Do Shiny Objects Distract You?
Many of my clients complain that they have “shiny object syndrome”. While I know this is true and real, I like to lead with the strengths of this tendency before we address it. If this is you, it typically also means that you are highly creative, have tons of amazing ideas, and are a natural visionary! Do not take this lightly, it's a huge strength. This is probably why you have an entrepreneurial spirit. The first thing you need to know is what a gift this is and to embrace it. It's not until you harness this creativity that you’ll be able to fall in love with the shiny object part of yourself. Here are some ways to do this:
Have one place to capture your ideas. One place, not multiple. This can be a notebook, asana or trello board, the notes on your phone, google doc, evernote or good old fashioned post it (as long as you keep them in ONE place).
Find a team member who enjoys completion. There are people out there who enjoy the part of projects that you don’t - finishing…. Find these people and partner up with them. They will find it refreshing, they don’t usually like the idea generating & brainstorming.
Put a system in place. I’ve seen entrepreneurs with running google docs, evernote files or dragon dictation files emailed to an assistant that are in a complete creative flow. The ideas flow in, get funneled into their system and there is a documented process on how the ideas flow from their minds into the completed end product. For each type of idea, have a step by step plan for how it goes from your mind, into the system and out into the world. This will take some trial and error but using one strategy repeatedly will eventually become systematic. Email me if you want to talk through some examples.
Get it out of your head. I can’t emphasize this one enough. You need to capture the idea while it is fresh (it can sometimes disappear, so grab it early) and set it into motion. This frees more creative space in your brain for ideas to continue to flow! An entrepreneur's intuition and creativity is the lifeforce of their business. We need to keep you in creation mode so that both you and your business will thrive!
Now that I hope you are no longer hating on your “bright shiny object syndrome” and you’ve embraced it as part of the gift of who you are, let’s talk about how to tame it down when needed:
Know yourself. Get to know your unique productivity rhythm. Only you are the expert in this. Study it like it's a full time job. Are you less distracted in the morning? Maybe that is when you do detailed work. Or is it the evening? Do you get less distracted at a coffee shop? Or is that worse? Take notes, study your patterns and strategically choose where and when you do what type of work.
Delegate. If there is certain work that just is not your strength and you’d rather never do it again. Delegate it to someone else. Someone on your team, hire a virtual assistant, contractor or if its a task at home a family member. Oh and most people’s answer to this is “I’m not ready for that yet”. If this is you, email me, there are ways around this block!
Put blinders on. Ok, you can’t physically do that but… close all your web browsers, silence your phone, turn off all notifications (social media, text messages, voicemails, email dings). Most people read right over that one and think “well, I know that”. However, how often do you DO IT?? You will be astounded at the amount of work you can get done distraction free. Why? Because we never do it anymore. Believe me, all of those things can wait!
Headphones. Another under-utilized strategy. Put on white noise, brown noise, your favorite classical piano music, spa music, whatever gets you in a focused state. The more you make this one repetitive, the more your neuropathways get trained to go straight into the zone. Try this! I have a different playlist for copywriting, blogging, sales outreach, book writing. It shortcuts your resistance and puts you right back into where you left off saving you time and distractions.
Body double. This is something talked about for people with ADHD but it works for everyone. Have another person there with you that knows what task you are working on and they sit there with you and can be doing their own thing. This can happen virtually with you both on zoom and muted. It is a magical strategy, you can’t beat the energy of this, it is potent and the productivity sky rockets!
Build up awareness. A regular mindfulness and/or meditation practice can help with this. When you meditate regularly, you are more awake and aware of your thoughts and surroundings. You get skilled at moving your attention back when it inevitably wanders. This can easily start with 5 minutes a day. There are so many other benefits to this health-wise that it can only help.
Physically block time for tasks. This means have a start AND END time for when you will work on a particular task. Then set a timer. When you are working against the clock, you’ll stay on task better. Trick yourself and schedule a call or an appointment right after it so you have a hard stop. If you work in an environment with others around you, tell them you need to focus for an hour, shut your door, put a sign up, basically - ask for no distractions and hold that boundary!
The bottom line is that you can build this muscle but you need to do it with repetition until you find what works for you. The more you do it, the more self trust is built and you won’t want to let yourself down. Now that you have some strategies to try, I want to remind you - don’t wish away this syndrome and hate on it. The fact that you might be easily distractible and have a constant stream of ideas flowing through your mind IS A GIFT! Don’t try to be someone you aren’t. It is not until people truly embrace their strengths and double down on them, that their productivity really flourishes!
