When I was a young man, or so say many who think about their glory years, I could run all day, night, and skip as much sleep as was necessary to do what I needed wanted to accomplish. See. I edited the word in situ. My mind demanded I rethink the thought to determine if that’s what I wanted to say! Before I completed the paragraph! That’s a distraction!
That being said, as I age, a time of waning energy creates so many distractions it’s hard to keep my focus. The 100 things on my task list jumble themselves magically into an order I did not request. Nor desire.
How do you live productively when you feel your energy is on a downward spiral?
My, oh, my. What a question! It’s even more crucial to think about this during these times of isolation, little family contact, and worrying about the outcome of everything happening! It may be easier than you think. Equally, it may be the most difficult thing you’ve ever attempted to accomplish.
The Apostle Paul probably felt this way, and in the way of an evangelist, missionary, apostle, and follower of Christ, he commanded that we should “…bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ…” (2 Corinthians 10:5) Capture the thought. Make it a captive that is controlled.
Well, sometimes that’s easier read than done!
How Do You Capture Your Distractions?
We all have techniques unique to our personality we use to capture distractions. As I write this, I’m looking at my desktop. Landline on the right. Mobile on the left. Both on and ready to distract me with notifications and rings. The coffee cup begs to be picked up, and the fan redirected, the computer desktop streamlined. The window is wide open. An incredible 30 degrees of coolness rolls in. Outside, the frost forms on the grass as the sun peaks over the mountains to the east.
A boss of mine in Alaska used to say, “A clean desk is the sign of an organized person…” and to which his boss said, “It shows me you have nothing to do!”
Perhaps you need a distraction free zone!
When I’m thinking about my schedule, a project, or planning some event, I find it’s a “must” to grab a favorite pen, highlighters, my notebook of graph paper, and retreat to a quiet corner where I can think and note my plan. Okay. Add some coffee to the mix, and I’ll fly through the process!
Have you ever watched a young person do homework, or play a video game? They seem to enjoy distractions. At least, some of them do. I can’t handle them! Don’t talk to me! Turn the music off! Let me focus, focus, focus! Where’s my Bose noise-canceling headset? Maybe some blinders will work!
This morning, my iPad is open to a website that allows us to schedule our vaccination that is all the rage these days. Every few minutes I refresh the page to see if the registration has opened. It’s supposed to, you know. With only 750 openings we are simply one among thousands waiting weeks upon end for an opportunity. So, this is a full-time search while trying to be focused on necessary tasks.
Priorities
One thing I’ve learned, and it only works some of the time, focus on the quick tasks first. Easy wins. Knock ’em out! Get ’em done! That will generally clear the path for better focus on main tasks. Still, I learn to give myself only so much time to clear the easy wins off the plate. Else, everything more important may never get done.
Dave Ramsey’s Snow-Ball Method of controlling debt payoff works something like this. Knock out the small balances first, then you can roll those newly released dollars and pay off the next largest debt. See? Snowball.
If it works for debt pay off, it should work for your personal schedule.
Along the way, if something shows up on my radar, I jot it down to not forget anything, so I will remember to handle it later. Sometimes I have scraps of paper filling my pockets and desk! I find when I revisit them, well, they are not important enough to worry about, or someone else has already taken care of it, even myself. Writing them down keeps me from worrying about the thought of what I forgot!
Know Your Limits
I’ve had to span months and years from beginning to end through my years of managing projects. Milestones. Celebrate the wins and recover from the losses. Enjoying the path (journey) is more important than simply celebrating the destination.
Since my marriage goal is 65+ years, there are many stops along the way that we celebrate till the ending of our time arrives. We are not much into spotlighting birthdays and anniversaries. We find those wins we choose to celebrate. When there’s a loss? We recover as quickly as possible, aiming for a positive rebound.
When driving to Alaska for the first time, we had the Alaska Milepost Travel book that helped us to see what was at major milestones along the way. We could plan rest, refueling, food, and sightseeing all along the way. During our early days of driving, we focused more on the destination. Today? I’m simply enjoying the journey. We used to push to get from start to ending as fast as possible. Life’s a marathon! Turn that push into a stroll! More stops, more celebrations, much more “me and us” time. Where’s that rose that needs to be smelled?
Learn Your Recovery Method
Again,it’s an aging thing, but I find it’s almost a necessary stopping place after lunch. My snooze chair. 10-15 minutes of a power nap keeps me focused during the remainder of the day. Through the years I knew this about myself, but I kept it quiet. Today? Brag! Someone else needs to know how to rebound. You teach, and if enough people share, you learn.
When I was younger, a work lunch break included friends. Today. It’s me, hiding away, doing what I want, and enjoying the retreat. Okay. So I’m an introvert. If you know anything about us, you know we gain strength when we retreat. Extroverts gain strength when they mix and mingle.
When working in downtown Houston, I could walk through the 6 miles of tunnels during lunch, find a little diner, sit and relax with people all around. Except, I didn’t know anyone! Now. Let’s get to work!
Publish Your Goal
Someone told me that you don’t really have a goal unless you can recite it at will to anyone who were to ask. Equally, writing it down puts it at the ready to be read, reread, or shared.
I told several people this week to take a snapshot of their dreams, deck it out with all the trimmings, publish to a wall above their workspace. Everytime you hit a drudge assignment, glance at your dream, recite your goal, and imagine that what you’re doing is preparing for that future place.
Does this work? Sure. If you want it, you’ll work for it. Equally, it helps you analyze what you’re presently doing that may be the distraction that prevents your dream from becoming your reality.
Eliminate the distractions. Focus on the future. Now, work yourself into that mode of realizing what you’re aiming for!
Waning Energy Creates Many Distractions – Eliminate the distractions. Focus on the future. Now, work yourself into that mode of realizing what you're aiming for! That's where your energy responds! Share on X