I have always considered January as a strange month with lots of thoughts and great intentions to take action towards improving our lives in some way in the forthcoming year. It almost felt to me that January was starting to resemble the period you have after eating a large meal, with the feeling of overindulgence and exhaustion, whilst your body is tries to to do its best to process everything.
This is how I felt every year and all the thoughts, ideas and objectives of the previous year were bouncing around my head. I would then spend January trying to clear out the noise and aim to focus of the stuff that really matters. This article provides you with the methods and techniques I used to clear my mind and how I recognise that distraction actually made me a better person.
The Impact of distraction
The level of interaction on a global scale has increased dramatically, providing us with an array of opportunities, issues, tragedies, emotions, inspiration and available information to fill our minds, distracting us from the key areas that really matter in our life. For example, whilst I have been writing this one sentence, I have received 5 emails, 6 Facebook updates, 10 text messages and for an unknown reason I have an incredible urge to check the BBC website every 30 mins just in case something has happened. I am sat in my hotel room with three digital devices, a television, 2 books, 2 journals and a coffee making facilities. So there is plenty around me to provide my mind with lots of opportunities to find something that is much more important to do other than the task in hand.
The level of distraction in society has become so apparent that I have noticed (in my distracted moments) an ever-increasing number of news reports showing the impact on social technology is having on our lives (Positive and negative). For instance, it appears that our posture when looking at our phones can add an effective weight of up to 60lbs on our necks! I know this is true from personal painful experience. Looks like physiotherapy will be a great business to be in for a while!
Distraction has become a major habit for many people and therefore it is now the norm to believe you should be able to get the information that you need, when you need it. All utterly fantastic, if you don’t get lost in the swamp of information floating around and the realise that you are doing nothing about what it is you really want to achieve in life.
As I became aware of my lack of progress towards my own goals in 2015 it became apparent that I had been choosing not to focus on the things that truly mattered e.g. family, health, personal & business goals. Over the past 2 years I have buried myself in learning and looking for ways to develop my skills of productivity, focus and an improved mind-set. During this period, I used the following activities to clear out, focus and take on my journey towards clarity. I found that there was no silver bullet, just a range of habits to consistently use and harness the most out of the information we receive on a daily basis.
So I got ANIMATED.
Accountability
- You are accountable for your goals so design practical methods to consistently remind yourself of these responsibilities on a regular basis.
This could be:
- Finding an accountability partner – a friend, a family member or someone who is part of your network
- Publicly share your goals – openly sharing your goals with a wider audience will mentally provide you with saying power to see through to the end
- You could also agree with a trusted friend that if you don’t achieve your goals that they can send a cheque for an uncomfortable amount to a cause you do not respect or believe in
Notes
- Keep reminders, signs and notes in prominent places (On your computer, the fridge etc) to provide a daily visual of your future goal
- Keep a journal and write down your daily progress, your thoughts, ideas and challenges
In the present
- Stay focussed on what can be done today to take you a step closer to your goals
- The past has gone, and the future is what you create from making decisions you make now
- Remind yourself every morning of the task of the day and review progress at night providing a focus on the day’s achievements
Meditation
- To support making sense of your thoughts, diffuse the noise you build up every day and de-clutter your mind
- Take 10 – 20 mins daily to meditate
- Look at using guided meditation to get started (I use the Headspace App – Andi Puddicombe)
- It provides the mental strength and techniques to take on the day in the present without succumbing to distraction
Aligned Learning
- Invest in yourself and spend some time daily reading something to expand your knowledge about subjects aligned to your goals
- Use your commute time to read or listen to audio books
Tools
These are a selection of the key tools / systems I have used to reduce distractions
- Brain.FM – Provides music designed to keep to on track and focused
- Pomodoro Technique – time management technique to get on it and increase productivity
- Morning Ritual – Design a morning ritual to start the day in a positive and proactive manner.
My morning routine is:
- Meditation – 10 – 20 min guided meditation
- Exercise – 45 mins of getting into motion – walking, gym or cardio
- Reading / Learning – 30 mins
- Writing – 10 mins journaling thoughts, actions for the day, 3 things I am grateful for and remind myself of my goals
Exercise
- Exercise has been a core part to clearing the mind and training it to be focused on results – go and get active
- Exercise is a catalyst for a positive mind-set and over time it will improve your energy levels to take on every day with passion
- Exercise and health improvements promotes internal confidence to achieve results and therefore focus on the daily task that are most important
Digital silence
- Think about taking periods of digital silence
- Turn off all notifications on phone, computer and now watch!
- Try leaving your phone away from your bed at night to reduce the night-time and morning habits that seem to get you checking in immediately when conscious to see the new social messages
- Reduce reliance of reading the news in newspapers and on the internet (If it is important someone will probably tell you anyway). I noticed a major shift in my own mindset on this becoming much more positive within 2 weeks of taking on the challenge.
Summary
Many of these practices and techniques have now become part of the normal daily routine in my life. The level of opportunity for distraction in society I can only see increasing into the future as technology develops; so taking a consistent approach to strengthening these habits is necessary to ensure that you are as productive as possible. Whether it is losing another 20lbs, writing a book, improving your financial performance or another goal, the skills of staying committed to a task in a motivated and productive state is a clear differentiator and one that will provide you with the confidence in successfully delivering against your own expectations. Try some of the above for a 3 week period to create a consistent habit that will have an impact on your life.