Stop getting distracted(here's how)

After I finish my meditation session  I feel calm and at peace with the world. I then decide to write my next blog post, hoping that I can focus on it for a prolonged amount of time. I start the post off great, the words are flowing off my mind and into the screen. This is the best post I've written. It feels like I am giving a speech to my readers. My thoughts are enthusiastic as vocalize what I am typing, the word count is accumulating.

Then, "PING!" I get a notification on my phone. I look and see that it is an email from one of my favorite bloggers. I tell myself that I will just read this email and then resume my blogging. The email has great content, something I might be interested in. I get to the end and see a link for more information. I begin to transgress my earlier thoughts. "Click!" I am redirected to a another blog post. A downward spirals begins. After 30+ minutes I realize my original intent. I then get mad at myself for wasting so much time.

This inner dialogue is repeated almost daily. It starts my route to insanity. Getting down on myself over and over for getting off task.

Does this sound familiar, or at least the part about getting distracted from the main tasks you want to complete. After we get distracted for a good amount time and realize that it has happened, we try to multitask with our distraction and large task we want to complete. This causes even more trouble because we can get near to nothing done in a long amount of time.

So how you ask, do I stop multitasking and getting distracted.

1. Have a notebook or notepad on your phone

The reason for this is if a thought, notification, etc. comes up in the middle of an important task, simply write it down on an ideas list and go over that list daily. If will help you get all the small tasks done later during a designated time period and get the larger more important tasks done now. You could start a master to do list with all the things that distract you. Then whenever you feel tired or if you don't feel like doing a larger task, you can just go into your to-do list and knock out a bunch of the small satisfying tasks.

2. Plan your day in chunks

With your new to do list, find the 3 Most important things  and get those done first. Chunk your day based on the larger tasks first and smaller tasks later.

Note: You will need to account for some extra time because no one sticks exactly to their schedule. People need breaks and time to unwind.

3. Have a clean work space

When you have some extra time it would help to just clear your work space, to eliminate as many distractions as possible. I also find it helpful to turn off notifications/silence my phone and put it screen side down on the table out of reach to hopefully eliminate the distraction of my phone.

4. Stop and breathe

Many urges will pop into your mind throughout the day. Just stop, don't act on the urge and just breathe for a little while. Think about what the outcomes could be if you act on that urge and let go of it. Don't think about it for too long, just let it go.

In this post I tried something new as the intro. It took a little longer with a little more thought but I think it adds more value to this post. If you like the intro please reach out and tell me because I would like some feedback on it. I definitely feel like a much better writer, by just putting a little more time and effort into it.