4 Steps to Sharpen Your Focus

Do you want to make the most of your time? You can improve your ability to focus in just a few days by using a simple check list.

Better focus can be learned

• Have a plan
• Notice but don't react to distractions
• Practice regularly

You need to prepare for completing a task. I like to envisage what "finished" looks like. That way I can do some quick reviews during the allotted time and adjust my speed or effort. Putting in more effort for a short period of time is not any harder than working slowly for longer.

I love the feeling of achievement I get when I finish a task in the time I set. If it is part of a bigger project I feel very positive about the project if I  know I am putting in lots of effort for each smaller task. I can see the finish line coming closer each day and I find that very rewarding.

When I have a big physical job to do I break it down and assign smaller tasks in 30 min blocks.  Cleaning and organising goals can be achieved this way. This is how I managed to transform my sewing room into a nice place to work and create.

See what Kathy Vines has to say about "The Keys to Completing Organising Projects"
Here is a bit more science on training your brain to focus

Constantly trying to focus can leave you fatigued

• Forcing yourself to focus requires energy
• The brain needs time to rest and recover

I am always amazed by the amount of energy that gets used up when you think. Somehow I think that thinking is just a passive task.

In this article on "The Two Brain Systems That Control Our Attention" it is clear that trying to block out the distractions around you requires lots of effort. I know I feel my mind wandering all the time and I have to bring myself back on task quite often.

I now know that this is normal and is the way our brain works. With practice you can reduce the time you are distracted and also increase the time that you can focus.

Three ways to let your brain "rest" after periods of focus are:

1. Meditate
2. Take a stroll in natural surroundings
3. Spend time on an enjoyable task so you loose track of time. This means your brain is not struggling to focus and is recovering from forced focus.

Set a time interval to stay focused

• Use the Pomodoro method
• No shorter than 30 mins
• Take a few minutes break
• Have a clear start and finish time
• Have a clear picture of what "finished' looks like.

When training yourself to focus it is best to set a fairly short time interval to practise your focus. 30 mins is easy to accomplish. At the end of that interval take a short break to relax then do another focus interval.

Having a start and end time for a task and having a clear picture of what finished looks like makes completing the task more likely.

Have a plan to stay on task for that time

Multitasking is the enemy of productivity. It is much better to focus on one task.

Don't believe me? Have a read of this article on "The Truth About Multitasking".

To help you do this I have drawn up a simple sheet that you can print two to a page and double sided so you have lots to get you started.

Each time you start a task just go through the checklist. When I first started doing this I found that I didn't even realise when I was being distracted. I was halfway through commenting on a facebook group before I pulled myself up and wrote on the check list what distracted me. 

The more you work on this the less time it takes for you to realise you have gone off task. If it is something that needs attending to just make a note of it and come back to it later.

Download my free printable called "Sharpen Your Focus". After using it 4 or 5 times I now find that I automatically remove distractions and just thinking about the check list helps me notice when I am going off task and I can reduce wandering time significantly.

Download Free Printable Now

Stay Organised and Happy,

Val

Micro Task Magic

Have you set yourself a goal then pushed yourself to follow through only to give up without achieving your goal?

The easiest way to achieve your goals is to break them down into smaller and smaller tasks until you are able to complete the small task with enthusiasm.

Popularity of Micro Tasks

Did you know there is such a thing as micro task crowd sourcing? This involves one micro task and lots of people.
I thought it was a brilliant idea that NASA had when it posted it's planet finding data online for thousands of people to sift through. A four planet star system was discovered in the data!
Read more here if you didn't see it on the news.

Micro-task crowdsourcing is rapidly gaining popularity among research communities and businesses as a means to leverage Human Computation in their daily operations. Source

I love how things are evolving around the internet all the time!

How I use Micro Tasks to keep me On Task

Now lets get back to one person and lots of micro tasks.

I have recently realised that I was going about my To Do list the wrong way for me. I would put a seemingly ordinary task like "work on the newsletter" in my to do list and I would fit it between say breakfast and morning tea.

I would finish breakfast at varying times depending on when I finished my exercise routine for that day. So, at no specific time I would check my to do list and see "newsletter". I would then sit down at the computer and start work on the newsletter. After no set time I would think that I had done enough and go to have morning tea or lunch, depending on the time.

