone would know. In that case, it helped me to write them out on a calendar, according to the date I wanted them accomplished. Another thing that worked, was having a check list, and marking things off as I completed them. If you aren’t accountable to another person, you need to be accountable to yourself, so quitting won’t be tempting.
Don’t overload yourself: In every job I’ve ever had, and nearly any task I’ve ever done, I reach a point where I can’t do it. When I’m overloaded, things I’d done for years, suddenly I was unable to do. I’d get frustrated; my skills completely left me, and everything I tried, failed. Often, walking away and coming back fixed everything. When I physically left the task, the area, or even the building, for a short period of time, I came back refreshed, and many times things went perfectly. Sometimes it’s hard. My oldest son was incredibly colicky. He screamed 10 to 12 hours a day. I held him, rocked him, and sometimes cried with him. In the afternoon I’d reach my breaking point. I’d feel like I couldn’t keep going. But, it was just the two of us until his dad got home, I didn’t have a choice. For my sanity, and his, I had to make myself put him down, where I knew he was safe in his crib. Then I walked away for a few minutes. Sometimes I took a quick shower. Sometimes I went outside and got 10 minutes of sun. Sometimes I just went to another part of the house. He still screamed, but he always screamed. When I came back, I was better. Tricks I hadn’t thought of earlier came to me, and sometimes I could sooth him enough he’d calm down. Even if he didn’t, I was better able to handle it since I’d had a short break.
Avoid temptation: Temptation is hard. The second I sit down to work, I start thinking of everything else. Go get a Mountain Dew. I wonder what videos on GodTube would be fun to watch. Before I know it, an hour is gone, and I have nothing done. Oops, that’s all the time I had. Oh well, hopefully tomorrow will be better. The best advice I’ve ever gotten for handling temptation comes from the Bible. When dealing with something tempting, I used to fixate on the thing, or activity I wanted. I’d try to focus, but my mind kept thinking about that Mountain Dew. I’d try to get something done, but the wanting would get worse. Then, what? Load up the kids and go get a pop. The Bible tells us when we focus on our temptation we will give in to it. But when we focus away to God, (or if you’re not a believer, on another task) you can overcome your temptation. It has helped me! (I haven’t had a Mountain Dew in weeks.)
Reward yourself: Some goals take awhile to accomplish. When you work hard, but haven’t accomplished what you want yet, it’s hard to keep going. But, if you reward more often, it’s much easier to keep focused. I had a friend who was trying to lose weight. She felt the over all goal was too hard, and would take too long for her to remain focused. So, she decided she would only focus on losing 10 pounds, then she’d reward herself. Ten pounds did not take long for her to lose. Wow, then she got a pedicure. Another ten pounds, she had some chocolate. The next ten, she got a new shirt. She still lost her goal weight, but she looked at a less overwhelming picture, and regularly rewarded her efforts. It made all the difference. (If it were me, I’d get a new pair of cute shoes.)
Find and be an Encourager: This step has hurt me, and helped me, a lot. This is where you discover your true friends. Several times I’ve shared my goals with people I thought loved me and would encourage me. I can’t say they didn’t love me, but I got no encouragement, and received constant criticism. Something happens when you share your dreams. Some people truly come alive with enthusiasm. They cheer you on every step of the way. If you find them, hold on, because they’re rare. For me, more people tell me it’s not possible, or I’d never actually do it, or maybe it could go but it’s going to take a lot of work, or, “What’s the point of that?” I think they mean well, but it is counter-productive, and can stop you dead if you were hesitating anyway. But, when you find a true friend who will encourage you through your failures and successes, you may be able to accomplish anything. Their excitement for you will get transferred to you. Something special happens in the person who believes they can do it. I hope you all find that person. And since the world is in a starving need of them, I hope you can be that person too.
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