I’ve been getting a ton of emails talking about how 2015 will be the year I can do everything I want. I can expand my business quickly and easily. I can be a social media maven in 10 easy steps. I can have clients who love me and my work so much that they refer me to even better clients. I can make more money than I ever have in my life. All I’ve got to do is…
I’m a leadership coach and I help people build their businesses. So I need to walk the talk too. I should be able to create clients who love me. I should be able to lead people to walk on water. I should be able to…well, you get the picture. The problem is that I’m human just like everyone else. So instead of writing my own “Honey Do” list for the year, I’m going to use part of my 2015 days to listen to what’s going on around me with more attention, more consideration and well, more focus. I’m going to embrace the distraction.
This doesn’t get me off the hook for those regular duties of the day, or executing my strategic plan for the year, but I’m going to pay more attention to what’s happening around me and why. During my office time, I’ll turn off the music, the TV and the people around me. When I’m at a meeting and someone interrupts a conversation I’m having with someone else, I’m going to listen to said interrupter. When I see a paper in my briefcase that needs my attention, I’m going to give it – rather than let it sit there for the next two weeks.
Today started out as a continue-cleaning-the-office day. Then I heard from a girlfriend who also works from home and we agreed to meet for lunch. I quickly wrote out an article that was on deadline and submitted it before leaving for lunch. I noticed a new consignment store next to the restaurant as I was driving in and made a mental note to go in after lunch to look for things I could get for my mom who lives in a nursing home and to look for formal dresses for one of the non-profits I lead. We had a wonderful lunch. I did some professional coaching with my friend; we talked about sharing our non-profit activities with each other and so forth.
On my way back to the office, I decided to make today a writing day. I’d had such great success with this morning’s article; I thought I’d continue the trend. I’ve a blog to which I promised to contribute, a blog on my own website to write, and several articles that await construction. Then there’s the distraction of the piles of paper surrounding me that distract by staring back at me. Relentlessly. The phone just rang and I spoke with my stepson on his way home from work.
There are always distractions, right? So will we get more accomplished with better results if we pay more attention to them, taking them one step at a time in the order in which they appear? Or will we become so completely distracted by them that we’ll get nothing done? Please let me know what works best for you. I don’t think there’s necessarily one great answer, but rather a whole lot of great ideas to test out. By sharing your ideas, you’ll help other folks like me who may have been stalled and/or overwhelmed by the volume of distractions we face. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll help one another to make 2015 our best year yet.
Oh wait, my cell phone just alerted me to an incoming text. Gotta go!
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