As I sat down at the computer this yesterday morning to start my workday, I found my mind wandering to the many things that I *should* do that day, outside of my actual work. Try as I might to stay on task, I found myself continuously getting out of my chair to do busy work around the condo.
Do 15 minutes of work
… put in a load of laundry.
Do 10 minutes of work
… make myself breakfast.
Do 20 minutes of work while eating my breakfast
… clean up the dishes from said breakfast.
Do 15 minutes of work
… take the laundry out of the washing machine.
I’m not going to bore you with the specifics of the additional loads of laundry, sweeping the floor, walking the dog, and making more meals that I did yesterday, but I will tell you that I most definitely spent as much time doing ‘things’ than I did actually doing my work. Due to this, I found myself still working at 9:30 pm, while my partner watched football, because I had still not finished all of my actual work by then.
I would like to tell you that this was a one time thing, but at least once a week I struggle throughout the day to stay on task in the face of all of thing ‘things’ that I *should* be doing around the house.
Am I the only one?
I asked the members of our Facebook group ‘Entrepreneurs with Chronic Disorders, Illnesses, and Disabilities‘ if any of them had the same problem and it became clear that this type of ‘busywork’ is an epidemic among those who work at home. Of course, the ability to work from home, if desired, is definitely one of the benefits of being your own boss. So, how do we ensure that the additional distractions that come hand in hand with a home environment, like children, laundry, making food, cleaning up, etc, do not hurt our ability to complete the work that needs to be done to grow our businesses?
Here are my favorite tips that came from the Facebook group discussion:
1: Leave The Space
‘Often, a change of environment is the best thing for me to force myself to complete the task at hand, rather than get distracted. If I can’t concentrate at home then I will go to a coffee shop, library, or even to sit on the patio to work.’
2: Turn Up The Volume
‘I put on loud music to drown out my own thoughts. The more upbeat the music the better this works for me.’
3: Give Into The Urges
‘When I can’t get the urge to clean and organize my space out of my mind, I put on a timer for 15 minutes and clean until it goes off. This helps clear my head and let me re-focus on what I am supposed to be doing again.’
4: Finish The East Things First
‘When I can’t concentrate long enough to get the big things checked off my to-do list, I take another look at my list and pick the easiest or least stressful thing and start with that.’
5: Be Happy With Doing ‘Enough’
‘I look at my task list and divide tasks into A B and C — As long as the “A” ones, are done, I am happy.’
We want to to hear from you! What strategies do you use when you are struggling to stay focused?
About The Author: Michelle Weger
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