Disconnect Yourself

.
Sometimes it makes sense to simply hole up somewhere so you can give your full attention to your task. When you have resolved that any disturbances in completing your task will not be tolerated, condition your environment for no distractions. Instead of going in to work, maybe you can work at home one day. You could barricade yourself in a room and post warning signs, take the far cubbyhole on the top floor, or find any remote location where you avoid distracting influences. Oh, wait, considering where you live, maybe you need to go to a hotel and book a room.

You want to move yourself totally away from others so that you have the opportunity to give your full attention to that which you want to accomplish. Often, you can accomplish in hours what otherwise might require a week because you’re that good when you’re not distracted!

Question: It sounds like a luxury to be able to allocate a block of time just like that. How many people can actually do this?

Answer: Nearly everyone has some discretion over how he or she will complete a task. If you have to leave your workplace for what you need to complete the job at hand, most bosses understand. After all, they’re not paying you to procrastinate.

In advance, identify those places where you will be able to work steadily:

* A conference room
* A coworker’s office
* A park bench
* The attic or basement
* A library
* A cabin at the lake
* The back porch
* A hotel room
* The car, while parked
* A picnic table
* An airport check-in line
* The children’s tree house

You’ll know when you’ve found the right spot. You’ll feel good, productive, and unhurried.

Once you’ve found your location, you still may face the challenge of maintaining concentration. Someone once told me, “I’ll get into a project, and I’ll remember that I need to be doing something else.” That’s procrastination phenomenon in full bloom: when you’re tackling something that is difficult for you to tackle, undoubtedly you’ll think of other things you have to do.

You task is to stay with what you choose to do at that time and let all the rest to go. That almost sounds a little callous – to let all the rest go for the moment. Once you’ve gotten onto that big project that you’ve been putting off time after time – let’s face it, you’ve let a lot of things go from time to time – you’ll realize that being isolated helps!

Come on now, what better use of your time is there than to complete what it is you’ve chosen to complete?



Regards,



Timben