Finding Your Focus When a Million Things Matter
By: Karen Parquet
Tags: Braindumps, Focus, Planning, Productivity

Finding Your Focus When a Million Things Matter

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

It’s hard to find focus when you have a million and one things pulling you in different directions. They say that showing up is the first step to success, and while this is true, if you show up and you’re not sure where to start, you’re not bound to be successful at getting anything done.

I’m currently taking a course that helps me get my… well… you know what together. After years of chronic planning, to-do lists, task lists, dreaming, and wanting to get things done, I would get things done, sure, but I wouldn’t accomplish what I set out to do in the long term. I let fear hold me back, and that fear was something that permeated my every day in every task I did, copying over an unfinished list from day to day, hoping I would eventually get everything done.

Now, planning is just something I do. I love my lists, my tasks, my deadlines I set for myself. But when you’re looking at those and they’re not prioritized in a way that gets you motivated, that makes you happy, or makes you strive to achieve them, then you’re bound not to get them done because they don’t help you reach your overall goal. Pointing yourself towards the bigger picture with goals in mind that are prioritized is something that most people need to work on, and a small few have mastered.

If you’re one of those people that have mastered this skill, then kudos to you. It took me nearly my entire 40 years to figure this out, and a boot camp course that made me come to realize that even though I thought I had all my ducks in a row, there were a million ducks, and they were not in a row.

Photo by DESIGNECOLOGIST on Unsplash

So let’s go through a few useful things.

Braindump

I encourage you to sit down and get out a few sheets of paper and write. Anything that comes to mind that you think you need to do. Today, tomorrow, this quarter, this year. Everything you can think of that makes you think that you need to achieve those things to be happy. Write what you think you need to do for each item to achieve those goals as a list to detail them and bring reality to each goal.

Now prioritize them. Cross out things that will not help you or are not important to the overall goal. If your dream is to write a book series and you’re working on a blog that isn’t taking off and is taking a lot of your time but not reaping any benefits, perhaps that blog needs to take a backseat as a lesser priority. The book needs to come forward as your primary priority. If your dream is to have a huge house and the way to do that is to grow your blog, so you’re making income off of it every month to afford that house, then put the book series on the back burner as a lesser priority and the blog forward as the main priority.

Mark these in color coding if you have to, and number them from 1 to 4 as your most important to least important priorities. Find your focus, cross out what won’t help you in the long term, and place aside (for now) the lower priority items. Once you’ve done that, you’ll find you’re more focused and ready to plan for what really matters to you.

Photo by Donald Giannatti on Unsplash

Finding Your Focus

Finding your focus is easier said than done. Sometimes this takes some soul searching, and the brain dump above can serve as an exercise that will help with that in asking yourself what is really important to you. I did a vision board, and I encourage everyone to do this once a year, and while at first, I found it to be silly doing one, I found it really focused me on what I was working towards in my ideal life. I may not reach all of those goals, and I may not hit every item on my bucket list. However, I know now where I need to move towards and map my way to get there.

Your focus will differ from what everyone else thinks it needs to be, and realize that you’re probably not going to reach every mark that you try to reach for. If you do, that’s fantastic, but don’t be demoralized if you don’t. You’re working towards something that inspires, motivates, and makes you happy for a better life, and that matters the most. Finding that joy in your every day because you’re looking forward and not back can be an enlightening experience.

Fear will be something you’ll likely battle with. What if I can’t… what if I don’t… what if… these are all questions that will cross your mind as you’re only human.

Reach beyond that fear and realize that you haven’t come this far only to get this far. There is so much more potential before you, no matter what stage you are in your life. Prioritize, focus, reach beyond fear, and you will master the art of being a better, more productive you than you thought you could be.