Does she look distracted or is she the one distracting? She is definitely distracting to me with all her super cuteness. But that's okay. She's the least of my worries when it comes to getting distracted from my work. There is so much more than needs to be put in check.
I'm not sure about you but distraction seems to be the new world I'm living in. It's constant and unrelenting and I'm falling for it every time. I can get up in the morning and have the absolute best intentions for getting my to-do list done but alas, that ends up falling to the wayside again and again. Then at the end of the day I feel like I've fallen short of my goals (because I have) and the guilt sets in. If you do it long enough your brain actually starts to know that you don't mean what you say and it can't count on your to get done what you set out to do. That takes a hit on your confidence and intentions. It's like when you say every week you are going to start working out on Monday and never do. It becomes a joke with people that you know. They respond with it; "oh yeah, sure" as does your brain. It eventually realizes you don't mean what you say at all.
So how do we get a grip on this? Start back slowly. Don't overwhelm yourself because then you will give up altogether. Just start doing though. Take one action that leads to another action to another. You get the picture. Just start with cleaning off the kitchen table. Then actually clean up the rest of the kitchen. How about tackling that overflowing closet with clothes. Yes, that is a major pain in the butt but you feel so good when it's done and there are actually spaces in between your clothes. Not only that, but you can then donate the cast offs to a charity and that helps others as well.
This is an area I need to take my own advice for sure. I play a lot of pickleball and it takes up a lot of time. Each time I play it typically lasts from 1 to 3 hours. Sometimes I play twice a day. Yes, this is distracting me from my work but I love it and it's really good exercise so I'm not going to stop. BUT it doesn't mean I can't get anything else done throughout the day. Yet, that has been my life all summer. I have bashed myself constantly this summer for not getting enough work done because I know I'm capable of doing more than I am. But bashing myself is not going to push me to do more. What will is giving myself grace and moving forward from where I am right now. I know I can do better and for me, setting up a schedule is how it will start to get done and get a routine that helps me be more productive.
Because right now I just keep telling myself what I need to do and how much I'm not doing. What typically happens is I just don't feel like doing a certain thing that needs to be done which is at the top of my list. So I put that off and put it off so not only does that not get done but neither does anything else on my list because I usually start at the top and work my way down. For example, since going to a weekly podcast versus a daily it seems I have to push myself harder and harder to sit down and record the darn thing. It's not that I don't like doing it. I think it's just that an object already in motion tends to stay in motion theory. So now instead of pushing off the podcast recording every week I am starting to batch them for the month. I will take one day or maybe a week to do them for the month. Then they will be done and released on time.
But I've also decided if I feel like I'm going to avoid something than I will skip over it for the time being. It's better to move on to other things than get stuck with doing nothing all day long. I've been putting pressure on myself to do things that aren't necessarily fun but needs to be done. Stuff for the business like batching social media posts and brainstorming new ideas to offer. Plus I've been meaning to journal on a couple of issues I've been dealing with and that is something I always tend to put off but am very aware it needs to be done at some point.
We have so many distractions we deal with on a daily basis. First and foremost, I'm sure you can guess is social media. A lot of us pick up our phone the moment we get out of bed. I'm guilty of it too. That sends us down a rabbit hole way too early in the day. And there are times we are on there for so long we don't even realize it. I tend to get lost in Tik Tok from time to time. I was discussing it with my cousin one day and she asked me if I ever got a post saying it may be time to take a break. I was actually shocked to hear a social media company would do that so bravo to them. But no, that has never happened to me so I'm not as bad as she is at the very least! The worst part of social media is it is always there just waiting for you. How many times have you intended to start doing something but you just want to check Facebook one more time. Then it's a half hour later. We actually know exactly what we are doing. We are putting off something that we don't want to do and are having fun instead. Having fun watching other people's lives but that is a conversation for another day.
The best way to break this distraction habit is to focus on your priorities first thing in the morning. I'm not sure what your morning looks like. I have the luxury of an easy going morning with no where to be at a certain time. Which I am grateful for after 20+ years of jumping out of bed, racing around the house to get ready and out the door. But if you have a few minutes it would be so beneficial to write down your top three priorities for each day after you do your gratitude journal of course. If you can get down those three most important things that need to be done that day then you are way ahead of most of the world. Then arrange your schedule to get those things done. Three things everyday. Do you realize how much ass kicking you will doing if you can do this and keep it up.
Compared to my track record this summer I will be like a brand new productive person moving and a shaking. They don't have to be the biggest things in the world. They just have to be things that need to get done. Once you get one thing done you move on to the next. Then the momentum will keep you going to do more and more. If you can start out this way every day then you will be getting done much more than you are now and more than the majority of people you know.
When I say write out your top priorities first thing in the morning that also means before checking email, texting your spouse, making breakfast for the household. Once you start doing any of those things you get caught up in what everyone else needs to do before determining what your goals for the day are. So make it a priority to get this list of three things done right away. It will change the way you live your life. Now go on out there and make things happen!
Coming up soon is the "Love Yourself" challenge. It's a free 5-day challenge that will urge you to find things to love about yourself. Not only is it possible...I know you may think it isn't but I thought that for most of my life and now I do, but it's necessary for a truly happy and fulfilled life. I can show you how to start making that transition from not liking yourself or being neutral about how you feel about yourself to actually liking yourself and maybe even loving yourself. Because what they say is true, you really can't enjoy your life until you come to accept who you are and the way your live life. That's not to say you can't try to improve yourself while you love yourself. You totally can. But you will never get anywhere good in this life by hating yourself. More details to follow soon!
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Now go be badass this week. I'm right here, cheering you on!
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