Tips To Finish What You Start
The fan-favorite, meat-loving, Libertarian, Ron Swanson is Internet famous for his many pearls of wisdom. One of my favorites is about getting the job done and multitasking.
“Never Half-Ass Two Things, Whole-Ass One Thing”
It’s a simple enough principle in theory and another to master.
If there’s one thing we can all agree on in today’s fact-paced world, it’s that it is very easy to be…
…distracted. So how do we find the ability to focus and complete a task/ project/ job when we are constantly bombarded by distraction?
Recognizing Distraction
Before we continue, take a moment and ask yourself these questions.
If you’re on a computer:
- How many tabs are open in your browser right now?
- How many apps do you have open?
If you’re on your phone or tablet:
- How many apps are open?
- How many notifications have popped up on your screen in the last hour?
I’m writing this on my computer, I have five tabs pinned. I have seven applications running. In the last ten minutes, I’ve received two notifications on my phone (which also ping on my watch — which is honestly even more distracting).
My eyes have been pulled away from writing this three times because of distractions since I began.
The point is, distractions are everywhere and they’re constant. So the challenge is, how to beat those and set yourself up to finish what you start.
The best place to start is creating a list of the things that qualify as disruptors for you.
- Your phone. Odds are good you have a smartphone, and with that comes notifications. Review your notification settings. Turn off the apps that you don’t need to hear from constantly. Alter your notification settings so you control what are considered alerts and what can be saved to be viewed later.
- Your computer. Minimize tabs that are open when possible. Try moving the project you’re working on to its own window.
- Your environment. You probably know what type of place you get the best work done in. Whether that’s your desk or a coffee shop or library or your own preferred destination. Do you need to have your desk or table tidy to focus? Do you need music? Silence? Experiment with scenarios and find your zen.
Write It Down
What do you want to accomplish? It can be a small to-do list or a massive project.
Writing down the goals and tasks will allow you to see it in front of you. You can further breakdown a more complicated task into pieces, chipping away at each step, one at a time.
Ready to take it one step further? Use a planner. Whether it is daily, weekly or monthly, seeing a schedule in front of you can reduce what you have to remember and reduce stress.
Already a master of that and want to even further? Welcome to the Bullet Journal. A bullet journal is essentially combining a planner, diary and meditation tracker into one notebook. It can help you streamline your productivity and goals. It’s also creative and fun!
I won’t go into the details of that method, you can read about that on many other Medium posts.
Using Technology To Get Things Done
Some of the most popular apps are project and task management apps. From Todoist to Wunderlist to Trello. There are seemingly endless lists of app recommendations.
Finding the app that works best for you can be a challenge. Determine what your goals are for using an app to start. Do you want to create multiple projects with their own to-do lists? Do you want to collaborate with others? Are you willing to pay for an app? Do you need cloud sync?
There are countless apps you can pick, but most project and task management apps will do the trick. I personally use Trello.
Trello is my home for all my freelance work, personal projects and home life. I have boards for each client, a board for projects and a board my wife and I use for our home.
Whatever app you choose, learn it’s intentions, functions and features before you jump in for a test drive.
Pomodoro Method
Now that we’ve identified distractions and written down (physically or digitally) the tasks and projects we need to accomplish, it’s time to get to work.
You may have heard of Pomodoro before, but if you haven’t, it is essentially using a timer to focus on a single task for a shorter amount of time, followed by a shorter break.
For example, you work for 30 minutes, break for 3, and repeat. You challenge yourself to complete as many uninterrupted stretches as possible.
There are plenty of apps you can download to run the timers.
While this is merely a first-step to productivity, there are tons of other ways you can focus. If you have one you think is worth sharing, please leave a comment and link. We can all use the help trying to stay focused and do our best work!
