As I looked at the stacks of papers and books on my desk as well as the twenty tabs open on my computer, I had to confess I had a problem.
I am an information addict. My brain longs for the new thing. Then I pursue the new thing which makes me unproductive. I make writing focus nearly impossible.
I’ve enrolled in numerous online classes.
I am a sucker for the sell.
If you send me an email promising some new skill or making a promise to grow my blog traffic or boost my productivity or blast my number of Facebook followers, chances are I will bite. It will interest me for a bit, then become lost on my hard drive.
Something has to change and I think I know what it is.
I have to turn off the faucet. Email and the Internet provide an endless stream of opportunities for the new. The new shines and shimmers in the sun, like water from a summer spigot in the yard.
While I can love and appreciate the new, I must turn off that faucet of temptation if I am ever to focus and prioritize.
Here’s how I worked on it. Maybe these will serve you.
1. For one week, as you read your email, unsubscribe from any lists or newsletters that no longer serve you. Even if you have loved the product, person or possibility, at this time it is only serving to keep you from your now. At the end of a week you should have a narrowed email flow. Repeat as needed.
2. Shift from the new to the now. Of course you love learning. You signed up for all those courses because you really are interested in learning the entire Adobe suite, or mastering Spanish. But is that your now? Those things will still be there in the future. Focus on what you’re supposed to be doing now.
3. Know your now. When I started blogging, I wanted to share my thoughts and expertise with readers. Who doesn’t want that? But can you hear how airy fairy that goal sounds? To accomplish your now, nail down those goals to actionable, achievable steps. Narrow to the marrow of your why and you might have goals like these:
a. Finish writing at least one ebook in the next six months.
b. Connect with two new bloggers each week. We aspiring bloggers are really nice, approachable people. Find someone in your niche with a similar number of followers/readers and suggest you swap posts once a month or do some other cross promotion.
c. Have and hold social media goals. It might be to do 2 Facebook posts a week, or 200 pins a day. What is do-able for you? Then DO IT.
4. Turn off the texting and close the tabs. You shouldn’t need more than three tabs at a time. Schedule a half hour in the late morning and a half hour in the afternoon to read and answer texts. Few things in life are truly urgent.
Small things can bring big results.