We live in a world where almost everyone is in a hurry, whether it’s to get to a meeting place on time, send work notes on time, avoid traffic so as not to be late for work or school, these are just a few. from common scenarios to reflect how hectic our agenda has become. With so many things to do in 24 hours, we rarely have the opportunity to do everything. When did things get so complicated?

Sometimes you have to sit back and honestly ask yourself: When was the last time you felt good because you were able to clear your to-do list? You do not remember? That is not surprising at all.

Now, if we’ve spent hours rushing from meeting to meeting or working from project to project, why don’t we ever get something done? This is because there are so many distractions in our world now and we are constantly multitasking. Ultra-productive people know that to achieve a great deal, and more importantly, to feel good about your achievements and balanced, you must have a single mind in your approach. Eliminate distractions so we can focus on completing the things that really matter.

These are what I know are some of the most common distractions that many people are faced with every day.

# 1 unnecessary meetings

You know that there is a problem in our work culture when there are books that are now called ‘Death By Meeting’. This is a book by Patrick Lencioni and it is amazing. Have you ever wondered how much time you have wasted in meetings where your attendance seemed pointless or a waste of time? Where does a meeting seem to be for the sake of a meeting that goes on for years made up mostly of haggling and then in the end no real action items come out?

Shoot me now. Here are some tips for effective meetings:

Make sure there is a clear point and desired outcome to be achieved before entering the meeting.

Try to have standing meetings

Set a time limit, in which as soon as that time is up, everyone gets up and leaves; there is nothing like a little pressure to get a result.

Ask: do I really need to participate in this meeting?

Ask for the agenda before the meeting and have the pre-reading materials sent to you.

# 2 Email

We are now in a culture where people expect instant answers. Someone sends an email and if they don’t reply within 10 minutes, they’ll wonder if it’s okay. This is a productivity killer. Honestly, how many times a day do you check your email? 10 times a day, 20? Are you open all the time, desperately waiting for the next devastating email to arrive? Seriously, most emails are a waste of time and I don’t mean the need for people to email everyone.

Advice:

Set specific times each day that only then check email. For me, it’s 11 a.m. M. In the morning and 3 p. M. In the afternoon and I review it for about 30 minutes at a time.

Condition others not to expect instant responses from you (unless this is your job, of course). If you don’t condition others, they will expect you to live up to their conditions.

Configure rules and filters

Get someone else to review them for you. I have a virtual assistant who manages my email for me and sorts it into one of four boxes: Action, Review, Archive, Delete. I have given you a clear set of rules to follow and clear the clutter. (Stay tuned for a later blog on how to do this effectively)

Finally, turn off that damn pop-up window you have in the mail or the ‘ding’ or the little envelope. As soon as you’re there, you know you can’t help but check it out. Curiosity will take over you

# 3 social networking sites

Can’t resist looking at your phone or logging into your PC to check your Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube? Social media is fun, but it can be a huge waste of time, especially when you start to lose track of how much time you spend updating people with your status posts, reading your timeline, or tweeting people.

You can help minimize the time you spend with social media by designating a certain amount of time each day for online social sites.

In 15-20 minutes, you can update your status or send a few tweets, and once the time is up, log out so you’re not distracted by social media notifications and get to work.

It will take a lot of self-control to accomplish this, you know you will, but you will thank yourself for practicing moderation, especially after moving from project to project.

# 4 Office chat and random distractions

Ever notice how a little 5 minute chat with a coworker can be extended to 30 minutes, even a full hour? There is nothing wrong with socializing, but when it starts to eat up your time and affect your productivity, then you have to do something about it. Minimize office chatter by communicating your need for focus time with colleagues. Hang a sign / symbol on the doorknob or outside your cubicle to discourage people from chatting with you and signaling that this is not a good time to interrupt your work and learn this phrase:

“Bill, I’d love to talk to you, but I have an urgent deadline right now, can we chat later?”

People will tend to leave you alone when you say you have something urgent to complete with a deadline. We are conditioned to respond to urgency in this age.

# 5 Multitasking

It really should have this on top. How big is your to-do list? I bet it’s huge, if you’re like most people. Now I really don’t like to-do lists, they are ineffective and can be very overwhelming, there are much better systems based on results, values ​​and priorities, but this is for another time. Still, even this is better than nothing for most people who simply let all the things they have to do reverberate endlessly in their heads and live in this constant state of reaction and drama.

I’m just going to give you some advice here. There are many more that I can add, but I think this is so vital that if you did, it could change your life completely. It is a question:

“What is the one thing I could do right now, that if I did and made great progress, I would do more to advance my life and career than anything else?”

Now, do that one thing.

Then you guessed it, ask the same question again and do that one thing.

Then ask again
Do you understand the point well ????

If you let them, these distractions will take up a large part of your life and can prevent you from reaching your potential at work and in life.

Here are the 3 real topics to practice in your life:

Focus on simplicity and taking strategic action on one thing at a time.

Set up your surroundings and systems to eliminate distractions and ensure you stay on the right track.

Remember that you are not playing at life like most people, you are extraordinary and you are not going to follow like a sheep what others do. So condition the people around you to the way you work. If you don’t, they will expect you to conform to their own way and to the norms of society, which are totally ineffective.

One of the best things I learned when I started my growth journey at a young age was to become ultra productive and it is a skill set and habit that has taken me a long way and allowed me to outperform most of the others. around me. Any successful person loves time management. Do yourself a favor and become a master of time.