I don’t know about you, but I’ve found myself incredibly distracted over the last couple of days. Staring at my computer screen; leaping onto social media every time it goes ‘bing’; writing the same paragraph over and over again, but not really making it any better. In fact, as I write this post, I am supposed to be working on my latest book. Hmmm! I’ve spent most of my career navigating complex situations in dynamic environments. I know that feeling distracted and finding it hard to focus on is a common side effect of an uncertain environment.
No matter how experienced you are, each situation is uncertain environment is different. Therefore, it's not something we get used to’.
Over time, however, I have developed a few lessons that I find helpful in these situations.
I remind myself that feeling distracted goes with this kind of uncertain environment and it is completely normal. This helps me to just be with where I am and how I feel, instead of berating myself for not powering on, fearlessly.
I consciously choose to trust myself and believe that no matter how or where things go, I will find a way through the situation. And…while sometimes it has been pretty tough, I can categorically say, I have not let myself down yet.
I challenge myself to perfect the art of productive procrastination. That is, I find something that I feel like doing, then, I work out how I could do that ‘thing’ in a way that creatively utilises, rather than wastes, time. This article is a perfect example. I felt like writing and so I decided to write about the situation I was experiencing at the time.
I finish off, half-finished stuff. For example, there are a couple of videos that I’m working on that need about 15 minutes work. By doing that work, I feel hugely productive because, with a very small amount of effort, I finish what can be a very big job.
I do a deal with myself. Sometimes I just say ‘Stuff it!’ I’m going for a walk. But, I also commit to coming back to do complete a very doable task. When I do this, I frequently find that I do much more than that task.
So how about you? Are you feeling a bit distracted at the moment? What are some of the strategies that have worked that other’s might find useful? Please share them below and we can all practice productive procrastination together 😊. I’d also love it if you also clicked the thumbs-up button so I can hear the ‘bing’ on the other end. #problemsolving #procrastination #productivity #distraction #getunstuck