3 Tips to Help Get More Focus

Time. Seriously, is there anything in the world that we want more of but use worse than time? I would argue that there are little things. Especially in our culture these days. We talk a big talk, scheduling our calendars until they are overflowing, always stating that things are "busy and good" when people ask us how we are (I am guilty of this too, by the way!).

In a culture that is captured by screens and constantly on the go and getting things done, it's time to get something new. FOCUS. Distraction free, real, genuine, productive FOCUS.

Let me tell you, it can be hard to come by. Like I said, our schedules are full. Add in five thousand notifications of every one of our phone apps dinging constantly, text messages and emails being received, a running grocery list bouncing through our head, an alarm clock blaring for some reason, the TV mumbling in the background, music playing from our computer.....stressed out yet?

I mean, really narrow in your mind what it feels like to have all of these going on in your life all at once. I know for me, it's stressful. I like moments of peace and quiet, I like my inbox to be sorted and replied to, and I like some organization and clarity.

But a lot of times, my life feels like the other paragraph, garbled, over saturated with notifications and noises and distractions. So lately, something that I have been trying to do is get more focus in my life. Real focus, like no distractions, no dinging, no notifications, no multi tasking, no noise, just concentrated focus.

While it takes effort, the times that I have gotten it right, it is so helpful, and definitely has increased my peace and productivity. I want to share the three top tips that I have from that with you to encourage you and challenge you to maybe try some of these on your own!

1. Work in 45 minute spurts without distraction, and then take a 15 minute break. Studies are showing now that people who work with this sort of schedule, and have focused work with no distractions and then take a 15 minute break are more productive. I have been trying this method and it helps keep me from mentally burning out or sidetracking and losing time. When you enter into this 45 minute/15 minute model, get yourself away from distractions. No scrolling, no multi tasking, just focus in and get it done. Then take an active 15 minute break. Walk around, start at nature, doodle, get away from screens and take a break.

2. Turn your phone on silent, put it in another room, or even put it on airplane mode! It may seem unnatural at first, and you might try to check your phone for notifications, but DON'T. While you are on your 45 minutes of working, make sure that your phone is on silent. So many times it can just be habit to pick up our phones and check, but then get sucked into scrolling and responding and getting distracted.

3. Don't look at your phone after the first hour you are awake, or the last hour before you go to bed. This one has been a challenge, but also very rewarding for me. It used to be that after I woke up, I would scroll through my newsfeed for a little bit and then get to work or do my quiet time. But, time can sometimes slip by way too fast doing this. We get caught up. Same goes for at night! Even more importantly at night, taking time away from screens for the last hour that you are awake will help your body prepare for rest better, thus allowing you to sleep better!

Do you do any of these tips already? Which ones help you focus in the best?

Creating More Time

Of course we have all heard the saying “we all have the same 24 hours in a day.” And it is true. Time cannot be sped up, and you can’t lose time. What we can control is what we DO with our time each day, and boy there is a lot to be done.

Since February I have taken a hard look at my schedule and my time and had to be honest with myself. I had to ask hard questions like “is this a good use of my time?” or  “is this adding any value to my life?” and “what is priority?” Because when it came down to it, I was wasting a lot of time on things that were not benefitting my life or getting me closer to my goals, and there is such beauty in life that should not be missed.

I want you to stop and think through a typical day for you. Just your average work day from beginning to end. What do you do first thing in the morning? Do you watch TV throughout the day? What do you do in your car to and from work? What do you do when you come home from work? Just think through your day and your life.

For me, I found that I was wasting time in a few big areas: waking up, playing on my phone scrolling through news feeds, and during my commute to and from work.

 First of all, I noticed that from the time my alarm went off and I was actually semi-functioning and getting going took about 45 minutes. Now there is nothing wrong with taking your time in the morning, but when I looked honestly at myself, I knew that I could wake up faster and get going faster than I was. So, that is one thing I have been working on, actually getting out of bed and getting going faster in the morning so I can start my routine.

