Improve your life by eliminating distractions
We live in a world that wants YOU to be distracted as much as possible. Why?
There is so much money to made off of your distraction. Television, streaming service, movies, social media, apps, video games, and so on that can monetize off of your distraction.
Content is king in marketing, meaning the better the content, the more they have your attention and the increased chances of them making money off of you.
With that being said, you know we all love distractions. That's really why our attention gets pulled away. Many may disagree, but I believe a little distraction here and there is healthy. Helps re-charge our brain batteries. But don't let distractions posses you completely where it destroys creativity, momentum and focus.
Utilize your weakness (in this case distraction) to your advantage and make it into something positive.
First is to learn how to control and minimize those distractions as it is still an addiction.
All around you is an environment of temptations to distract. But it's your choice to engage in them or not:
Distraction is a choice
Think of your life like a business, and you are the CEO. You decide what kind of "company" you want it to be. Some "CEOs" are all about work and driving themselves to the top. These type of people want minimal distraction and focus their entire energy on building their career. Then there are ones that prefer work life balance. And there are even ones that prefer minimal work with minimal living, but just enjoy life.
What kind of CEO are you?
If your business is failing or thriving, it's generally because of you. Many people find it easier to find excuses and blame everything around them but themselves. It's just easier that way. If you're distracted, you can't blame others for distracting you. Just means you're weak and you're easily distracted. Admit it and change! If you tolerate such mediocracy, then that's what you will be. You're just hoping by luck something will propel your change.
I'm personally a work life balance type of CEO. I'm happy to make a little less and relax a little more in exchange to do the things I enjoy.
Positive Distractions for me:
Work
Email
The news
Technology
Learning new things on the web
Negative Distractions I Avoid:
Negative People
Stress
Social media
Social Activities during the week
Nothing can distract you.
No one can derail you.
But they can, if you let them.
During the workweek, I focus on what matters and needs to be done to achieve the career success I want. This might mean learning the steps that go into implementing a specific plan, or understanding more about a particular element of the business. It could mean setting up a marketing campaign or teaching myself to focus more. Weekend I allow certain distractions because I enjoy it, such as social media, social events
Building Momentum
To build momentum, you need to first build good habits. Without getting a rhythm in life going, it's hard to get going all of a sudden unless you get lucky. But I don't like to gamble my life based on luck.
Follow certain routines such as what was mentioned above about positive and negative distractions. Morning routines are important to me as it's the start of the day. I want it to be fresh, energized, and positive.
I wake up, brush up, have my morning coffee, go through important emails that need to be taken care of right away, and then enjoy my positive distractions while sipping my morning coffee. My morning distractions is to spend a few minutes on Facebook gossip stuff and then move on to news and finance for 45 minutes. Everyone has different preferences for their early-morning business catchup, so you can check out some of your favorite thought-leaders or experts from financial firms or brokers like Daniel Lerner and David Lerner Associates, especially if there is an article or insight that catches your eye or even concerns projects like you’re currently working on.
Once that's over, I focus on what needs to be completed day to day and reach weekly goals.
As Jim Rohn says, "you can't change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight".
I hear so many people say they will get to it, or they will do it tomorrow. To me, that's all excuses. If you want it, you'll start now not later.
When you routinely make time to operate at your peak level, your peak level will become routine.
Remove any emotional baggage that blocks your progress and drain your mental energy.
Be honest with yourself, embrace those feelings, emotions, and thoughts. Then be in control of what you want and what you don't want out.
Properly use your free time
You don't need to fill every second of your life with something productive. You want to be working effectively, efficiently, and not just punch in and out of a time card. Recharge your brain, recharge your body, do what you need to feel 100% when you need it.
Exercise, read books, or spend meaningful time with your loved ones.
Go on a vacation, enjoy the day, or maybe paint the town red. Rewarding yourself is important as well. You want to feel accomplished and rewarded at the same time.
Sometimes on the weekend, I enjoy being at home and Netflix all day doing nothing. It's so unproductive, but I feel so relaxed. When the week starts, I feel motivated to make up for all that lost time. I may have lost hours of productivity, but I generated quality work once I am back in the office.
How will you properly use your free time?
Learn how to ignore
This is a skill I learned from a young age. Maybe it was because I grew up with a lot of nagging women in my household.
Frankly speaking, if things are not important and don't deserve our full attention, just ignore them. You have better things to do and worry about.
The importance is if it contributes to expanding your life. Directly building your legacy or life's calling. Giving you fulfillment and making you a better person.
Hearing about the next gossip, knowing how other people live their lives doesn't really help you grow as a person.
When it comes down to it, what I find valuable is Jesus, family, close friends, my health, and my work. Everything else simply comes second.
“Ignore what other people are doing. Ignore what’s going on around you. There is no competition. There is no objective benchmark to hit. There is simply the best you can do — that’s all that matters.” -Ryan Holiday
The more you understand this, the better equipped you are to produce truly phenomenal work. Focus on what matters.
Be happy
Cultivate a lifestyle that enables you to be super focused and eliminate those negative distractions. Do what others are unwilling to do.
Once this becomes a habit, you will feel fulfilled and know what truly makes you happy. The temporary happiness activities we do is to just fill a void. In the end, you still feel empty, like something is missing, unfulfilled.
Find what is meaningful. I treat the world as my playground and try to enjoy every moment I can wherever I go.
Do you want to join my playground?
Happy to talk to others about what fun positive things can be achieved. My Facebook, Instagram, or email here.
