Are you running around like a headless chicken? Are you shifting from one thing to another without finishing the first task? My recent post the 5hr Day focuses on targeting your time more so that you can actually get things done without being distracted.
Distraction is the biggest factor in not actually achieving what you want as quick as you want it, that and motivation. Now I know the distraction because I have just identified them in my daily work on this site, you don’t know they are stopping you doing your work till you step back and actually look at it from a different angle, but here is how to stop being a headless blogger;
- Windows
Close those windows, no not the ones in your house, the ones on your screen. I can say with almost certainty that some of you will be reading this with other tabs or windows up on your screen. I can also make an educated bet that when most of you write your content or do anything related to building your empire you will have Facebook, Twitter or another time wasting site active. I’m right aren’t I?
Seriously I used to have twitter up all the time as well as my email inbox which is good because you catch people straight away, but it’s really bad when you are trying to write new tutorials or ebooks or even worse new content for your site. Make sure when you are doing those things everything else gets closed unless it’s uploading/downloading or is related to your post (research etc).
The screen grab below is of my browser tabs, first one is of this post being written the second is my youtube channel which is uploading a video and the third is a google search on how to spell headless (wasn’t sure if it was one l or two, I am dyslexic remember!)
- To Do List
To do lists are awesome, it gets it out of your head and onto paper. Here is the TIP To Do List, it’s a basic document which you can print off and use it to actually get the masses of things that you absolutely feel you have to get done out of your head and onto paper where you can see exactly what needs doing and in what order.
I use my to do list a lot, because my tiny brain can only hold so much information and to be honest if I can’t see it written down in front of me and I’m able to actually refer to it constantly and check things off then I forget, the other thing it’s great for is highlighting those things you are clearly putting off.
- TV, Phone, Food
How many text/sms messages do you get everyday? If you’re anything like my friends and family you get a stack sent to you all the time, most of them irrelevant and the majority could be replied to in the next 30 minutes instead of immediately so get your phone on silent and put it in the other room, you can’t keep adding bricks to your empire if you stop to check or answer your phone every two minutes.
The same applies to the TV, if you work from a laptop, which I do (I don’t own a desktop) then it can be quite easy, especially if you haven’t seen your loved one all day to sit in front of the TV on the sofa and write new content, think about your products etc etc. The problem with this is although you don’t think you are watching TV, you will be. Why have that subconscious distraction in front of you when the fact is if you went in a separate room you would get your work done in twice the time and still have some real quality time with your family.
Working from home, especially if you do a lot of hours online your eating habits can actually deteriorate quite a lot, if you analysed how much exercise and the types of food the average online worker did and ate you would be astonished, but that’s a different post all together. The point I’m trying to make is try not to have any food near your work station, yes have a drink as you need to stay hydrated but having food and eating at your workstation whether you are at a desktop or sat on the sofa with your laptop, food is distracting and will displace your focus.
All of this are things I have found out myself since starting this site and in trying to increase productivity I have found that these little tips no matter how small they seem really help. After all would you rather would hard for 5hrs or drag it out over 10hrs?
What does everyone think? Feel free to download the T.I.P To Do List
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Distractions, distractions…hard to manage so get rid of them, great advice James
.-= Mick Morris´s last blog ..How to choose your parachute! =-.
Hey Mick thanks man, It’s important to get rid of them purely because they are so easy to fall into, bit like a man hole cover.
Good advice James.
You’ve got to get rid of your distractions as a blogger and focus on the task at hand. If you’re a blogger like us who runs a full time job as well you can’t afford to waste the time you have with distraction.
Recently I wrote 10 guest posts in a day. The first 9 I wrote with no distractions at all and got the all done with ease, averaging around 30 – 45mins a post. The last post I got lazy with and opened up my distractions. It took me 2 hours to write!
Yeah living proof there then Ben, out of interest what distracts you the most?
Social Media is a big one for me. I find it hard to be in the zone when I’m dipping in and out of Facebook or Twitter
You are spot on here Ben. When I write posts when I’m commuting, the posts are typically written in draft in about 30-45 minutes. If I’m writing them in the evening at home, then the posts take at leat twice as a long.
Oh dear… I’m guilty guilty guilty! Best sort myself out
Thanks man, takes an outside look to get the focus back.
.-= Phil Johnson´s last blog ..Doing Business Online =-.
Yeah sometimes we don’t realise we are being distracted, once in a while it just hits us like a light bulb coming on, bing!
Distractions are definitely an enemy. I am truly guilty of a few of these. I used to tell myself that I could watch tv and work at the same time, what an incredibly stupid idea that was. Solid tips James.
.-= Alex Monroe´s last blog ..Interview with Kid Entrepreneur Clarissa Cook =-.
