Staying Focused in This Increasingly Distracting World

You absentmindedly reach for your phone and open your favorite app. Nothing has changed since you last did this 10 minutes ago, but you kind of forgot that you'd just done this. Then you decide to check a different app… but you were just there, too, right? Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Sometimes, we convince ourselves we're being super productive by staying up to date with the latest news and happenings on social media, (especially over this last year), responding to emails immediately, answering every call, etc. The reality of the matter, though, is you are distracting yourself from bigger things.

When you're working your focus should be on work. When you're at home your focus should be on your family and your personal life. When you’re building a business, your focus should be that. When you’re growing and developing yourself you should focus on that. It’s time to take back control or you’ll never make a move.

· No More Notifications

Open your phone settings right now and go in and turn off notifications and put it away for a while. You don't need an update about who sent what Tweet yesterday, or what pictures were posted on IG, but it's time for you to see it now. You don't need to constantly expose yourself to a stream of distressing news updates that break your focus. Check your social media notifications at set times throughout the day and do the same for email, and ignore it the rest of the time.

· A Healthy Routine

Establishing a healthy daily routine can greatly improve your ability to stay focused. Once you set your routine and get used to it you don't have to waste time thinking about what comes next. It's why people like Steve Jobs did and Mark Zuckerberg does wear the same outfit. It’s why Oprah practices meditation in the mornings to start her day. It’s what will lead you to your success, no matter what that looks like.

· Prioritize

What does your day look like? What is on your to-do list? One of the best ways to avoid distractions is to rank your tasks in order of their level of importance. It can be overwhelming when you think about all of the things you need to do, but by putting them in order you remove the stress and overwhelm.

· Say No to Multitasking

Are you a multitasker? If yes, are you good at it? If yes, try to get bad at it! Sorry, but Your attempt at multi-tasking is slowing you down, reducing your productivity, and you're not doing each task as well as you could be. By multitasking, you contribute to distractions. Because you are constantly looking for a way to get everything done at once.

· Renew

When your schedule starts to get crazy, when the world is throwing distraction after distraction in your face, it's difficult to take a moment for yourself. However, renewal is vital for avoiding emotional overwhelm that can lead to depressive or anxious thoughts and feelings. As your energy dips, memory is fading, and you can feel the stress creeping in, it is important that you withdraw from what or who is creating that stress and take time to refuel, renew and regenerate.

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About Angela M Mitchell

Angela M Mitchell and author, speaker, and founder and CEO of Back to her. She is also a Certified Master Life & Personal Development Coach, a mental health advocate, and a Co-Author in the international best-selling collaborative masterpiece, The Image in The Mirror. She received a degree in Healthcare Administration from Bryant and Stratton College and has dedicated her life to advocating for women who live with mental health disorders. Angela also assists women entrepreneurs to acknowledge their struggles, change the narrative of the stories they tell, and rewriting them so that they can become deliberate, not desperate, creators of their own life's story. She guides them through a process of self-discovery that leads them to reignite their passions and to rediscover their God-Given purpose so that they can achieve the success they desire in their personal and professional life.