Distractions: Three Ideas to Get Rid of them and Get Stuff Done

Every once in a while, I'll ask a question out on my Facebook Page and it sparks a good conversation. 

So I asked:

I would love to know what is YOUR biggest challenge to GETTING IT ALL DONE?

This is what they said:

“Setting priorities“

“I agree. What goes with setting priorities that is an issue is knowing how to select those things which add value to your project , assignment and goals as well need to be done. Also how do you address distractions and what is considered a distraction.“

OK so let's tackle those items today.  Setting priorities and focus/distractions.

Setting Priorities

Setting priorities is one area that I find many entrepreneurs get stuck and then they find themselves running after all of those BSOs (bright shiny objects.)

Distractions

I used to struggle there too. I am a recovering knowledge junkie. I used to get caught going down rabbit holes and lose my day.  I found that there are 3 keys to overcoming this problem:

1) Remember that information will be available to you when you need it.  In fact, it is only a Google search away.  Stuff changes so fast. You need to grab what you need for your current priorities and have faith that what you need tomorrow WILL be there.  Besides, if you hoard information today, it may not be valid when you need it!

2) In order to do that, you need a solid set of priorities to know what to focus on and what you need for the day. That is where long-range and short-range planning can really boost your business. When you have a really solid view of your priorities, it is much easier to let other things on the web just float on by. You know that is not where you should be in the moment.

3) Recognize the “I need it, but not right now” moments and have a capture tool. Don't think that because I stated #1 that I ignore everything! That is not the case. Maybe I see an article title that I know will help me on something I'm working on, but it does not happen to be TODAY's priorities. Then, I have a capture tool (I use Evernote because it is really easy to grab content from the net and tag it for easy retrieval later.) I can confidently capture the information for consumption later when it is appropriate.

What do you do?