Chris LoCurto

Finding The Life & Business You Really Want

Leadership ·

OK, this is pitiful. I have to get a lot of writing done before I leave to go racing, and I’m spending my time with other “important” things! What the heck?

The funny thing is that while I’m procrastinating, I’m thinking of the session I teach in EntreLeadership that covers this topic exactly. One of the lessons is, “We can spend time doing ridiculous things to avoid facing the things outside of our comfort zone.” Now, writing is no longer outside of my comfort zone … but sometimes being creative is.

While I have a ton of stuff to write on, attempting to put it together in a format that helps other people, while entertaining them, can be difficult. (Some of you might be thinking I haven’t reached that point yet. :-)) No matter the task or issue, the need to roll up your sleeves and get dirty doesn’t go away. Instead, it compounds on top of something else you’re not getting done at the time.

So what do you do? Here are a few tricks to get you back on task.

  • What am I doing?! – Ask yourself from time to time, Is this the most important thing I can be working on right now? If the answer is no, then what is? Why are you not doing it? Self-realization is a powerful thing. I’m writing a post about me discovering that I’m slacking!
  • What to do, what to do? – Stay on target with your to-do list. If you don’t have one, you need to get one started. I know. I know. Very few people actually do one because they don’t see the point. Well, read my post What Am I Doing? to see the importance and the ease of doing it right.
  • Rinse and repeat – Keep going back to your list throughout the day to make sure you’re staying on task. If you have listed your tasks according to priority, then you will always be handling the most important one at the moment.
  • Get outta the trap! – In Stop Answering All Of Your Emails I talk about how much email and instant messaging are a distraction from what we really need to do. Shut them down, so you can stay focused on what you need to get done. I know it sounds crazy, but I’m sure there’s nothing in your inbox that can’t wait a bit to get taken care of. If it’s that important, they will call you.

As you refocus your thoughts and processes, you’ll be amazed at how much you can get done. You’ll start checking off the items on your to-do list with a speed that you wouldn’t think is possible. And then, you can spend more time reading my posts!

Question: What do you do to get on task when you find you’ve distracted yourself?

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