Remove Distractions - The Focus 30 Method
If you are like many of my clients, focusing on finishing a task is not easy. Especially during the age of distraction, which has us in a tug-of-war on our attention. In my Execute with Ease Coaching Program, I teach several ways to help manage your attention to find focus but I’m going to teach you my favorite one now.
Focus 30 Method:
Choose a task that you are positive will take 30 minutes or LESS
Silence your phone AND place it face down
Put headphones on (white noise, binaural beats or focus music)
Close out all browsers
Set a timer for 30 minutes
Before you start:
On a fresh piece of paper, divide the sheet in half with a line vertically down the middle. On one side of the line, write “thoughts” and on the other side of the line write “distractions”.
You are going to focus ONLY on your one 30 minute task until the timer goes off. For every thought and distraction that pulls your attention away, write it down on one of those two columns. If its a thought, write it under thoughts exactly as you hear it in your head, if its a distraction tugging at your attention, write it under distractions. Your notes will then be there for you when you are done, so jot it down and get back to work.
Practice enhances this method
The more you practice this Focus 30 Method, the better you will get at it. Not only will you get extremely good at coming up with what will take 30 minutes, your neuropathways will get used to the routine to bring you into focus quickly.
Having trouble breaking your project down into bite sized actions that would take a short amount of time? Try using this mindmap to help you. The more you prioritize what is important to you proactively instead of putting out the urgent fires that end up on your desk and in your inbox, the better you will feel!
