How to Stop Getting Distracted
Keep reading this post to learn:
⋒ How powerful your words and mindset are when it comes to productivity
⋒ 5 tips for creating structure and following through with what needs to be done
⋒ Questions to ask yourself if you are finding yourself struggling to stay focused
This blog post is directly inspired by a question a Hustle Sanely BFF asked in our community that I figured a lot of people can probably relate to:
“How do you find structure working from home when the things that need to be done have no deadline? I’m a SAHM with a part-time job trying to get things moving but it’s easy for me to get distracted with a million other things. I’m lucky if I manage to get one of my Focus 3 done! It’s not that I’m not productive, I’m just easily distracted and not naturally organized lol.”
Okay, the first place I want to start is with some mindset stuff because, as you know, Key 01 to Hustling Sanely is “Get Your Mindset Right”. I know some people tend to skim over the mindset side of stuff and get right to the practical action steps (those are coming later…I promise) BUT let’s pause for a second.
Have you ever thought about how that isn’t working for you?
Like you keep ending up in the same cycles and situations, in this case continuously getting distracted and not doing what needs to be done. So why not at least try leaning into the inner work and mindset stuff surrounding this to see what you can dig up? When we do the inner work, that’s when practical action steps we put into practice actually stick and change happens.
Our mindset is the root of everything in our lives.
If you want to dig up a weed, what do you have to do? You have to pull it out from the root or the pesky thing is just gonna keep growing back.
So let’s go back to the question:
”I’m a SAHM with a part-time job trying to get things moving but it’s easy for me to get distracted with a million other things. I’m lucky if I manage to get one of my Focus 3 done! It’s not that I’m not productive, I’m just easily distracted and not naturally organized lol.”
First thing, let’s give her props for her self-awareness. She is owning that she gets distracted by other things when she is trying to get her part-time job up and going. I feel like when we own where we are, that’s what gives us the power to move out of it and into something more supportive.
Let’s talk about some of the other language she used:
“I’m lucky if I manage to get one of my Focus 3 done”
“I’m easily distracted and not naturally organized”
Y’all know I’m big on our words. I love speaking affirmations over my life because I really do believe that our words carry power. Proverbs 12:6 actually says that our words have the power to destroy and the power to build up. That’s a responsibility that we have to accept. The power of our words is a gift from God and we have to tap into that!
That being said – I’d recommend reframing and rephrasing “I’m lucky if I manage to get one of my Focus 3 done” to “Right now, I’m struggling to get my Focus 3 done but I understand that I am in charge of how I spend my time.”
And “I’m easily distracted and not naturally organized” to “Right now, I have a tough time staying focused but I’m willing to learn and implement tools to help me be more organized with my time and tasks.”
Neither of those reframes is being in denial – it owns where you’re at while speaking life into where you want to go.
After we’ve reframed and rephrased to make sure we are speaking life and truth over ourselves, now let me give you a little journal prompt exercise to help you really dig deeper and get to the root of why you’re behaving like this:
What kinds of things are distracting you?
Are they household related like seeing your kids’ toys on the floor and feeling the urge to tidy up in the moment? Are they things that just pop into your mind that feel pressing in the moment? Such as redesigning your podcast thumbnail or choosing a new font for your logo?
Why are things distracting you so easily?
Is it because you feel overwhelmed by how much is on your plate? Or is it something deeper like you are scared to pursue your part-time job because you feel like you’re not capable or worthy of success?
I encourage you to get out an actual journal – shameless plug for the Peacefully Productive Journal – and work through these questions. Don’t just think about them but get your thoughts out on paper to help you process them!
True story: I feel like in this season, preparing my life, home, and business for motherhood and maternity leave, I can relate to this scenario of feeling like I’m being productive but also getting distracted by all the things. This summer, I felt VERY scattered when it came to productivity. Like yes, I was checking a bunch of stuff off and being productive but I wasn’t getting the important stuff done.
So I had to do a few things to help me rein it in, pinpoint distractions, and focus my time and energy on what actually needed to be done. And I can honestly say that doing these things helped me to really hone in during August-October and focus on getting the stuff done that truly mattered.
Let’s answer this part of the question now: “How do you find structure working from home when the things that need to be done have no deadline?”
I feel this to my core because, in my life and business, I am the creator of all of my own deadlines and all of my own structure. I really don’t have anyone leaning over my shoulder, tapping their foot, telling me what needs to be done and when.
Here are 5 tips for creating structure and following through with what needs to be done:
01. Let go of this season’s unnecessary tasks.
Sometimes in certain seasons, our plates really do feel just unmanageably full. And when that’s the case, for me at least, it’s easy to get distracted by what I call “low-hanging fruit” tasks. Low-hanging fruit tasks are tasks that are on your to-do list that are easy/low energy so they’re super tempting to grab and do BUT when you do that, you’re taking away time and energy that could be used toward tasks that are really important and a priority to get done.
So in these extra full seasons or seasons when you feel like you are having a tough time focusing on what needs to be done, I like to declutter my plate of unnecessary tasks. I know we are a community that loves a concrete example so I’m gonna share some tasks that I let go of in this season of prepping for maternity leave:
~ Filming videos for YouTube for the new planners and products
~ Decorating our house for fall
How did I decide to let those things go even though they are important? One drives sales to my business and the other brings me joy. I sat down with my journal and asked myself, “What open loops are making me feel stressed out right now?” and both of those tasks came to mind.
Letting them go supports me better in this season than finding a way to cram them into my schedule, taking time away from things that really need to be done in this season (like taking breastfeeding classes and getting the podcast and BFF membership prepped through March of next year so I can relax during maternity leave).
Recognizing what we need to let go of in certain seasons is just as important as recognizing what we need to hold onto.
