Getting sidetracked from goals
Setting goals is nice but what to do when you are getting side-tracked
We all want to achieve something in our lives so, we set goals to achieve them. It's also essential to stay focused to achieve them.
But sometimes staying focused on our goals gets difficult due to so many distractions that we have created for ourselves. People say that we are focused on our work but are being distracted by other people. Well.. over time I have realised that’s what they are supposed to do. It is I who has to organise and stay focused on my goals because it is I who is responsible for my actions, not them. It is I who is allowing them to distract me.
But, don’t worry there are some easy ways to have yourself focused on the things that you do. In this article, I will share some of the things that I try when I feel getting distracted.
1. A little QnA
It is nice to ask yourself a few questions related to your goals to remind yourself why you have created them in the first place and if your approach to reaching them needs some changes.
Questions like,
What is it that you get when you achieve your goal..?
Do you feel getting distracted easily?
Is there anything that distracts you more easily than others?
Are you facing any challenges in the completion of your tasks?
2. Focus Mode on Mobiles
Mobile phones have become a great part of our lives as it helps us in so many ways in our day to day life, but it has also become one of the biggest reasons for many people who are losing their focus. We are often advised to turn our mobile phones off if we want to focus on our work. But is it really necessary, since there have been instances of missing a few important things in our lives like missing a call from a person having confirmation on getting the dream job.
Ever since the introduction of “Focus Mode” in iOS 15 & Android v12, we don’t have to turn our phones off, we can set custom focus modes and silence notifications from social media apps or automatically silence/block calls from unknown numbers for a particular period of the day, so we can focus on the tasks that are important to us.
3. Meditation or Mindfulness
Meditation is the best arsenal I have got to get myself back on track. There are many different ways to meditate and Mindfulness is a practice where you are connected with yourself in the present moment without any judgements over the thoughts and feelings that you are having at that time.
You can find many apps that can help you with Mindfulness and for any kind of situation that you have throughout the day like focusing on work, anger, trouble falling asleep and many more. It's very relaxing and helps with any problem.
I have tried many apps and liked 2 of them, one is Headspace with unique animation based experience and has grown in popularity in the past 2–3 years and another one is Balance with a wide list of activities and situations that we face on daily basis and currently giving 1 whole year of free Premium services. I have added my referrals in the link above for the two.
4. Creating Routine
A routine helps in increasing the focus by providing a structure for the day. Some people like to start their day by planning ahead and then doing things accordingly, while I start my day with 2–3 minutes of meditation, swimming/light exercise, breakfast and then organising my office work to get the things done.
To manage my office work I create 25–30 minutes long calendar events with 5 minutes intervals between the two and 15 minutes interval after every 3rd/4th event based on the task I am doing. It helps me to take a load off my mind and do a short walk as well to keep my back healthy. Doing this helps me to come back to the work with more concentration.
5. Sleep
Sleep is a crucial part of staying focused/productive throughout the day. Many people say that getting 7–8 hours of sleep in a day is essential for the body but, over time I have realised that it's actually not the duration of sleep I am getting, it’s the quality of sleep that I get. Sometimes sleeping for 8 hours is not enough and I still feel tired after waking up as I woke up multiple times in the night but most of the time 6 hours of sleep was good for me to go all day as I slept like a baby for that duration. When I started doing meditation right before going to bed it really improved my sleep quality and made me feel rested.
Final Words
In order to increase your focus and reach your goals, it is crucial to understand what are our distractions and then take steps to reduce those distractions.
Once our distractions are reduced, we can train our minds to focus on a specific task.
Increasing focus takes practice, discipline and time.
Thanks for reading my story and I hope that it provided you with some help in getting yourself back on track. Please consider following me and subscribing to get my articles directly in your inbox if you enjoy this story.