Whether you work from home or in a more traditional workplace, there are distractions everywhere. Some of those distractions are unrelated to work – chatting with co-workers about your weekend, losing yourself on social media, etc. But other distractions can be work tasks that you know you really shouldn’t be spending your time on.
When most of us started out in business, we wore many hats. But if you were smart, you soon realised that you couldn’t progress your business if you were trying to do everything. It is important to focus on what you’re good at and let others do the rest. Accept your weaknesses so that you can leverage your strengths. That is, let someone else do what you cannot, so that you can focus your time, abilities and resources on what you do best.
Being focussed can also have a lot to do with your physical environment. Some people work well at a desk with no-on else around. Others need the stimulus of other people and an environment where ideas can be bounced off others. And other people need a variety of workspaces to stimulate ideas and their most productive work.
Although this might seem like the antithesis of being focussed, sometimes breaking the routine and letting your mind wander can be what your brain needs. Allow yourself to become an occasional daydreamer, as you may just find that it sparks creative ideas and innovations you would not think of in the course of your usual day. This also gives your brain a break from trying to stay constantly focussed, and you are more likely to be able to re-focus on tasks at hand.
This is a really great quote by Leo Babauta (Zen Habits): “Everything seems important. But when we step back and think about what matters most, what will make the most difference in the world and in our lives, we can see what we need to focus on, to make time for. We can’t step back unless we’re aware that we’re getting caught up in less important tasks.”
Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender
