It can be frustrating to concentrate on a project and then get distracted by an idea for another project. You can build structure around eliminating physical distractions (such as phone calls, email, and people), but it’s much harder to eliminate the distractions in your own head! [su_youtube url="http://youtu.be/NFM2tHmg_1s" width="360" height="280"] The Challenge You’re working on a project and an unrelated thought pops into your [...]
You know what it's like when emails, random thoughts, to-dos, and reminders pop into your head at the worst possible time. I have frequently written here about distractions and how to manage them, and here's another quick tip to remind you of my favorite method: the parking lot! But wait - that's not all! I’ve created the SystemSavvy Consulting Parking Lot to [...]
What do you do when the solution to a problem, creates an even bigger problem? Recently a client and I were discussing distractions. From a time management standpoint, he felt he "could" accomplish so much more if he could just eliminate (or at least reduce) the distractions in his day. He was able to identify two different types of distractions mental and physical. Mental [...]
One of my favorite distraction busting techniques is to "park" ideas as they pop into your head. Then, once you finish the task at hand, go back to the ideas in your parking lot and decide what to do with them. From a time management and choice management stand point, this is a much for effective use of your time than switching tasks each [...]
Does this resonate with you? “I set appointments with myself to work on my goals each day, but something more important and urgent always pops up. I find I’m no further to accomplishing my “big idea” today than I was a month ago.” Keri just wrote to say, “I love the parking lot technique because I seriously feel like I have 3923493 tabs open [...]
Awareness * Work * Evaluation How often do you start a project only to be pulled away by people needing your attention? Earlier, I recommended following a 3 Step System to reduce distractions: Step 1 – Awareness (what distracts you and when), Step 2 – Work (how can you adjust your environment), and Step 3 – Evaluation (what is working, what isn’t). How did you do? If [...]
Great news – you’ve eliminated the distraction of all the thoughts running around in your head. Whenever the next great idea (or bright shiny object) pops into your head – you no longer go off on a tangent. Now, you jot that idea down into your parking lot and continue to focus on the task at hand. (Getting value from this post? Leave a [...]
Have you figured out a way to eliminate other people as distractions, only to be derailed by the distractions in your own head? Here’s the advice I gave my newest client. Dear SystemSavvy, I find that when I’m working on a project – I’m easily distracted. But not by other people, by other ideas in my own head!! Do you have [...]
