Day 43: Attention Goes Where Intention Flows

I must say, today has probably been one of my most productive days thus far, so I will tell you what I have been doing differently.

First, I have been getting more sleep which not only decreases the anxiety, but also increases my thinking capacity. No more foggy-brain, means more ability to stay focused…thereby decreasing stress. Only makes sense really.

Second, I made a list of the things I wanted to accomplish today the night before. Now this method is NOT new to me; however my typical list is about 20+ items long and none of which usually get done - too overwhelming. This time though I narrowed it down to my top four most imperative, “can’t wait another day” items. Now I don’t know about you, or if it is just a woman thing…or perhaps just a Nicole thing, but I tend to have at least 20 things on my brain at all times. I call this the monkey-mind and I need to feed it bananas every now and again to slow it down.

Third, and most important, is focus. I typically get distracted very easily…OOOOOOO… SHINY OBJECT! Yes, sometimes that easily. I call it stimulation overload, and these days with all the technologies out there, multiple distractions, and media all vying for our attention, it is so easy to stray from our original objective. At least “I” am that way right now. I haven’t always been mind you. I used to have a tunnel vision type of focus when I was younger and was very productive; however over the years it seems as though I too have fallen into the trap of immediate gratification and the many life distractions. So the key here is focused intention and ATTENTION.

What do I mean by that? Well, anytime that my thoughts or attention would stray from my original four tasks…umm…let’s say FaceBook for instance, I would immediately ask myself three questions:

“Is it on my list?”

“Is this (new thought/distraction) absolutely necessary RIGHT now?”

 “Is this distraction taking me closer to or farther from my intention and what I want to complete today?”

If the answer to the above is no, then I get back to my list and remind myself how good it will feel when I have completed it. And it is true, I do feel good! It is really a matter of discipline I think, and reminding yourself of your end goal and why you are doing it. Make your “why” big enough to overcome the many distractions along the way.  At times if feels as though I am playing the roles of both parent and child; the parent who knows what is best for us to succeed (and unfortunately usually boring), and the child who wants to go out, have fun, and explore. Is this just me or is there anyone else out there picking up what I am putting down?

Anyway, I am happy to say that I have completed ALL of my top four tasks today and I feel really fantastic for actually following through on all of them. And just in case you did not know, here is a tid-bit of info for you:  the mere act of completing something not only gives one a sense of accomplishment but is also a sure way to boost your confidence levels too.

So go ahead and get focused! Ask yourself what is it that you want to accomplish today!

Even Santa has a list.