Usually a coffee shop or even moving to another room in the house does the trick. Sometimes the battle for my attention is too much, and I need to admit my own weakness. FirewallingĮvery now and then I need to take drastic measures to ensure that I stay focused. Whatever it is, I define it and then get started. Sometimes the answer is planning, sometimes it’s making a call or sending an email, or creating an outline. Whenever things are a bit fuzzy, I try to ask “What needs to be done next to move this project forward?” The clearer the path is, the easier it is to get moving. In the book Switch, Dan and Chip Heath talk about the importance of shaping the path. However, if I just have a very vague, nebulous idea of what I need to do - like “writing” - I’m not very likely to follow through. I need to know what needs to be done, right now. However, knowing that I’m going to let someone else down if I don’t follow through is particularly powerful for me.) 5. But rewarding myself for doing something or punishing myself for not doing something just doesn’t work for me. (As a short side note for anyone that’s interested: I’ve tried the whole reward and punishment system many times before. There are two ways I hold myself accountable: with my team, and with a small, weekly mastermind I’m a part of.īoth help me stay focused and more importantly, follow through on what I intend to do. Without accountability, fear, uncertainty and procrastination can get in the way. It can be hard for me to stay focused on what I really intend to do, and accountability helps with that a lot. If you don’t have a system in place for getting things done, you’re likely losing a lot of productive time to repetitiveness and inefficiency.
Now I don’t have to think about it anymore. Whenever a task comes up that I need to make sure gets done, I simply enter it into Omnifocus and schedule it. I have them synched together with a service called Spootnik.
#Another ways of saying you don not get things done time mac
The two main tools I like to use are Omnifocus (for my Mac and iPhone) and Basecamp (for team communication).
I thought they’d limit me and get in the way of my creative spontaneity. Systems, systems, systemsįor the longest time, I used to rebel against all forms of systems. Once things are moving, momentum is on your side. Overcoming that first bit of inertia is the biggest challenge (just like getting started on a run, or the first push of getting a car moving). The more often I start, the easier things get finished. However, if I can just get moving on it, even for a few minutes, it tends to get easier.īecause I know this about myself, rather than setting the intention to finish something, I resolve myself to start. The more importance and weight a certain activity has in my life or business, the more I seem to put off starting. I’ve found that it’s especially hard for me to start when a task is difficult or complex. If you’re working on developing your focus muscles, I would start with this simple practice and master it before moving on. But if there’s one high leverage habit I’ve developed, it’s this.
Sometimes I struggle to not check email or Facebook. I’ll admit, this isn’t always easy for me. A quick win in the morning sets the right tone for the rest of the day. If I can resist the temptation to get sucked into checking email in the morning, I can often get something meaningful accomplished right away. The first battle of the day often determines how the rest of the day will play out. So, what follows is every tip, trick, and hack that I use to stay prolific, get shit done and win the battle for focus. I’m always curious how other people stay productive, focus on what matters and finish what they start. The battle for focus is one that I wage daily. A funny video on Facebook, an interesting article on Twitter, a new opportunity in my inbox. And there is always a deluge of interesting things passing by that pique my curiosity. There are so many things I could do, that might be worth it. Just like anyone else, I battle distraction and opportunity overwhelm on a daily basis.
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