02. Categorize and prioritize your tasks.
I have a whole podcast episode walking you through how to use the Eisenhower Matrix to help you decide what tasks are truly urgent versus which ones aren’t. But basically, you need to get all of the tasks that are floating around in your brain out on paper and categorize them based on level of importance so you can see, in black and white, right in front of you, which tasks are more important than others.
03. Create your own deadlines based on priority level and put them in your planning system.
This one requires a little thing called discipline. Because when you are in charge of your deadlines, that means you also have to be in charge of the consequences that follow when you don’t stick to the deadline. Listen to this podcast episode if you need some support in how to be more disciplined because I want to spend this time talking more about how to create deadlines.
So here’s what I did to help me create deadlines for all the things that needed to be done before Baby E makes her arrival:
I created 2 catch-all task lists: one was called “Personal before baby” and the other one was called “Professional before baby.” I literally brain-dumped every task that came into my mind of what needed to be done before baby comes. Then I went through each list and determined if any of them had more strict deadlines – so for example, having the Best Year Ever Workshop planned and created needed to be done before December because that’s when I put it out for you guys. It’s like a built-in deadline.
Next, I made a list of all the months in the year from August-November (I did this exercise in July and knew I wanted all of these tasks completed by November) and I assigned each task to a month, using what I knew about the built-in deadline tasks to guide me.
These are my deadlines!
Then, I grabbed my planner and wrote each task in the monthly catch-all list (still broken up into personal and professional) of its deadline month.
This helped me to not get distracted by ALL the things that I needed to do before the baby comes, but instead, it equipped me to focus on a few things at a time without feeling overwhelmed. When I did my Weekly Prep Meetings during each month, I was able to pull from my monthly catch-all task lists to help me know what needed to be done each week in order to complete all the tasks for the month.
I wasn’t stressing or worrying about other tasks because I knew they would have time dedicated to working on them during their deadline months.
04. Create daily and weekly schedules and routines that help minimize day-to-day distractions.
I have a whole course dedicated to helping you create daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly routines for a peacefully productive life. but right now, I’m gonna share 3 routines that help minimize day-to-day distractions.
~ HS5: DUH! The Hustle Sanely 5 habits create space in your day to get your most important tasks done, move your body, tidy your home, and do one kind thing for yourself and someone else. Creating rhythms for these things every day helps make them a routine in your life so you're not getting distracted by things like constantly picking up the house all day because you know that tidy for 15 is built into your day.
~ Batching your week and having a daily schedule outline: I’m a major fan of using batching to be the best steward of my time and energy in work and in my personal life. The way I use batching is by assigning each day a focus for different parts of my life. So 2 examples – one personal and one professional:
Personal: I recently decided to follow a batch schedule for my HS5 tidy for 15 and I’m loving it! Before, I used to just set a timer for 15 minutes and do whatever looked like it needed to be done around the house. Now, I follow this batch schedule for my tidy for 15 minutes:
Monday: Bedroom
Tuesday: Guest Bath + Nursery
Wednesday: Kitchen
Thursday: Office
Friday: Home Reset Routine
Saturday: Living + Dining Room
Professional: I have focus for the types of tasks that I do each day in my business:
Monday: Product Development
Tuesday: Calls & Content Creation
Wednesday: Calls & Group Coaching
Thursday: Product Development
Friday: Open Loops
Batching helps me to never question when things are going to get done because everything has a home in my weekly schedule.
~ Having a catch-all task list to hold space for tasks that pop up in your mind: I recommend having a spot in your planning system where you can keep track of random tasks that pop up into your mind because then you don’t have to worry about forgetting about them. That’s usually why people feel the need to do these kinds of tasks in the moment — so they don’t fall through the cracks. But this pulls your time and energy away from more important tasks. Not every task that pops into your mind needs to be done right then and there. When we have a system to collect and schedule these tasks, we’re less likely to be derailed by them.
05. Do your Focus 3 early on in the day.
This one is pretty straightforward – but the earlier in the day you get your Focus 3 done, the less room there is for distraction. Plus, I don’t know about y’all but when I get my Focus 3 tasks done early, I literally feel so accomplished because I know the tasks got my best time and energy and it builds momentum for the rest of the day. Not having your most important tasks hanging over your head frees up so much mental space!
So, what should you do when you DO get distracted?
We’re human – life happens. We’re gonna get distracted and important things sometimes aren’t going to get done when you want or need them to. So what can you do then?
Well, a quick little reminder, which you knew was coming – our schedules and routines are tools, not chains. This means that when something doesn’t go according to plan, instead of freaking out and throwing in the towel altogether – pivot and adjust. Ask yourself, “What can I control right now? What is one move I can make to get back on track with one important task?” and do that thing. It can be a small step toward one of your Focus 3. Then ask yourself the same question and do it again. Small steps repeated consistently are where momentum and movement come from.
Now if you keep putting off the same task over and over – I want you to revisit your life vision and ask yourself if this thing that you keep putting off actually aligns with it.
Maybe you have had “submit grad school application” on your Focus 3 for weeks now but you keep finding yourself doing other things like organizing your spice rack, starting a YouTube channel, or taking your dog on an extra walk instead.
You gotta be real with yourself and ask hard questions like: Do I really want to go to grad school? Does it align with my vision and values? If so, why am I putting it off? Is it out of fear of rejection? Do I need help with a part of the application?
If you struggle to get clear on your life vision, I’ve got you! There are so many exercises in the 2023 planner to help with this that we'll be doing together in the BYE workshop!
I really hope this post met you where you’re at and that you were able to gather some solid takeaways to put into practice! We all get distracted from time to time, but there are things we can do, and habits we can put in place to help us get the important stuff done!
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