Raquel Eatmon: More focus, less stress
Ringing phones, busy kids, loud music and beeps from your other gadgets ... some days it’s all just too much. How do we focus in the midst of being so busy, or as I sometime call it: chaos? Some people think multitasking is the answer. But realistically, multitasking is just more of the same. We’re spinning our wheels on oil-covered roads, telling ourselves we’re gaining traction ... making progress.
Long gone are the days when the picture on our TV screens dissolved into snow at midnight. We don’t have a cut-off time ... for anything. There is 24-hour cable, 24-hour access to the Internet and emails. We’re working ourselves into a do-it-all, all-the-time frenzy, and there is a high cost for all the running and gunning. We are losing focus. We are unable to do good work, which causes stress.
It’s becoming more challenging to stick to one task for five minutes without checking our cell phones or logging on to fire off a quick email. This back and fourth frolicking is pulling on our emotions, depleting our brainpower. Overtime, we feel exhausted, incompetent or experience bouts of anxiety.
I’m a small business owner, which means I wear a lot of hats. Some things I do well. Others not so much. But I have found myself jumping from one task to the next without fully completing the one at my fingertips When I do this, my creativity stops in its tracks. I fall very short of doing my personal best.
I’m learning to reel myself in from the fast-paced world I’ve grown accustomed to. I’ve had to learn how to realign myself.
I’ve had to teach myself how to focus and stay in the moment. It’s a daily effort to hone in on this skill. I’m learning to manage my mind in a very different way compared to five years ago ... and it is making a difference in the quality of my work.
Four steps to help you refocus and recharge
• Turn it off: With time-sensitive projects, turn off or silence electronics. Close the email box and rid all distractions from your work area. Give yourself a certain period of time — a working session — to refrain from phones, emails and if possible, people.
• Begin with a bang: Most of us will put the project off. We don’t want to do it for one reason or another. This procrastination is a dead ringer for multitasking. Get the day off to a stellar start by putting your big item at the top of the list. Completing the task that might be causing some angst is a great achievement. It helps lessen the burden of the rest of the items on on your to-do list.
• Touch it, complete it: File the document or shred the bill in your hand. If you touch it, you see it through. Avoiding piles of receipts or paperwork in your workspace will help clear your head. Clutter is an enemy of focus.
• When it’s done, it’s done: When work is complete. let it go. Move toward activities that you don’t consider work. I like to run and exercise. I try to stay true to that commitment. It doesn’t matter if you’re gardening or redesigning your favorite room, just try to work your way through it without distractions that pull your focus away from your enjoyment. We work hard. We should be able to play hard too.
Raquel Eatmon is president of Rising Media LLC and founder of the Woman of Power Leadership & Networking Conference. Write to her at P.O. Box 22153, Beachwood OH 44122. Email her at Raquel@RaquelEatmon.com.