Focus On the Right Things

bywaYuYu

92 followers

Updated 4 years ago

While I have started my online business for only several months, I find one thing that is easily missed but really important: focus on the right things.

Do you have the experiences that you are dreaming of a blueprint of a great future, whether it’s the future of your website or the future of your real life, and you’re thrilled to carry out your plans, but always find some excuses drive you away from putting the thoughts into actions?

Well, I have.

I find my brain clever (or cunning?) sometimes. It will automatically lead me to somewhere more comfortable. For example, right in this morning, I knew I should start writing a new post, but my hand seemed to stuck on my phone. It was really hard to let my hand off it. When I finally moved my hand to the keyboard, I found I was thinking about what to eat for lunch instead of thinking about my content. At that moment, even a little water stain looks more important than starting the work.

Wow! How come that happened! It seems that our brains are really smart!

We all know that we need to leave our comfort zone so that we can achieve whatever we want to achieve. But the brain knows exactly where the comfort zone is and may scream when we want to cross the barrier.

That’s why focusing on the right things is important. It can help us step out our comfort zone before the brain has noticed and screamed.

What are the “Right Things”

Physical Tasks

Though it is also important to take care of our emotional needs, ignoring them for a moment is a way if we want to work efficiently.

Like I’ve mentioned in former paragraph, our brains will automatically lead us to somewhere comfortable. Our brains may cheat us on the level of difficulty of the problem. We may think it impossible to complete the task. We may think it worthless to do it. We may think it overwhelming to deal with the obstacles.

But none of those are actually real. We will never find out what the things like if we only imagine them in our mind. And once we let our brains cheat us, they can find more and more ways to convince us that they are correct.

So, just focus on the physical tasks instead of the skeptical thoughts. There were so many times, once I’ve given it a try, I found that things were not difficult at all.

Small Goals

If we focus on the big goals, our brains will be very convincing when they tell us that the thing is impossible. It will not only be hard to start but also be difficult to persist if we keep focusing on the big goals.

On the contrary, if we can focus on small goals, for example, one post a week, we know we can do it. And we will feel proud of ourselves when we’ve done it. The sense of achievement can lead us to keep us posting one article every week. In the end, we may feel surprised that one of the big goals has been completed.

Your Niche

Sometimes we will feel stuck in our own niche. We start to think that maybe it’s not the right niche. It’s not the type of niche that can be monetized. Why do other people can make a huge profit on their website? Should I change my niche to theirs?

I have these kinds of questions frequently when I first started my website. I’ve tried actually. I have tried to switch my niche to something looks easier. And it turned out that nothing was easier. None of a niche can make quick money. We don’t know how much effort others have paid, but it does not mean that they have paid none.

Some Tips to Help Me Focus

Schedule My Time

One TED talk has mentioned that making decisions makes us feel overwhelming. Plan things in the first can save our energy and focus on the key stuff.

I will set my monthly goals in the last day of the month. And I will plan my future week every Sunday before I sleep. For the weekly plan, I will not only plan what I want to achieve but also how I am going to use my every hour.

I start practicing this for a month. And I find it very effective to complete my tasks. Besides, I feel more engaged in my life. I know how I utilize every hour in my life. The time is more precious when I am spending my time consciously.

Break the Big Goal Into Small Ones

A big goal may seems difficult to achieve. But small goals do not. While every big stuff is accumulated from small things, so are our plans and goals.

Getting rid of my 9-5 job is one of my big goals. To achieve this big goal, I want to earn at least the same amount of money as my current salary by affiliate marketing. To earn such amount of money by affiliate marketing, I need to optimize my website. To make more traffic to my website, I need to write useful posts and learn the relevant techniques continuously. That’s how I break my big goal of getting rid of my 9-5.

Distinguishing the “Fake” Thoughts

We will never know what the things like if we never do it. I don’t know why, but I find that there are so many “thoughts” that will distract me when I am working on something I am not familiar with.

So, I have written down my original intentions of building the website which I am running now. I read it every time when I am wondering whether I should keep doing this or not. I think this is useful because I am still running the website. I keep revising how I run it, but I did not give up.

How do you focus on your “right things?” Do you think my tips useful? Share your experiences with me!