Get Rid of the Time Robbers
Greetings, Fabulous Traveler,
At its simplest, the science of habit is all about transforming your environment. If your environment is free of distraction and you’re using the right techniques, you’ll be much more productive. If your environment is full of distractions and interruptions, you won’t achieve anything.
So, Fabulous Traveler, adapt your environment so you have no choice but to start working meaningfully.
Willpower is overrated. As an example, if you’ve always got junk food in your line of sight, you’ll be tempted to eat some each time you pass by it. If you hide it in a drawer, however, you’ll be less likely to think of it because you didn’t see the package and it didn’t trigger the habit.
Put inspiring visual triggers around the house. If you like to meditate, put a meditation cushion within easy view. If you like exercising, have your exercising materials within reach. If you want to play more guitar, keep your guitar always in front of you.
So, Fabulous Traveler, let’s transform your environment to create your own den of focused work.
Removing Distractions
Your first step is to remove all distractions. Start with your laptop and mobile.
How much time are you spending on social media every day? Are you constantly interrupting your work to check Facebook or your email?
How many messages are you receiving by phone every day? Do you really need to answer each one promptly?
How many tabs do you keep open in your browser at the same time. Do you really need them all?
This Week
We have a one-time action and a challenge for you, Fabulous Traveler
Your One-Time Action
Make a list of all the distractions around you, then think about the strategies you can put in place to deal with them. You can use this kind of table:
| Distraction | How can I deal with it? |
| Whenever I work I listen music, but I'm changing the song every 5 minutes so I'm never able to fully concentrate on my work. | Instead of listening to music, I will use earplugs instead of my headphones to isolate myself from external sounds, or I'll listen to ambient music like rain or wind that I can find on youtube. |
| I check my phone each time someone sends me a message | I will put my phone on silent and only check it every few hours. |
Your Challenge
For the next 3 days, block Facebook, Gmail and other attention-grabbing websites when starting your work day. Put your phone away or in silent mode.
Do you accept this task?
Here's my own example: I quickly check my emails when I start my day, then I launch the Self-Control app to block all distracting websites, put my phone away in silent mode and isolate myself to do 2 hours’ quality work.
This is the time of the day when I get most of my work done.
We wish you a fabulous week, Fabulous Traveler!
