5 Most Common Distractions Many People Are Challenged With Every Single Day

We live in a world where almost everyone is in a rush - whether it's getting to a meeting venue on time, submitting work notes on schedule, beating traffic so as not be late to work or school - these are just some of the common scenarios that mirror how hectic our schedule have become. With so many things to do in 24 - hours, we seldom get the chance of getting everything done. When did things get so complicated???

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

Now, if we've been spending hours rushing to get from one meeting to another or working from one project to the next, why is it that we never ever get to finish something up? This is because there are so many distractions in our world now and we are constantly multi tasking. Ultra productive people know that in order to accomplish a massive amount and, importantly, to feel great about their accomplishment & balanced, you have to be single minded in your approach. Eliminate distractions so we can focus on completing the things which really matter.

Here are what I know to be some of the most common distractions many people are challenged with every single day.

#1 Unnecessary Meetings

You know there is a problem in our working culture when there are books out now called 'Death By Meeting'. This is a book by Patrick Lencioni and it is awesome. Have you ever wondered how much time you have wasted being in meetings where your attendance seemed pointless or a waste of time? Where it just seems to be a meeting for the sake of a meeting which goes on for ages made up of mostly dribble and then at the end no real actionable items coming out of it?

Shoot me now. Here are some tips to make meetings effective:

Make sure there is a point and a clear desired outcome that must be reached before you go into the meeting

Try having stand up meetings

Set a time limit, where as soon as that time is up, everyone gets up and leaves - there is nothing like a bit of pressure to get a result

Ask: do I really need to be involved in this meeting?

Ask for the agenda prior to the meeting and that the pre-read materials be sent to you

#2 Email

We are in a culture now where people expect instant responses. Someone sends an email and if you don't respond within 10 minutes they are wondering if you are OK? This is a productivity killer. How many times a day do you check your email, honestly? 10 times a day, 20? Is it open all the time, just desperately waiting for that next earth shattering email to arrive? Seriously, most emails are a waste of time and don't get me started on the need for people to cc the entire world in on emails.

Top tips:

Set specific times each day where it is only then that you check email. For me it is 11am in the morning and 3pm in the afternoon and I check it for about 30 minutes at a time.

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

Set up rules and filters

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

Finally, turn off that bloody pop up you've got mail or the 'ding' or the little envelope. As soon as it is there, you know you can't help but check it. Curiosity will get the better of you

#3 Social Media Sites

Can't resist looking at your phone or logging in to your pc to check your Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube? Social media is fun but it can be a huge time-waster especially when you begin to lose track of how much time you spend updating people with your status posts, reading your timeline or tweeting people back.

You can help minimize the time you spend with social media by designating a set 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 over, log-out so you don't get distracted by social media notifications and start working.

It will take a lot of self-control to accomplish this, you know it will, but you will thank yourself for practicing restraint especially after you plough through one project to another.

#4 Office Chit-Chat and Random Distractions

Ever noticed how a 5 minute small-talk with a co-worker can stretch into 30 minutes, even a full hour? There is nothing wrong with socializing but when it begins to eat up your time and affect your productivity, then you have to do something about it. Minimize office chit-chat by communicating to colleagues your need for focus time. Hang a sign/symbol on your doorknob or outside your cubicle to discourage people from chatting with you and to send a signal that this isn't a good time to interrupt your work and learn this phrase:

"Bill, I would 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 day and age.

#5 Multi Tasking

I should really have this at the top. How big is your to-do list? Massive I bet, if you are like most people. Now I actually don't like to do-lists, they are ineffective and can be very overwhelming, there are much better systems based on outcomes, values and priorities, but this is for another time. Still, even this is better than nothing for most people who just let all of the things they have to get done rattle around endlessly in their heads and live in this constant state of reaction and drama.

I am only going to give you one tip here. There are many more I can add but I reckon that this is so vital that if you did it, it could completely change your life. It is one question:

"What is the one thing I could do right now, that if I did it and made major progress would do more to advance me in 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

You get the point right????

If you let them, these distractions will suck away a major portion of your life and can hold you back from reaching your potential in work and in life.

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

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

Set up your environment around you and systems to eliminate distractions and ensure you stay on track.

Remember, that you are not playing life like most people are, you are extraordinary and are not going to follow like a sheep what everyone else does. So condition the people around you to your way of working. If you don't, they will expect you to conform to their way and society's norms which are totally ineffective.

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

http://ezinearticles.com/?5-Most-Common-Distractions-Many-People-Are-Challenged-With-Every-Single-Day&id=8961581

16 Tips for Getting 90 Percent of Your Work Done Before Lunch

Don't have enough time in a day? Follow these tips to get majority of your work done in the morning.

Imagine this.

By the time lunch rolls around, you push back from your desk with a satisfied sigh, saunter off to your car, and drive off to have a leisurely, stress-free lunch, daydreaming about the 18 holes that you're going to play for the rest of the day.

This can be for real.

You can get 90 percent or more of your work done in the morning. Around the time people are groping for the next shot of caffeine, you're shutting down your Macbook and chilling out.

How do you do this? I'm going to give you 16 amazing productivity tips, but first let me set the stage:

• First, I'm defining work as stuff that you do--important stuff. Ideally, meetings can be shoved out of the picture.
• Second, this approach is built on the Pareto principle. The Pareto principle states that 80 percent of your results come from 20 percent of your efforts. Getting your work done in the morning means that you can take a leaner approach to the important tasks--a smart approach.

1. Schedule your day the night before.

Every day, you should list all your tasks and when you're going to do them the following day. You will not be productive unless you plan out everything you're going to do the next morning.

Quick tip: Don't schedule too much. Keep your to-do schedule light to actually accomplish real work.