The next thing was my phone and the scrolling through news feeds on Facebook and Instagram. Before you put up a defense, hear me out. I use social media every single day, it’s how I can connect with people, how I grow my business and a huge platform for me to encourage and inspire others. My problem with it was when I was mindlessly scrolling through feeds, clicking on videos and links that added absolutely no value to my life. It has actually fueled me more to put out things of value to encourage others in their lives. Now I set a timer or tell myself I only have 5 minutes to scroll and then I have to work and do my thing.

The last area that I noticed I could be using my time more wisely was in the car. I love music, but I honestly hate the radio. I don’t like listening to commercials and songs I didn’t care for were always popping up and I would have to change the station. So what I did was start listening to inspirational messages, trainings, and sermons while I drove to and from work. I absolutely LOVE it, I can’t even tell you. I don’t miss the radio one bit, and I have learned volumes of knowledge for free while driving to and from work.

These were the areas of my life that I found I was wasting time that could be spent more valuably. They may and probably will look different in your own life. For some it may be TV or video games. For others it might be doing meaningless tasks that just waste time. Others it might be gossip.

Whatever the case, I challenge you to really be honest with yourself and examine your day. See if you notice any areas that take up time where you could be spending it elsewhere. One activity you can do to really see how much time you spend on one thing is to track it. Grab a notepad and carry it with you for a few days and write down the start time and end time you do an activity throughout the day, and add it up at the end. It can be eye opening!

So let’s hear from you, what’s your biggest time waster right now? How can you convert it into a time saver?

Time Management Tips

“He’s making a list, checking it twice! Gonna find out who’s naughty and nice.”

While Santa may still be getting his list ready for Christmas time, he isn’t the only one who should have a list and check it twice. Today we are going to talk about how keeping a list is going to help you with time management.

Do you ever feel like you just have too much to do at the end of each day, or every task you thought you were going to do got piled on at the end of the week? I know I have gone through seasons of disorganization where I let life happen to me instead of taking just a minute to sort out my priorities.

When I started my fitness journey, I was a busy person. I had just recently gotten married, was working, and keeping up with daily life in general. It was absolutely hard to carve out the time to workout and make my health a priority. I had to make a new routine.

Then in April I started coaching with Beachbody while still working my regular job. I didn’t drop any duties, but picked up something new. Now it wasn’t something that I have gone into lightly, and I have actually found that my time is more organized now than it was before I started my journey.

How is that possible? A list, my friends. A list.

Every week I create a list of tasks that I need to get accomplished. They range from simple, like grocery shopping and cleaning, to more complex tasks that have to do with my business.

Let’s try a simple activity, shall we? Grab a piece of paper (or if you are more technologically inclined, open up a notepad on your phone), and write out all the tasks you need to accomplish this coming week. This could be chores, appointments, projects, etc.

For me, I put down things like: meal plan, meal prep, grocery shop, write three blogs, vacuum, clean the bathroom, clean the kitchen, do laundry, call three people, create a new curriculum, and send someone an encouraging note, plan a surprise for my husband.

These tasks are actually fairly regular tasks in my week, and are things that must be done outside of my regular daily routine (quiet time, working out, spending time with my husband, working my business, etc). Now, imagine if you had let all of these tasks slip by until your weekend. You would feel overwhelmed, wouldn’t you? I know I would, and have!

Now, your next step is to break it down over your entire week. When you divide and conquer and make each day have it’s own goals, I have found that a lot more can be accomplished.

What I do is grab a piece of notebook paper and put seven small post it notes across the paper, each representing a different day. I take the tasks from my list and divide it up, and usually end up with about 2-4 tasks per day, depending on the week.

This simple exercise allows you to have a plan and a goal for how you want your week to go, and what you want to accomplish. Now don’t get hung up on the list. Life will happen, and some things may need to be switched around. But at least you have a plan, and you know written in front of you what you want to accomplish every single day.

Every day I check my list in the morning so I know what my intentions need to be set to, and I check it at night to make sure I finished what I needed to. I encourage you to give it a try for a full week and see what happens!

What are some of your regular tasks for the week? Let’s hear them below!