This is so ineffective for getting things done.

My strategy now is to:

1. Write down 2 or 3 sections of my newsletter that I am going to finish
2. I block out 2 hrs from 10am to 12pm
3. I start work and during the 2 hours I will start pacing myself faster to make sure I finish the sections I have listed.
4. If I finish early I can choose to relax or do another small business related task to fill the time.

I have created a Task List Printable to help me organise my larger procedures. It takes a while to work out exactly what are the micro tasks involved in a bigger goal or project. 

For Example:

Say you want to get the kids out to the bus on time but you are always struggling to get everything done. You can put 

• "Get the kids out to the bus on time and completing all the morning chores" in your goal box.
• Then break it down into "getting dressed",  "having breakfast", "making lunches", "checking school bags".
• Then each macro task can be broken down again. "put school clothes on the bedside chair the night before", "kids follow the bathroom checklist", "kids put all the school bag items on the floor next to the bag".
• Then you do micro tasks for having breakfast etc.

So now when the kids get out of bed you can say, 'Have you got your school clothes on?', 'Have you done your bathroom routine?', 'Have you laid out the school bag for packing?'. 'Now come and get breakfast' or list whatever the micro tasks where for getting breakfast.

It Works!

Since setting that specific time to start work I have been much more relaxed around breakfast time because I am not always thinking that I have to start work after breakfast, "I better finish breakfast quicker".

Now I am sitting at breakfast around 9 or 9.30 thinking, 'How nice, I have time to finish my second cup of tea'.

As I am writing this blog post it is just 11.30am. I set myself the tasks of designing a micro task check list printable and writing this blog post for my 2hr shift. I feel confident that I will finish in time. I have already designed the printable.

I now have 5 mins left to load my printable into Google Drive and put links in this post.

(It took me another 15 mins because I also had to preview and edit the blog post.)

You can DOWNLOAD my handy Micro Task List now.

Download Now

Happy Organising,

Val

Micro Tasks: An Easy way to Reach Those Goals

This is my desk after tidying. I can see my little foxy and I get more light.

A big goal I have set myself is to have a tidy sewing room in just over three months. The reward was there - space to work in and things in their place - but I didn't know where to fit the cleaning task time.

I thought about which habits are very strong now and here to stay. My morning routine is a series of tasks that are now like one big habit. I spent 3 months putting them in place. So what better way to create a 'room tidy habit' than to stack it inside my morning routine.

This is the journal desk before. The things I don't use every day went onto the book shelf
and I feel a lot less cramped.

I decided on just 30 mins a day and I have placed it directly after my morning walk and before my morning meditation. This has been working really well. Gentle tidying after my walk lets me cool down and the meditation after lets me relax after intense focusing.

I know exactly what has to be done. These free printables are from
the Business Bakery. I am keeping to track. The two I missed are
for the third wardrobe insert that I can't afford yet.

I broke every section of the room into micro tasks. I had to make them
even smaller to fit into the 30 mins. I spend 3 days at least on each task in this list.

I am doing the room tidy as a 100 days goal with some support from The Business Bakery. We are up to day 40 as I write this and I haven't missed a day. There is no pressure to work for hours making huge changes.

This second insert space had three boxes in it like the next space.

These are the boxes all emptied out. Well, they were all empty until I went to
Spotlight and bought several metres of fur. That box is stored under my desk now.

The second insert is in and starting to fill up.

I know that I will get pretty close to a perfect result at the end of the 100 days if I just stick to my 30 mins a day. Because I am not hurrying I take time to ponder where things need to be stored so I don't have to move them again.

I posted about my cutting table on Facebook. It is so nice to nearly have it back.

You can see that the top of the desk is my focus for now. The underneath is
a later task.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4. Emptied some drawers and put the stationery bits in little boxes in the wardrobe unit.

This is where I will keep the patterns I am working on instead of on the table.

This is a big job but I feel quite relaxed about it because it just seems easy to do a little bit at a time. I am so pleased with how the room is looking and I feel much better too.

I hope my successes will inspire you to do a big project a tiny bit at a time. It doesn't matter how long it takes, you just need to get started and do a bit at a time. You don't need fancy work sheets. Just get a lined pad and start writing tasks down.
What areas in your house could benefit from this type of makeover? Let me know in the comments.

Cheers,
Val