In a world where we can get distracted by our team members, our phones, our emails and even more tasks… our attention is already our most precious resource. And it makes sense that, before we can automate our businesses, we have to automate ourselves with better habits. We need to understand what it means to be effective with the time we are given every day.
Invariably, research shows that each and every time your eyes get pulled away from your current task costs you 5-15 minutes in your trying to get back to what you were doing. Ask anyone who is planning their weekend, reading their emails, while sipping their coffee and typing out a new advert for the business – each task doesn’t get the time it deserves! (and you feel more stressed out!) So, what’s the antidote to all this distraction?
We believe it involves a thing called “Flow.”
This is when you get into the rhythm of things, some call it “getting into the zone” and it’s the key to appreciating the work that you do… And getting others to appreciate what you do too. You see, our best work is done when we are in a state of Flow. (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has done massive amounts of research on this concept – Feel free to look him up!)
Common characteristics of being in a state of Flow?
- You lose track of time around you
- You are comfortably challenged,
- This work is the next necessary step,
- You are 100% clear about what you’re doing,
- You know you can achieve what you set out to do,
And how can we enter a state of flow better?
Pick the right challenge
When we have something to do, we need to make sure it challenges us. But just the right amount. Too much challenge beyond our experience and ability makes us anxious and fearful. Too little challenge and we get bored of what we’re doing. The key is to set this task up at the right intersection, just past our idea of where abilities end, and just enough to challenge us into being curious!
Start before you are ready
In a lot of ways, we need to balance our ideas and abilities before the task with… you guessed it… doing the task! And we don’t mean simply planning around the idea, or developing more guidelines around the task… We find that it doesn’t help to sit and panic over the challenge you’re looking to overcome – simply break off a part of the task and do something.
This helps jog your brain into action. And somehow, this motivates you more than if you sat and “mustered up the courage” or something…
List what gets in the way…
Customers calling in? Coworkers/Staff asking you questions all the time? 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes apart… Each distraction will eat away into your day and leave you demotivated… Each demotivation will hold you back when you need to start again, causing more anxiety and stress. This anxiety, this stress, isn’t exactly helpful or motivating.
And this is why we have a focus point on… setting boundaries. The unsexy solution. Are there conversations you should be having with certain people to save time and questions for your weekly meetings? Is there someone else who can solely handle client enquiries on your behalf?
All of these have a way and means to get solved in advance – We’d recommend taking a look at ways you can protect your focus when you are on the “right challenge” and have started getting into the zone.
Was this helpful?
We hope you can take these ideas with you, and start being more aware of how you can be more focused and less distracted.
