Are you losing focus? We’re in what could easily be called the Age of Distraction. Between all the media sources we’re exposed to, all the forms of Social Media, instant communication and technology at our fingertips…we’ve just become inundated with ready-made distractions to keep us from meeting our goals and threaten the very simplicity we’re trying to build in our lives.

So today, we’d like to talk about some simple ways to get your focus back, and beat the distractions that keep us from focusing on what’s important to us. We’ll go over a few personal examples of distractions we face and share a couple of tools we use to help keep us on track. Read more…

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Types of distractions:

• Internal distractions are your subconscious thoughts that get in the way.  And it may not be negative self talk (like fear and self-doubt) that gets in the way….euphoric thoughts can be just as distracting!

• External distractions can be a phone call, a loud noise, a FedEx delivery at your front door, or all the ads you see online and on FB!

Some problems we face that lead to losing focus:

• We’re constantly “switched on”: Camille L. Preston owner of AIM leadership and author of Rewired explains how an overuse of technology and its lingering effects–being overwired–is damaging our brains, our bodies and our personal productivity. She talks about the dopamine effect and its correlation to our addiction to technology

• Smartphone addiction (aka the “Crackberry”) and instant access to email is one of the biggest distractors.

• Too many apps that are constantly updating and the constant search for hot new apps.

• Social media

• 24 hour news cycle

• “The Resistance” that Steven Pressfield’s explains in his books the War of Art and Do The Work, which prevents you from getting the important work done.

• Immediate (if not instant) gratification: like consuming short form information in blog posts as opposed to reading the entire article.

Solutions:

• Taking some time to analyze “always switched on” habits. If you’re always switched on…guaranteed…you’ll find yourself losing focus!

• Taking a “digital sabbath” or unplugging time: some of your best thinking and productive moments may happen when you’re unplugged.

• Designate times (schedule) times for things that distract, such as social media and email:  Lifehacker and many other productivity specialists recommend not checking email first thing in the morning!  There is a much much greater chance of you derailing your important project if you allow yourself to get distracted with emails and the unforeseen and unplanned tasks that are buried in them.

• Check your work mail only during work time and personal mail during personal time.

• Disable automatic download of emails.  Instead download them manually during a “pre-determined” that you’ve set on your calendar to check them.

• Turn off your internet or use an app like the  Self Control App or Rescue Time. An app that lets you block your own access to distracting websites, your mail servers, or anything else on the Internet. Just set a period of time to block and you will be unable to access those sites–even if you restart your computer or delete the application.

• Evaluate what apps/programs really work for you. No need to have cool new app if the ones you have are working. Our favorites are Evernote, Dropbox, Google Docs/Drive and Google maps to name a few.

• Plan out your day.  Even Ben Franklin had a Daily Schedule…it’s amazing what he accomplished in his lifetime!

• Set aside time to read…actual books!

• Identify your triggers or what’s causing your distractions. By identifying your triggers you become more aware.  And being aware will in turn move you from subjectively looking at a problem to objectively looking at it and help you take ownership to control them.

So, we all go through bouts of losing focus. Sometimes it’s just that the subject matter isn’t as interesting as you’d like. But sometimes it’s because we’ve picked up bad habits along the way that are dulling our focus. Maybe some time spent evaluating what’s causing your lack of focus and implementing some of the tools we discussed today can help you get that razor’s edge back to your focus.

Question:

So, have you been finding that you’ve been losing focus lately? What are some ways you’ve lost focus? What made you realize that your focus isn’t as sharp as it used to be. What tools can you share that might help?

THING Segment:

Dan’s Thing: The new Evernote Web Clipper for Chrome

• The web clipper has a whole new look and tons more functionality.
• The functions of Skitch are now built into the web clipper! So, all the things I covered in the free Skitch tutorial you can now also use in the Chrome web clipper, too.
• You can check out the Skitch tutorial SimpleLifeTogether.com/Tutorials

Vanessa’s “THING”: Storyline book by Donald Miller that’s helping her to understand her purpose.

Announcements:

• ScanSnap Scanner Sale at Amazon

• New Look for Simple Life Together: We’re changing themes to better support the kind of content we want to share. As we’ve said in the past, look for more blog posts, more videos, and a different look to the site and the podcast cover art, as well.

• Platform Conference: If you’re trying to build your platform within your company, industry or field, or your business, you may want to consider Michael Hyatt’s Platform Conference: 3-5 November, in Dallas TX this time, at the Omni Dallas Hotel at Park West. If interested to SimpleLifeTogether.com/Platform and use Coupon Code SIMPLE to save $100 off your registration.

• Green Juicing Intensive Clinic: You met Farnoosh Brock back in Episode 19. She is the premier expert on juicing and author of The Healthy Juicer’s Bible. Her Green Juicing Intensive Clinic is marked down from $147 to $97 for a limited time. Go to SimpleLifeTogether.com/juice to learn more about The Green Juicing Intensive Clinic.

• Edit & Forget It: We have people sign up every day for the Edit & Forget It Challenge! It’s never too late, so just head over to right sidebar and click the Edit & Forget It Challenge banner.

• Tutorials: We’ll be hosting all our free tutorials and guides on the Tutorials Page from now on. So, to reach them, just click on the Tutorials Tab at the top of the page.

Shownotes:

You can download the full PDF of our show prep, too.

Resources and Links:

Platform Conference: Coupon Code for $100 Off: SIMPLE

The Book: Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World

Podcasting A to Z course Discount Code : SIMPLE for $500 off!

Chrome Web Clipper

The War of Art

Donald Miller’s Storyline

Ben Franklin’s Daily Schedule

Farnoosh’s Juicing Clinic

ScanSnap sale on Amazon

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