I have a full day ahead of me, I'm running late, and I can't seem to get on top of things. Everyone and everything gets in my way and keeps me from functioning to the best of my ability. When I do sit down to work, something happens (such as the cat repeatedly climbing on top of me when I'm outside) to distract me from what I'm supposed to be doing at the moment. Often in my case, Mom needs me to do something, or the girls come up to chat or ask a question, or--most often--I pick up my phone to check something on Instagram and the time gets away from me.
Does any of this sound familiar? It is so often my life. I have lots of wonderful aspirations, but then something or the other happens and at the end of the day, I only have about half of my to-do list for the day checked off. But I'm learning how to work through the distractions thrown in my way, and I wanted to share a few practical tips with y'all.
#1 - PUT THE PHONE AWAY. At least turn it on silent or put it on "do not disturb." I like putting my phone on "do not disturb" because then people on my favorites list (which is mostly my family) can get in touch with me by calling me if they really need to. Sometimes I'll leave it downstairs while I'm doing my devotions (my phone is a serious distraction during devotions if someone texts me, because then I at least have to check and see what they say...).
With my old phone, it was hard to do this because I had the same text tone for everyone. But with my newer phone, I can set specific text tones for different people, so I can tell just by hearing the alert who exactly is texting me and I can decide if I need to pick it up right then or not. I have one text tone for everyone in my family, one for people who rarely text me but I really want to know when they do, one for people who text me occasionally, and individual ones for a couple certain people. I really recommend doing this, especially if you always need your phone on you because you do work on it or need to always be available if someone calls or texts.
#2 - MAKE A PRIORITY LIST. I make a to-do list pretty much every day anyway, but sometimes I make special ones when I'm trying to prioritize better. For example, if I want to go somewhere or do something that I don't usually get to do, I'll make a list of things that I HAVE to do before I can do that. Or write down your top three goals for the day and be sure that you do those, even if you don't do anything else.
I have two lists that I follow every day: my regular to-do list and my work list. And completing my work list is one of the tasks on my regular to-do list. And what all I put on my list depends on the day. Sometimes I have a detailed list that outlines my morning routine, all of my chores, and every bit of my day, even though it's habit for me and I know to do them. And then sometimes I simply jot down the main points that I have to be sure to do, which may only include three or four things. It all depends on the day; my lists are extremely flexible and I love that. Making lists helps me to stay focused and be sure I get done what I need to.
#3 - SET WORK HOURS. Back when I was working a ton every day for my sister (with her business Par la Grace), I would get super stressed out and overwhelmed, and I would purposefully distract myself, because when I get stressed, I shut down and can't focus on anything. But when Mom told me that she and Daddy wanted me to cut off work at 5:30 p.m., that suddenly relieved a ton of stress. I no longer "had" to bring work inside in the evenings or spend pretty much all day working. And when I set myself specific work hours (at that point it was about 10:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. with a break for lunch), I was able to focus and really get work done, because I knew I would have time later to do the things that typically distracted me while I was working.
Right now I don't have regular work hours, but I'll put several slots in my schedule for "crochet 30 minutes" and that helps me amazingly. I set the timer for 30 minutes and just crochet. If I have to go do something else, I pause the timer. But at least I know that I'm getting in a couple solid hours of work by the time that I check off each of those 30-minute slots (I generally have four of them).
#4 - JUST DO IT. I know I say this quite a lot, but it is so true. Just our mindset can affect how much we get distracted. I know that if I don't have that much to do during the day, I'll procrastinate and allow myself to get distracted until I suddenly realize just how late it is, and I have to either cram to get everything done, or reschedule some of the things for the next day. And then at the end of the day, I just feel blah and nonproductive. So stop making excuses for your distractions, sit down (or stand up, whichever fits you best), and get to work. Don't ALLOW yourself to get distracted.
And I don't know, maybe you're the type that doesn't get distracted easily. But I do, and I know that it can be a real struggle. There are more things to distract some people than others, I understand. But at least try to really focus and figure out something (even if it's nothing on my list) that helps you to work through your distractions and be diligent. The Bible has so much to say about diligence and how much we need to be diligent, and distractions just keep us from that. And something I didn't put on my list is prayer--pray about your distractions. Some distractions are good. Others are bad. Whichever they are, ask God for wisdom in dealing with them. He can help you a whole lot better than I can. ;)