Amazed yet by the increased speed of life, especially connected to technology?
One of my favorite blogs to frequent, Liz Strauss at Successful Blog has the right thought about finding focus. Molly, one of her main writers, says this:
How do you prioritize when everything’s a priority?
- Be quiet. Find somewhere where you can shut out all distractions and breathe for a couple minutes. When I was in radio, I used to get in the booth, shut the door, flip the ‘ON AIR’ switch and meditate for 15 minutes.
- Ask yourself: “What’s important today?”
- Apply a triage lens to Your List: What’s bleeding? What can wait? Record it in whichever way works for you: Outlook task list, Evernote, pen and paper, tickler file. Then follow up accordingly.
- Set up the pins and knock ‘em down. One. At. A. Time. Multitasking does not work
- Honor your system. Establish the foundational structure (of your business plan, of your social media presence et al). Then honor it. Make it a habit to honor your system and you’ll discover a paradox: structure provides fluidity.
- RELAX. Hold your shorts on, man. Unless you’re MacGyver, the fate of the free world does not rest in your hands. Besides, tense people can’t flex. Bring your breath to center and recalibrate when you feel as though you are going in circles.
- Celebrate your victories, no matter how small. Success begets success.
Couple of closing thoughts–she links to an Ars Technica article that is 5 years old about how multi-tasking doesn’t work. Trust me, there is more recent research that supports the claim. Stop lying to yourself that you really can do this. I watch my daughters try to work on homework, and ultimately, an activity that should take about an hour or two will typically take twice as long…and be not as proficient as it could be.