A World Of Distractions
A World Of Distractions
“Focus is often a matter of deciding what things you’re not going to do.” John Carmack
I know I have written about focus before, so why keep dwelling on it? Because distractions are constant and never ending! Our phones give constant alerts, emails, text messages. Someone has a question, interrupts a conversation, walks in on a meeting. Our televisions stream hundreds of channels and programs to choose from. Walking into any store and shopping can be overwhelming with too many choices and too many labels to read. Distractions are all around us. Some studies show that our attention span is now less than a goldfish! Has information rewired our brains? Wow!
Joshua Becker recently shared nine helpful keys to identify significant distractions in our lives.
Be mindful of the culture we are swimming in.
Every moment of the day, messages are fighting for space in our minds, promoting products and worldviews. Identify the messages and their sources and choose the ones you will listen to.
Pause and reflect.
Next time you are thinking of making a purchase, responding to social media or working late, stop and think if this is the most effective use of your time.
Set clear daily goals.
Write down the top three tasks you want to accomplish and focus on these first each day. Having a plan helps you focus and stay on track.
Review and record.
Each evening, stop and review what was accomplished that day or why something didn’t happen. What can be changed for tomorrow?
Get some outside perspective.
Ask a friend or family member that you trust to help you identify unhealthy habits in your life; be open to their suggestions.
Find time alone.
Practice moments of solitude; allow times of silence.
Seek some inspiration.
Surround yourself with people who are accomplishing meaningful and significant things with their lives.
Establish digital boundaries.
Set parameters; times of the day that you disconnect from your phone, computer and other digital devices.
Live with fewer possessions.
The more things we own, the more distractions we have in our lives, researching them, organizing them, cleaning them, fixing them. Choose wisely what you surround yourself with.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates
“If you measure something, you can understand it. If you understand it, you can control it, and if you can control it, you can improve it.” The same holds true in your monthly budgeting.
The reality is that it is nearly impossible to complete & follow a monthly budget without improving your overall financial position. There are several reasons for this, so I would challenge you to do this.
First, just developing a budget for yourself will raise your awareness of what you have for revenue or income sources and then also boost your cognizance of how much you are spending each month. Next, you will come to grips with the reality of one of three facts. Either you need to boost your income sources, reduce your outgoing expenditures or, thank goodness, if you have more income than expenses, you can then save some money. Of course, this is fantastic! You just need to determine where you will store or invest those extra funds each month…
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