Squirrel – Finding Focus When You Feel Distracted

Have you seen the movie UP?

It’s a sweet movie about a lonely man, a little boy and a talking dog on an adventure.  The dog, Dug, has a collar that vocalizes his thoughts.  He will be trying to follow along with the other characters, but constantly be distracted by his pursuit of squirrels.

 

This is how I feel online sometimes.  I need to make a grocery list.  I’ll open up my list on Google Keep.  Oh look at that note about Cub Scouts.  Oh wait, I didn’t email the Cub Scouts about our meeting this Tuesday.  I’ll email them now.  Cripes, my phone screen is cracked and I haven’t replaced that yet.  I’ll quick order the new one from Amazon.  Oh yeah, it’s almost my nephew’s birthday, I’ll order his gift at the same time.  What does a five year old like…

Can anyone else relate?  There’s so much to get done and I’m grateful for the technology that makes my life easier.  However, it is definitely easy to get sidetracked and rabbit-trail out into mindless activities.

So how do you stay productive and actually get things accomplished?

Make a list!

I know it sounds simple and I know that when you have so much to get done, that it seems counter-productive to stop what you are doing to make a list.  But trust me!  If you have a plan, you will save time!

Time Management and Productivy

If I take a few minutes to write out my list, I can look for similar items and batch them.  I can notice that I need to send three emails, order two items from Amazon and schedule an appointment.  It’s much easier to jot down the subjects of each email and crank them all out consecutively.  Then I can move over to Amazon and so on.  By getting my thoughts in order, I can efficiently plow through my to-dos.

Science Says So

According to Art Markman, writing for Fast Company,  writing a list helps your brain turn the abstract into concrete.  When too many things are swarming around your brain, take a few minutes to solidify your ideas into a plan of attack.  So take a few minutes to jot down your thoughts, take a deep breath and take action!

Where do you keep your lists?  Online, phone apps, napkins, back of envelopes, planners?