2. Clean your office the night before.

Clutter in your office creates distractions. A sticky note on your desk that says "Call Bob ASAP!" can throw off your whole day.

Showing up to work in a spic-and-span environment helps you to think clearer and work harder.

3. Wake up at an ungodly hour.

To really get stuff done, you've got to get up in time to make it happen.

I recommend anytime from 5:30 to 6:30 a.m. If your morning routine takes a little longer, bump your wake-up time back a little more.

Obviously, you'll need to adjust your bedtime accordingly.

4. Exercise.

Scientific evidence shows that morning exercise can make us think better, work better, and become more productive.

Harvard's John Ratey is the author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. He writes that exercise is essential for reaching "high-performance levels in intellectually demanding jobs."

A quick jog or 30-minute yoga session can prepare you for a powerful session of getting stuff done.

5. Stick to your schedule.

Don't let yourself veer off the course that you've mapped out. You have a limited amount of time. Don't ruin the schedule.

Take your schedule, allow it guide you, and you'll be able to accomplish more.

6. Give yourself 20 minutes to reach flow.

Flow is when you're in the zone. This happens when you are completely absorbed in your activity, single mindedly accomplishing things at a high level and rapid pace.

It takes some time to reach flow, so if you don't feel productive or engaged in your work, just give it some time.

7. Make 60-second decisions.

Decision making is a time-draining vortex. When you're faced with a decision in the course of your work, give yourself a one-minute limit. Your decision will be just as good, but it will take less time.

8. Wear headphones.

Headphones can shut out distractions and keep you focused. Harvard Business Review advises workers to put on their headphones to be more productive.

9. Do the toughest tasks first.

Mark Twain wrote, "If you eat a frog first thing in the morning that will probably be the worst thing you do all day." Brian Tracy turned this statement into an entire principal (and even wrote a book on it)--"Eat that frog!"

If you get your biggest and ugliest task done first, the rest of the day will be massively productive.

10. Do your writing early on.

Writing is one of the most mentally demanding tasks. However, writing also has the power of focusing your brain and improving your productivity. Do you writing early in the day, and you'll improve both the quality of your writing and the rest of your day.

11. Don't commute.

If you typically have a lengthy work commute, do everything you can to avoid it

It's not just wasted time that you want to guard against. It's the mental havoc. A commute is one of the most stressful parts of the day. Starting your workday with that level of stress can completely ruin your productivity.

Don't even commute to Starbucks. (Have Starbucks bring it to you instead.)

12. Don't hold meetings (even over the phone).

If you've been in business for very long, you know that most meetings are a waste of time. Avoid meetings if at all possible.

13. Don't check your email first thing.

The electronic communication pipeline can be as destructive as meetings. Sure, you need to deal with email. It's important, but don't let it swallow your day by starting out with it.

14. Stick to a routine.

If you do something repeatedly, you'll be able to do it better and faster each time. Once you find a routine, stick with it. Your routine is the ramp to your productivity.

15. Make yourself comfortable.

Do whatever you need to do to position yourself for success. If that means showering, shaving, eating breakfast, journaling, meditating, feeding the dog, opening the blinds--do it. When you accomplish these preparatory tasks, you are creating an environment that will make you more productive.

16. Reward yourself at a certain time.

Set the clock--a countdown timer if you have to. At a certain point, you're going to stop. So, stop.

Break out the kazoos, throw some confetti, and do your happy dance. It's time to reward yourself.

Apply and get more done!

For those of us who possess unstoppable energy and an internal drive to get evenmore done, we don't have to quit in the mornings. If work makes you happy and fulfilled, keep going.

Getting 90 percent of your work done in the morning just means that you might get more than 100 percent of your work done every day.

Sounds good to me.

What tips do you use to get your work done early in the morning?

http://www.inc.com/neil-patel/16-tips-for-getting-90-of-your-work-done-in-the-morning.html

7 Things Healthy People Do Every Morning

My alarm is set to the song "Happy" by Pharrell Williams. It’s impossible to not smile when this song plays. This, combined with the other habits below, set the tone for a productive, happy and healthy day.

1. Drink a glass of water as soon as you wake up.

This rehydrates your body, revs up your digestive system, and gets things flowing. You may notice positive changes like clearer skin and better digestion. Bonus points if you add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice or a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar.

2. Do not check your email or phone for at least an hour.

Do you sleep with your cell phone next to you and grab for it first thing when you wake? This is not a good habit. If you choose to resist the temptation to check your email and Facebook feed until at least an hour after waking up, you'll find that your mind is more clear, focused and happy.

3. Think of one thing for which you have gratitude.

This sets the stage for positivity throughout the day. If you come up with three or five things, even better.

4. Step outside and take a deep breath.

Fill your lungs with fresh air. Even if it’s cold outside. This only takes 10 seconds! It reminds you that you are alive and breathing.

5. Move your body.

You don’t necessarily have to do an intense workout before breakfast, but moving your body even a little is a great way to get the blood flowing and shake the body into wake-up mode. Simply doing a few stretches is a great option. Or turn on your favorite song and dance like no one is watching.

6. Take time to eat a healthy breakfast.

Rather than reaching for a box of cereal, focus on getting real foods in your body. Eggs, soaked oats, and smoothies are all great options. (And they really don’t take that much time to prepare.) Try it out.

7. Say your affirmations.

Look into the mirror and say something positive to yourself. Some ideas:

• I radiate beauty, confidence and grace.
• Every cell in my body is healthy and vibrant.
• I feel great when I take care of myself.

So are you up for the challenge of incorporating these healthy habits? What about you? What helps you start the day off right?

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-15433/7-things-healthy-people-do-every-morning.html