Do you have problems staying focused?

It’s interesting that on the day I’ve been talking about staying focused, I’ve had distractions which have taken me away from what I’d wanted to achieve! 😉

We all have distractions. We’re busy people. We have lives which are full of things we enjoy doing. We have friends and family we want to spend time with. We need to eat and exercise and sleep (not that these should ever be distractions!).

But the one thing that I hear from the business owners, in all sorts of different ways, is they struggle staying focused, and it worries them. Does it worry you too?

Staying focused

I had a wonderful conversation with Cathy Presland today, (click the link or image to watch the 20 minute conversation), who in her own inimitable way, suggested that focus in itself can be a distraction to what we’re wanting to create and achieve. So anyone who came to the conversation live would probably have been disappointed not to have learnt any #tipsforbusiness about staying focused.

OK, so if staying focused is a distraction, and our to do list is a distraction, what can we do? Are we in one big vicious circle of getting nothing done?

No of course not!

Staying focused on the current activity will bring that to an end quicker. That’s an obvious statement I know, but one we often forget to carry out.

What about, as I talked about in our conversation, when you’re trying to get something done, and the children need feeding, and you remember you should be somewhere else. What then? How do you stay focused then?

Cathy suggested that you know the answer. I agree. Even though you want a checklist to work through each time this happens, a question to ask about “what is my focus?”, and that will tick all the boxes and get you back in focus, will that solve the issue?

The children will still need feeding at the same time as you should be somewhere else, whilst you’re trying to finish a piece of work. That hasn’t changed. So where should your focus be? Only you can know the answer to that. Are the children starving? How important is that other thing you should be doing?

How are you staying focused?

The scenarios we talked about may not be the focus issues you’re having. You may feel that by asking the question, “What do I know to do in this moment?” we’re not helping you get the focus you want.

What if you try it? What if you asked yourself, “What do I know to do?” and see what the answer is. Those to do lists and things you think you “should” do may take on a different perspective.

It’s interesting. A lot of the conversations we’re having in the Business Cheerleading Club are about these types of issues. If you want more help with focusing on your business, or an aspect in your business, get in touch.

Share your thoughts on staying focused in the comments below & let’s see what we come up with together.