2021, when did that happen!
January is usually filled with 'new year, new me' posts and people setting resolutions to make this year the best year of their life… well 2021 is different. There is so much going on in the world that can make it hard to maintain focus, stay motivated, and on the right track.
I want to say that if you do veer off your path or away from your goals, don't beat yourself up. Stop, take a breath, reassess where you are and where you want to be and look at how you can get back on track.
When we feel overwhelmed, we allow tasks to expand and take more time than they should, and this has a knock-on effect. If you are working from home, you are also more prone to distraction, and study by Gloria Mark of the University of California, Irvine states that it takes you 23 minutes and 15 seconds to return to the original task after an interruption. That's crazy when you think the job itself may only take a few minutes.
So here are a few ways to help you gain clarity and to focus:
1) The 2-minute role. A simple but effective way to focus on and complete tasks. If a job such as replying to an email, setting that social media post live, sending a text can take 2 minutes, do it there and then. If you add a 2-minute task to your todo list, it will grow in time, and lots of 2-minute jobs could quickly end up taking an hour or more of your day.
2) Batch tasks. When you create your todo list batch similar jobs together and set out to do all similar jobs in that batch in the one-time slot. If you try to do a bit of everything all at once, you will do everything subpar, and it will take longer than it should. Whether it's life admin such as invoicing clients, website updates or house chores, batch them into categories and tackle one variety at a time.
3) Keep all of your tasks or to-dos in one designated area, it could be a notebook, a note on your phone or within an app, whatever it is, pick one and stick to it. Nobody wants to have to check several places to get through their work, or even worse; you don't want to complete all of your tasks to find yet another list of items to do.
4) Find what time of day works best for you. Whether you are a morning person, a night owl or someone who peaks in the afternoon, find what time of day you have the most energy and clarity and utilise it for whatever you need to do. There is no point trying to start a project first thing in the morning if you don't have the capacity and willingness to do it. You are better off using your time for something else and then smashing out your work a lot quicker when you are at your optimum.
I hope you have found these tips useful and you may want to listen to this podcast episode for even more.
You can find out more about Jamie on his website, and The Business of Show Business podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all podcast streaming platforms.
