Stop Distraction. Get Focused.

"Punch today in the face [sweetly]", let distraction go and get focused.

It is overwhelmingly easy these days to get distracted. Facebook. Instagram. The news. Texts. Online shopping. The dog. Basically anything that isn't what you want or need to complete. From one distraction to another projects can go on for days, profound ideas can fall to the wayside, laundry can sit smelling up the apartment. 

As with anything, awareness is the first step. For example, I sit at my desk, diving deep into creating a customized program for a client, fifteen minutes pass and then somehow I am on Facebook reading about how brushing your teeth is bad. How long have I been reading this? How did my fingers type in the url without a conscious thought? What the F? Or how about when the dishes are dirty, I look at them and walk away to the yoga mat or to sit outside (knowing that I like/love a clean home). Really, Lindsay? It would take two minutes!

It's real, at least it has been for me in the past and it will definitely happen again. Luckily I have picked up some helpful hints to get focused and move past the distractions. If you want to stop getting distracted and get focused, be it for house chores or saving the world, try out these simple tools.

As my dear friend and teacher, Coby Kozlowski, say's,

"If it takes two minutes or less, do it right NOW." 

Yes, seriously, if it takes less than two minutes to wash the dishes, make the bed, write the email, call the person, mail the invoice... DO IT RIGHT NOW! Stop being lazy, just do it and then it is done.

And the super distraction distractor -- when a task is at hand...

Set a timer for 30 minutes (start small)

and do ONLY that task.

Sounds simple, because it is. And if you do it, I promise you will move forward faster with projects, ideas, initiatives, or the boring nitty gritty's of life. Each task gets a timer, do it for thirty, no distractions, no facebook, no NPR, no music if that pulls you away. Just you and the task. 

 Two simple steps. And, yes, it can actually be that easy. We humans are skilled at making things more complicated than needed. What if it were easy? What if it were simple?

So do it NOW if it takes less than two minutes & set your timer to commit to the task. Do it. Give it a try and see what happens. As the photo above shows, "Punch today in the face [sweetly]", let distraction go and get focused.

[Props to all of my teachers, random conversations, friends, and family that have taught me little tricks like these along the way. Tricks that have transformed my life. <3]