We’re already into our third month of the year. Are you having the impact you wanted to have this year, or are you seeing progress in that direction?
Quite possibly, things haven’t moved along quite as you had hoped.
One reason may be that you’re getting distracted.
Distractions aren’t just a nuisance. They may be standing in the way of you having the impact you want to have.
What Are Your Distractions? Here Are Remedies
Here are the 4 main ways that most often distract my clients from having impact:
- Busyness
It’s so ingrained our culture that busyness is a virtue – an important sign that you’re doing something important. It’s easy to do a lot of things, but not necessarily valuable and important things, things that will help you have the impact you want to have.
Remedy: It starts with what you do each day. Really look at your daily schedule and activities through the lens of impact. Are they going to help me have impact? Eliminate the things that won’t. Also, give impact priority in your attention. Daily, do the thing that will help you have impact first.
- Misalignment with your priorities
Having impact is so much easier when you are acting in alignment with what is a high priority for you. What do you value the most? What’s most important to you in life and work? Your impact is a reflection of your values.
Remedy: In your list of personal values (e.g., honesty, integrity, and having fun), check in to see if you’re actually willing to act on this value, this Pull Priority. Which ones have you taken action on in the past year? Those are your Pull Priorities, the priorities that draw you forward.
- Not enough self-care
When you’re inspired by the impact you want to have, you can become driven and neglect your own self-care. When you support and nurture your own energy, that’s when you can really have a steady momentum and an ongoing focus on your impact.
Remedy: Most of the successful entrepreneurs and leaders that I’ve interviewed on the Work Alchemy podcast have a daily practice that ensures they consistently care for their bodies, minds, and spirits. Meditation and exercise are two of the ways mentioned most often that you can incorporate into your day for ongoing self-care.
- Relying on outside wisdom
As an entrepreneur, we don’t have a roadmap. That can feel both liberating and stressful. Without a roadmap, it’s tempting to listen to someone who will tell you what to do.
Remedy: Be discerning. Check in with your inner guidance to see if advice matches what your own intuition is telling you.
Staying on Track is Easier Than Getting Back on Track
Awareness of what distracts you is valuable, so take note of what your most common distractors are. When you have that awareness, you’ll notice when you start to get off track more quickly. It takes 23 minutes, on average, to return to full attention to a task after an interruption. Distractions also add stress and decrease productivity.
That’s a micro reflection of the implications of distractions. Imagine how much more complex and difficult it is to get back on track after wandering off it when you want to have impact with your business, when other people and business practices are involved.
To maintain momentum and have impact on a consistent basis and expand your impact steadily, manage distractions and keep your eye on impact daily.
For 3 tips to stay on track, click here for the Alchemy Assignment.
