Do you have a lot to do? Do you ever get frustrated because you keep getting distracted from the task at hand? Today I am sharing four videos with tips for staying on track. I hope you will check these out and give them a try!
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Tip #1: Link Recurring Tasks to Days of the Week
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Tip #2: Put on Background Music
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Tip #3: Create Routines to Sustain Momentum
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Tip #4: Clear Your Work Surfaces Daily
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Productivity and staying focused often requires a bit of trial and effort to see which techniques work best for you.
Do you use any of these tips for staying on track? Which others would you add?
What fun videos, Seana! I love your suggestions for minimizing distractions. No matter how focused we are, distractions will happen.
For me, music generally becomes a distraction when I’m working. I find it harder to concentrate when there is any background noise or music. But I know for many, the opposite is true. Music can bring energy to a space or create focus at times. I don’t mind music when I’m cooking, but for times when I need to concentrate, quiet works best for me.
The value of a clear work surface is so beneficial. As you said, too many piles or crowded surfaces make it twice as challenging to focus on the work or project at hand. Having spaciousness helps with clarity of mind and improved focus.
It is fascinating to me to see how different we all are. I’m willing to try anything! My son-in-law got me onto a playlist on Youtube that is all instrumental and very calming. I’ve been putting it on when I write. It’s funny, now when I put that on, I feel automatically more focused, as it my brain has learned to associate this particular music with sitting down and getting to work. I think the best way to go is try some things and see what fits each of us best!
Link to your YouTube playlist?
Hazel Thornton recently posted…What? Your ducks aren’t in a row? Mine either.
Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/live/jfKfPfyJRdk?si=EoKuwmW-WZY0voMQ
I was surprised to see, when I clicked over to get the link, that the “star” girl isn’t sitting at her desk today. It’s sort of an ongoing storyline and you never know what you are going to find her doing. Enjoy!
I love appealing to learning preferences, that being helping people learn how to manage life using a preferred modality. Many people are highly visual. Visual charts and lists make a difference for them. Posting a check off list helps keep every step more consistent.
I agree that most people people are visual. I love a check-off list. It makes me feel good at the end of the day to see all I’ve accomplished. That visual acuity is also another reason for clearing off your desk 🙂
So important to help people find what the best approach is for them. As I said, it is a bit of trial and error, but it is worth the effort.
Hi Seana – great videos! The background music is such a great idea. I like putting on a podcast too (something not too heavy). I worked with someone once who couldn’t organize without the 70s channel going in the background. I confess, it was a very fun job!
I love the 70s channel! That would be great music to declutter and organize to. I had one client who wanted to put on Irish folk music, and another with whom we listened to the Barber of Seville!
I love these tips and share them with my clients. Like Linda, I find noise of any type distracting, but I also realize that background noise does help others.
I love my weekly schedules and routines. Anything that is automatic saves my brain from having to make more decisions.
And a clean work surface, especially in my office and kitchen is very important to getting work done.
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People tend to be one way or the other with music. I like instrumental music for writing, and more upbeat music for when I’m doing physical work. But I work with clients who want as much silence as possible. It’s all about discovering what “fits” with our own, individual persona.
These are fabulous, Seana! All four of these wonderful tips are ones I advocate at least trying with my clients. Some I use myself!
I do my best thinking work when all I hear is the ticking of the clock in the background. I love other noise (radio, sing-a-long music, television) when I am cleaning or decluttering. I always ask clients if they would like to put a little music on and some opt for classical music. I am a routine user and a list maker. I love knowing that certain household chores are done on certain days. Clients are sometimes resistant to creating tasks dedicated to specific days thinking that is difficult to stick to. When they try it, they often will go the step further to create more routines.
Diane N Quintana recently posted…Not All Stories You Tell Yourself Are Bad
I love hearing this, Diane. Sometimes it is just have a willingness to try, and then a hopefulness if it doesn’t work out. It’s worth the effort to keep throwing a few ideas at the wall and then seeing which sticks. We are all different, so there isn’t one solution that fits everyone. Love that once they get started, your clients have shown an interest in going further!
I am a fan of specific tasks on specific days. I do laundry on Friday so I don’t have to do it during the weekend. Thursday evening, I go to the grocery store for the next week.
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I love it too! For example, I wash towels on Wednesdays and collect trash on Thursdays so it is ready to go out on Friday mornings.
Terrific tips, Seana! I’ll be sharing this with my own followers.
Hazel Thornton recently posted…What? Your ducks aren’t in a row? Mine either.
Thanks, Hazel! Much appreciated 🙂
I always love your videos. I agree with all of your points, though I’ll admit that I can’t focus at all if music is playing, even if it’s instrumental. The only exception is George Winston’s December, probably because it was the background for some serious study sessions in my friend’s dorm room in the suite next to my own. For a few years straight, we’d read and study together with that CD playing over and over. Otherwise, I need the washing machine or some other kind of white noise.
Otherwise, I abide by all of this advice (though I really just go to the grocery story or gas station when I need groceries or gas). The only non-functional thing on my entire work surface is a tiny LEGO mini-fig of Princess Leia, but even that is more of a fidget tool than a “look-at-that” item. I need everything I need, and anything I don’t need must be jettisoned! 😉
Julie Bestry recently posted…Organize Your Desktop with Your Perfect Desk Pad
Oh how funny, my roommate studied to George Winston’s December and I totally love it. In fact, I bought a couple other of his CDs back in the day! A couple others have commented on another sound they like in the background, like your washing machine or white noise. I think these serve the save purpose, to provide a “soundtrack” that keeps your brain from being distracted by other things. The music has been the most controversial – people seem to love it or hate it!
My desk is not completely empty, but close. I do love walking up to an empty surface when I have to work. When I can’t easily reset my desk or kitchen counter, I know I have some decluttering to do. 🙂
What a fun way to introduce your tips. I think some people will always remember the tips when they hear them, it will stick, and that way they’ll feel like they have to clean their desk at the end of the day, or else Seana is watching.
I love to listen to the news or music when I’m working for sure, it will make the time flow faster, at least for me.
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Thanks so much, Janet. A little voice of an organizer in your ear will hopefully be a positive 🙂
It’s been interesting to see the response to the background music one. Some people love and others don’t like it all. Just goes to show we are all different!
Thank you for your video blog! What a unique way to do it!
Love all your tips, and I think they are all so helpful for staying on track and getting things done. I left some comments on YouTube as well. Great job Seana!
Thanks for these kind words, Jane. It’s fun to mix up formats, especially on an important topic like staying on track!
As I’m reading this, my husband put on background music for HIM to focus on while preparing dinner, but it’s not MY background music, nor the volume I like, so I’m sort of not focusing well! I need to go to another room and implement better routines!
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That one has been controversial! We definitely have different preferences when it coms to background music!