A young guy by the name of Philip DeFranco, who entertains me for 5 minutes or so almost every day of the week, decided to change his life primarily in the health and fitness area (click here to check out the video). To do this, he knew he would have to rid the things that didn’t keep him focused on his goals. Thus, he got rid of the one major distraction (XBOX 360) and progress has already been seen. Through one simple action, he has been able to change everything. That is what we are going to focus on today.
Multi-tasking
I have learned through the wise teachings of Leo Babauta that multi-tasking is so 1990’s. Trying to accomplish a million things at once rarely ends with me achieving what I set out to do.
I wish I could multi-task. It would be amazing to achieve more in less time. Unfortunately, this is usually not how multi-tasking ends up. We work half-ass one part of our task which ends up affecting the quality which ends up dissatisfying ourselves and others. How is that a positive in my life?
Focus
I have a tough time focusing my attention on one thing. Just ask my girlfriend. I love observing everything around me and many times this also means I am less productive.
To combat this behavior, I reduce any and all distractions to try and focus on one thing. The following are a few examples of how I combat lack of focus:
- Physically Disconnect the Line to the Internet
- Turn Off All Music and Television
- Remove Outside Distractions like People
- Use a To-Do List
I know most of these you have tried before and maybe they didn’t work, but for me, they do.
Why Do I Still Not Focus
If all I have to do are the previous actions, then why do I still lack focus? It usually has to do with what I am focusing on.
Where’s Waldo
As a child, I was addicted to Where’s Waldo. For those who don’t know, they were cluttered maps where you had to find a guy dressed like a candy cane. There was so much going on and I loved it. I guess I should blame my lack of focus all on Waldo, but I would never do that to the jolly tall and lanky man.
One Thing
Using the bulleted methods above will definitely help hone your focus. However, the number one way to improve your focus is to pick one thing and dominate at it or as Gary Vaynerchuk would say, “Crush It”. If it’s a term paper, dominate it. If it’s making lunches for the kids, dominate at it. If it’s writing an eBook, dominate at it. Whatever it is, do that one thing and one thing only and dominate at it.
Not That Easy
Though we wish it were all that easy, it’s not.
To be more productive and accomplish more of your goals, attacking one thing can be challenging. You wouldn’t believe how many 500 word articles took hours to write as I did choirs every other sentence. What you have to do is make it a point going in to whatever you are doing? If you have to do laundry, literally say out loud to yourself (I do, I am kind of weird), “I am going to dominate at doing my laundry and that is it.” Just talking yourself into it will help and soon enough all the laundry is done and you can move on to your next goal.
Try It Out
I highly doubt you don’t have one thing to do on your to do list. So, pick any one of the things that must get done right now, tell yourself you are going to dominate at it, and do just that one thing no matter how big or small. Then, come back and tell me how it went in the comments section.
Click here to get a copy of PROJECT M-31: Simply Your Life in 31 Days
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