Always love listening to Cindy! I've been self-employed editing in the legal arena since 2004. I started creating digital products a couple/few years ago and a certification in life coaching. When one is slower, I focus on another, or more (and more) training. My biggest distraction I'm currently working on is FOMO-related. I'm working on it! But over the years, one of the toughest was friends not respecting the fact that I actually WORK, even though I am at home. I've heard the phrase "Well, you're home anyway," far too many times. Or invites to do things when I have a deadline, "Can't you do that some other time?" as though my work is a nuisance to them. Soooo I started calling my friends for a chit chat and/or inviting them to things while they were at work, parroting their "Can't you do that some other time?" and similar remarks when they'd explain they were working. Yes, some became offended, but they got the message.
Great tips Cindy! Time blocking has been working really well for me lately! And using a timer is something I like doing when I'm doing household chores - I make it a game; can I beat a 20 minute timer when cleaning the bathroom? Silly things like that lol
Thanks for categorizing the different types of distractions; that's very helpful for mindset. Thanks for the great tips! I had been using the timer technique because of my back injury (I was icing every 20 minutes), and I found it made me far more focused for those 20 minutes because it was such a limited time-frame to accomplish something. I'm going to get back to that after hearing this episode.
You might be interested in reading *Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention* by Johann Hari. He discusses both personal actions we can take ourselves as well as societal changes we need.
Always love listening to Cindy!
I've been self-employed editing in the legal arena since 2004. I started creating digital products a couple/few years ago and a certification in life coaching. When one is slower, I focus on another, or more (and more) training. My biggest distraction I'm currently working on is FOMO-related. I'm working on it!
But over the years, one of the toughest was friends not respecting the fact that I actually WORK, even though I am at home. I've heard the phrase "Well, you're home anyway," far too many times. Or invites to do things when I have a deadline, "Can't you do that some other time?" as though my work is a nuisance to them.
Soooo I started calling my friends for a chit chat and/or inviting them to things while they were at work, parroting their "Can't you do that some other time?" and similar remarks when they'd explain they were working. Yes, some became offended, but they got the message.
Great tips Cindy! Time blocking has been working really well for me lately! And using a timer is something I like doing when I'm doing household chores - I make it a game; can I beat a 20 minute timer when cleaning the bathroom? Silly things like that lol
Thanks for categorizing the different types of distractions; that's very helpful for mindset.
Thanks for the great tips!
I had been using the timer technique because of my back injury (I was icing every 20 minutes), and I found it made me far more focused for those 20 minutes because it was such a limited time-frame to accomplish something. I'm going to get back to that after hearing this episode.
You might be interested in reading *Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention* by Johann Hari. He discusses both personal actions we can take ourselves as well as societal changes we need.