Staying on task with some simple tools.

byBryceNielsen

583 followers

2 days ago

I have a tendency to get easily distracted, so this is just as much for me as for anyone else. And as a bonus, I can combine the tips with an update on my progress, which I last gave about a month ago.

Since then I have only written short greeting posts such as holidays.

During that time, I have been working on my WA business, including adding posts to my website, and watching training. I also started a Page on Facebook during this time.

My goal was to work on my business every day, and I think I've come pretty close to achieving that. The exceptions being a couple of weekends when I was focused on my spiritual goals.

Since I got to Lesson 1 in Phase 4 in the Core Training, I switched over to training for marketing. I watched a couple of lessons in the Affiliate Bootcamp, but I'm really focused on my website which is an entertainment niche right now. So what I found so valuable was the marketing training for social media. I found while watching training for Pinterest and for Facebook, 2 important lessons:

1. There's a lot that I don't know about the best ways to use these tools.

2. There are people in our community here on WA who do have that knowledge.

3. Therefore, I need to devote time to learning from those people instead of just randomly doing things that I hope will work.

So that's my first message for today - apply yourself to the excellent training here.

The second part of this post is to discuss simple tools I've been using to overcome my natural tendency of a wandering mind. I also get overwhelmed by some of the big projects I need to do.

I've made good use of the Pomodoro time management method sometimes. I set a timer for 25 minutes and work, then give myself a 5 minute break.

I have so much going on that I need to work on, even personal tasks like cleaning or reading the Bible, that I don't dedicate the 25 minute only to business tasks, or even one task. Anything on my to-do lists and task lists counts. When I start a new 25 minute block I usually switch to a different task or category, but then I will come back to what I was working on before the 5 minute rest period. I know that my mind will still wander and I'll still get restless during this time, and having timers and task lists doesn't change that. Sometimes I'll get up from the computer and just get some water, or start washing dishes, it really helps me think to have a simple physical task and it's all on my daily task lists.

My one hard rule during the 25 minutes is that I don't play games or watch movies, I don't even look at my phone unless it's for a purpose on my task list. That is reserved for the 5 minute block.

One day when I was using this and it was meal time I used a 25 minute block to prepare and eat my food, then I got right back into it.

I don't use the Pomodoro timer idea every day, only when I can see I'm not getting much done. The days go so much smoother when I can focus most of my time on accomplishing something. But sometimes I itch against having any rules about what I'm allowed to do with my time.

Just to be clear, I am NOT recommending that everyone use my version of the Pomodoro method. It works for me, but you might need to do it some other way. Do what works for you.

So my 2nd tool is printing out a grid where I can see a whole week, and check off daily and some weekly tasks. Separately, I have a to-do list for things I only have to do once, or monthly or less often. I've been doing the to-do list for a long time but the daily and weekly sheets are fairly recent. They help me keep track of everything I need to do, and also maintain a balance between the various types of things I need to do. For me, it helps to have the physical paper with the things I need to do. I keep my weekly task lists and to-do lists on a clipboard and rotate through the pages every day to make sure I'm not missing something vital.

I also track some tasks on my phone, on an app called Habitica, but it's harder to get a good overview of the work I need to do.

So far I have just been writing my tasks on the printed sheets, but at some point I will start typing them in when I am settled about what the tasks will be.

I am showing a page where I will write business tasks and mindset / personal development ideas. At the bottom of the page, after the letter B is where I am studying for a service business I am close to starting. I am hoping to have a steady additional income from that while I am building up my website and social media monetization strategies.

I want to mention one more benefit of using these tools. There are some things I need to do, in business or in a personal area, that are so overwhelming that I keep putting them off. By having it as an item to check off, I can just work on it for a few minutes every day. That will make a low-pressure task and makes it easier to get started.

If you struggle with procrastination I highly suggest you do this, or something similar to motivate yourself.

For example, I set a task to do some writing for my blog, 10 minutes every day. I haven't always achieved that. But I have applied that in this very post, where I worked on it for 2 days before posting it. Don't be afraid to take your time, or to dedicate multiple sessions to accomplish something.

Another example: I have to clean off my couch which is covered with papers and mail. I have a task to just deal with 5 items per day. If I am in a real hurry I will do 2. But those are minimums, making sure I work on it every day is the point. It will get done, and chances are I'll get some momentum and go beyond the basic number sometimes. Seeing days that I didn't check it off on the list, I couldn't do 5 things, that hurts and makes it painful to keep procrastinating the task.

The point of breaking up these tasks is to establish a daily task as a habit, something you start to do automatically. I can say a lot more about habits in another post, I've been reading a good book on the subject.

What methods do you use to stay organized and motivated? How do you deal with procrastination? Please comment below.