I’ve got to get these e-mails out. This desk is a mess. This spreadsheet needs tweaking. Fill in your favorite, “important, but actually bullshit” excuse.
Distractions are the weeds in the garden of our goals.
When I have a post to write, like this one, suddenly I become hyper aware of a myriad of other things that need doing. In large part it’s because I’ve allowed the weeds of distraction to sprout up all over my mental garden.
It’s the same when I am going for a run. One more cup of coffee, some reflections that maybe it would be better run in the evening, did I update the software in my drone, what happened to that support ticket from last week…blah blah blah. Lot’s of weeds start jumping in front of my run.
Note that what I typically insert in front of a my duties is rarely something completely devoid of merit. They are generally things which can assert a reasonable defense of importance. That’s what makes them weeds. They distract us from what we should be cultivating. Our goals.
The reality is that, to get to the things which will make you great, you need to remove the clutter of these distractions from your mind. I won’t pretend that it’s easy. I just picked up my phone in the middle of writing this, which kind of proves my point. Some weeds are heavily camouflaged.
My technique? Be sure to recognize the weeds for what they are. Lest you accidentally harvest a crop of them.
I use a list of things that must get done, the big things which will actually move my business forward.
Growing a beautiful garden isn’t just cultivation, it’s also elimination. Once you clear away those distractions, your big ideas have room to grow.
Here’s to a bountiful harvest.