Yeah it never works does it? You end up spending two hours on something that should only take 30 mins
I only have one window open at a time. I can’t do 2 things at once. Plus, that way I can concentrate, finish the project and move onto the next thing. Work now, tweet later!
ha ha work now tweet later! It helps me a lot to actually only focus on one thing at a time, that way I make sure the important stuff gets done
Distractions can really make you crazy and make things take way longer than they should. I used to sit on my computer (I have a desktop and am usually on my girlfriend’s mom’s MacBook now) and have TweetDeck open and OpenOffice open and so many other apps ready to go and each time something came up I’d click and tell myself I’d get back to the task at hand… Yeah, that didn’t happen too often.
Focus on the big stuff like writing great content and then go off and do other things once what’s important is done.
Great tips. I also like the idea of a “things that have to get done today” list as I’ve said in the past. This works pretty well too.
What do you think?
.-= eric´s last blog ..The Power Of A Lie, Is It True? =-.
Yeah man that’s what it’s all about man having a to do list is a great idea, it really works for me
Solid tips, but luv distractions, I need to have at least 10+ tabs open and my favorite music running in order to do the awesome work.
It sounds highly unproductive, but that’s just the style I enjoy the most !
.-= Mars Dorian´s last blog ..Why YOU really Need a Logo ! =-.
Hey Mars, yeah I hear a lot of artisits are like that, caos creates genius!
James,
This is the real barrier to success as a blogger. When you are serious, you have to focus and organize. It means different things to different people – (Mars and you obviously organize differently) but it has to allow you to accomplish GOALS. From my experience this doesn’t come easily. It is so much easier to go scattershot. Thanks for leaving some breadcrumbs to follow.
.-= Ralph´s last blog ..The Original Ford Thunderbird – 50’s nostalgia =-.
Hey Ralph, yeah Mars is going great guns awesome to see. For me because I’m so pumped I have a stack of ideas running about my head so having structure and guidelines really helps to focus that energy I suppose it goes back to the military discipline
A lot of great ideas up there, thanks James. I also like to apply short term deadlines (like finish my next post in 30 minutes). This keeps me focused on ending early, and when I’m done I get up and go do something fun (rather than killing time on the web)
.-= TJ | Brave New Life´s last blog ..The World’s Most Important iPad Blog Post of All Time =-.
Hey TJ I like that idea of 30 minute stints, like it
I also think it is important to have a work area that is quiet and has good ventilation. A suitable environment really helps a lot in focusing and thinking of good ideas to write about.
.-= Julius´s last blog ..A Day in the Life of a Person with a Cognitive Disability =-.
Yeah man totally right, well lit too!
Sheesh! You are taking all the fun out of working from home! I eat at my desk, but I usually break away from working and read blogs, tweet about random stuff or maybe watch a few videos I had downloaded. I ALWAYS have multiple windows open and several apps running at once (unless I am traveling because my laptop is not as powerful as my desktop).
Email and phone are on and accessible 18-20hrs a day, but when either one of those go off, there is usually money involved so that is top priority. My posts generally only take 15-30min to write unless there is a video involved, so I usually don’t have a problem getting distracted.
I do keep several legal pads with to do lists for different projects on them, I usually start new ones daily and transfer the leftovers from the day before over to the top of the new list.
.-= Keith´s last blog ..Site Changes =-.
That’s a good idea of transfering it over. You certainly put the hours in, for me this is about improving my quality of life moving for the crazy hours I spend on the road and then working on this site to reducing that down whilst maintaining productivity
Time management is one of the biggest challenges. I had to smile when you said to close the windows because I never close windows unless I have to restart. Too many windows is a leading cause of my own distractions. I’ve done a few posts on time management myself but these are helpful tips. Here’s a link to my tips. http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/141314
Thanks.
.-= Jeff Rutowski´s last blog ..By: New marketing articles: Email marketing, subject lines that pull in readers, how to improve your marketing « BusinessListPro Blog =-.
Actually my friend, I have been quite the opposite took some time away from the pc, reorganizing my thoughts to be more positive and send out good messages, so new week and hope to more motivated.
Hey Butterfly, looking forward to the new week!
I had been struggling with maintaining focus and closing all window except the current one is the only way I can stay productive.
It of course means fewer articles get retweeted, but something had to give…
.-= Ms. Freeman@Baby Steps of an Internet Entrepreneur´s last blog ..How do you measure your blog writing success? =-.
Hey yeah it needs to be done though, just like you say something has to give and as long as it’s not your business then you’re onto a winner
I have made a big effort to only focus on one thing at a time. Which is difficult, but very productive,
Yeah it is difficult to do, but the amount you get done compared to relaxing doing it in front of the TV is totally worth it
I am glad I am not alone in my overload world. I have found as well that focusing on a task gets it done quicker. I ususally put the headphones on low to drown out the kids and the tv so that I can concentrate. Good tips again James…
.-= Justin Matthews´s last blog ..I Have Hit 3 Months! Time for the Happy Dance! =-.
Avoiding distractions is all about focusing on your predetermined goal.
A focused man is a blind man that see just one thing only.
I find it amazing that progress in life is a function of focusing on your passion.
For me, I’m deciding now to use blog commenting, tweeting and chatting on FB etc as reward for writing 10 articles a day.
Nice one man.
Hey man how are you finding that in terms of more traffic?