Working for yourself can be fun. It can be rewarding. It can be lucrative and exciting and all those fun other fun to say words. It can also have a LOT of distractions, especially when the bulk of your business is conducted online the way mine is.
That said, here are 18 ways to kick distractions to the curb right now to afford yourself more time today to be productive and finish up that project you’ve been dragging butt on for the last week and a half. And don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about either!
Don’t worry… once you have that big project off your plate, you can let yourself get distracted again for a bit. But only for a bit, and then it’s back to the ‘Elimination Station’. Got it? Alright, here it goes in pretty much random order ‘cuz I can do that if I want to…
- Turn off Twitter.
- Forget about Facebook.
- Stop checking your email.
- Leave the forums.
- STOP the endless loop of surfing, and being social, and reading just ‘one more article’. Trust me when I tell you, it’s never ending and once you’re caught in the loop it’s ‘hella hard’ to break out of.
- In fact, turn off the Internet altogether… make any research material you need available offline if possible. If not, use Firefox and install something like LeechBlock if you just can’t help yourself.
- Turn off your phone. BOTH phones, not just your house phone or your cell phone.
- Unplug your television.
- Shut down all programs except that which you need to complete your project. I mean it. ALL of them.
- Drown out sound by plugging in earphones with classical or motivating instrumental music.
- Clean off your desk. Completely. In fact, clean off both desk tops. Your real one and your virtual one.
- Close your curtains and turn on a lamp. Yes the outside world is pretty, but you have a project to complete.
- Turn off your fax machine.
- Take off your clothes. No I don’t mean get naked. But make sure you’re wearing something comfy because uncomfy is a distraction.
- Eat before you start. An empty, growling belly is… you guessed it! A distraction.
- Satisfy your thirst first. Keep a bottle of water handy at all times. Thirsty is distracting, and you don’t need any more excuses to stay distracted right?
- Create signage. As in ‘Do Not Disturb Me’ signage. Hang it on your door, and maybe add a skull and crossbones for good measure.
- Accept that sometimes a distraction will get the best of you and learn to recognize when it’s happening and get yourself back on track.
There you have it. 18 ways you can kick distractions in the tail and send them on their merry way so YOU can get a little work done already. Sheesh.
How about you? Have some distractions that are on a mission to derail you? Have some cool ways you kick ’em? I’d love to hear them. Just drop me a note below.
Warm regards,
