Something that distracts: That ‘something’ is an object that directs one’s attention away from something else turned off her phone to limit distractions One created a distraction while the other grabbed the money. especially : amusement a harmless distraction a book of word puzzles and other distractions.
To be honest, eliminating distractions is important.
Do you ever get frustrated trying to eliminate distractions in your day so that you can be more productive?
Do you ever think something like this: “how do I manage all the distractions in my life? I set aside time to build my business, but the phone rings, emails happen, stuff that I really have to attend to, but set me back 15 – 30 minutes each time….?”
Here’s the thing…if you can eliminate distractions (of course assuming you know what you need to do next to accomplish your long term goals, that’s another issue all together), then you can get more done – possibly as much as 5 – 10 times as much.
I know that some distractions can’t be avoided – but only due to prioritization. For example, you can prioritize your wife, and anything she needs is an “acceptable” distraction. Anything else is not. That means not answering the phone when you are in your office, not answering the doorbell from 10-2, when you are in your office working, turning off your email while working.
I know these sound like sacrifices – but the question is – if you were to look at the next year and ask yourself what you could accomplish with 4 hours of uninterrupted work each day – what would you accomplish (write it out) then write a comparison of what you will accomplish WITH distractions – and ask yourself if the difference is worth it.
The thing is – if you look into successful people’s lives – and you see their success – Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates – you will find they ignored some things in their lives. But they aren’t remembered for what they ignored, they are remembered for what they accomplished. Of course, the single biggest mistake successful people make is neglecting their family – so you do what I do – prioritize the family, set boundaries on your time (my wife knows that when I am working…I am working, but when I am off and spending time with her, I am not distracted by work). So it is beneficial to her that I have those boundaries. A lot of successful people will talk to their wife all day when they are working, then work all night while they should be spending time with their wife. By creating boundaries, that problem goes away (by the way, in your case, I’m not even suggesting boundaries with your wife, just the other distractions)
Whatever you do each day is a choice. You can choose to allow distracting things to distract – and by choosing you will be less productive – or you can choose to work on what’s important, if you do, your life will be different in one year.
Ask yourself this: If I block out all distractions and accomplish only one important thing today, would my day be successful? Would it be worth it to block out all distractions and get that one thing done, or would it be better to be ruled by the immediate distractions that occur?
Once the answer to those 2 questions is crystal clear to you, your daily life (and productivity) will change!
