Ep. 85 Focused Work and Getting out of Your Own Way [Jumpstart Your Year: Day 25]

Happy New Year!

Welcome to the 2024 Jumpstart Your Year series, where we're coming to you every day this January with mini episodes to help you get reflecting on what's working and what's not in your parenting and productivity journey.

Our goal with the series is to create momentum and spark creativity so you can go into the new year with clarity and intention.

On Day 25, Kimberlyn reflects on the question:

What are some tips for getting focused work done (when you are your worst distraction)?

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Transcript

Kimberlyn: Jumpstart your year. We are coming to you every day this month with many bite sized episodes to get you reflecting on what's working and what's not in your parenting and productivity journey. Our goal with the series is to create momentum and spark creativity so you can go into the new year with clarity and intention.

Hey y'all, I'm Kimberlyn and it is day 25 of our jumpstart your year series. Today I'm going to be looking at the question tips for getting a focused work done. When you are your worst distraction and this makes sense that I am being asked this question because as the kind of productivity queen, I'm just going to say queen now as the productivity kind of guru on the podcast, the one who is obsessed with productivity.

Who is not always, you know, 100 percent productive, but is very reflective on how to really get into productivity mode. It makes sense that I'm being asked this question. So I would say, I think there are 2 things that we first have to consider when we sit down. At our computer to get focus work done, and we feel super mega distracted.

The 1st 1 is. When we are not able to focus. We need to look at, is there anything within me, right, that needs to be taken care of first? And this means things as simple as, do I need to go to the bathroom, right? I have noticed sometimes where I will be sitting down, I'll start scrolling, I'll start doing this.

I'm kind of like these nervous tics where really like the only thing I needed to do is stand up and go pee and then come back. Be fine ? I think that a lot of times we have been taught as kind of a, a society to suppress our bodily needs in order to work. I mean, just like think of, you know, like school teachers who have to hold it while they're teaching or I just, I feel like there is

a tendency especially with ambitious women to forget that we have actual biological needs when it comes to work. So I think the first thing is really to like, is there something that I need to take care of first? Do I need to go to the bathroom? Do I need to eat something? Am I hungry?

Do I need To drink some water. Have I rested enough? I think sometimes even like when we're super mega tired, our focus gets thrown away off. And yet we, we assume that we're supposed to push through. And I think that when I. Realize that I'm way too tired to actually do this work then also giving yourself permission to go and rest to, you know, refuel to go for a walk.

If you need take a nap. If you need go outside and sit, you know. In the sun like a plant and, and refuel that way. Like, what is it that I need to do in order to rest and refuel and recharge so that I can come back to my work feeling, much more optimal than I am right now. So I think that's the first thing is that we first have to kind of look inside and look at is there anything that needs to be taken care of first before I sit down to work? The second thing I think is also very much a valid question when we sit down to get, to get focus work done is, is this the thing that I'm supposed to be doing right now? I think that sometimes we try to get Activities done or tasks done where there are two or three steps that we have skipped.

Or, for example, if it is a large task and we do not know where to start, and we look at it and it's such a daunting assignment that obviously we're going to get distracted because we are scared shitless. We don't know how to start this. We don't know what to start with.

And I think that that needs to first be taken, you know, care of that needs to be addressed. How can we break this into like little bits? What can I focus on first? What's the first step of this large task? Or am I trying to do something where I've skipped the steps? Like what steps have I skipped?

What information do I need? Am I missing in order to do this thing? And so I think that That has to also be addressed before we sit down and be like, okay, like, let's, let's focus because if we're focusing on the wrong thing or we're focusing on something that we literally cannot do because there is something else that needs to be done first, that needs to be addressed clearly.

And so I think that like those two things are really important, right? Like me, like, how am I physically? HoW is my relationship to this task? Right? Do I need more information? What information do I need? How can I, you know, take care of that first? And I think also, especially when it is large and daunting, and we're not really sure where to start.

This is actually where I will do like a meditation exercise or I will go for a walk or some type of repetitive. Okay. Movement action that can help me, like get outta my head back into my body and into that kind of inner knowing of what the next step is. So there are some like great, you know, meditations that you can, like five minute meditations you can find on YouTube to kind of get into that focus mode to help yourself, you know, gain clarity.

What I generally do is I will go into to YouTube or I'll just Google it of like meditation for, and then I'll put in the thing that I'm looking for. So whether it is meditation for clarity and meditation for focused meditation for you know, for kind of clearing the mind and you can find guided meditations there, or you can do, you know, a self guided or unguided, just simple mind clearing meditation where you just, you know, try to allow your thoughts to come in and allow your thoughts to go and, and really loosen that grip that you have on your, on your thoughts. So that's what I would do if I did not really know where to start is I would do meditation. I might even do a brain dump.

Sometimes there's so many things going on in the head that they just need to come out so that you can look and see clearly. You kind of separate yourself from the ideas by putting them on a piece of paper. That's also a really good technique for trying to figure out, like, what it is that you need to actually start with.

And so once you've got that all done, and you know what you have to do, but you are just, like, really resisting the work Or maybe it's just one of those days where you are feeling like you need a dopamine hit. And so instead of like, sitting down and getting the work done, which is not so dopamine giving.

I mean, it is once you finish it, but it's not an easy hit. That's where you need to kind of start, like, implementing simple techniques. And so my, I would say my biggest techniques are, really have to do with, like, decluttering the space. So obviously if there is any clutter that is getting in the way in my physical area, I will move that away.

Which, you know, like we've talked about before, I generally try to work in an area that's not going to be distracting but simple things that's like closing out your tabs. I used to be very, very resistant to closing out tabs when I was working because I don't know, there's like this sense of like, oh, my God, what if I lose it?

What if I lose the tab or I forget the website that I was on or whatever? Y'all like, favorite it, put it as a bookmark, something Put it up there and then close it out, right? You've got the link. You've got a direct link to it if you ever need it again, but close it out. And what I'll be doing, for example, if I'm translating, I will only have up the tabs that I actually need to get my work done because here's the thing.

When I am doing a translation, for example, and there is a word that I don't know, or there's a word that I'm trying to find the, the. Precise translation for and I'll go into, you know, the dictionary. So I've got usually in my tabs. I've got dictionary. I've got pros, which is a translation kind of platform for searching, you know, terms and whatnot.

And then I'll usually have like, Google or something. And if I even have my Gmail open, what will happen is I will go into the dictionary. I'll put in the word and then my natural. Inclination is to go into Gmail and check and see if I have any emails or go into, you know, social media and see if I have any notifications while I'm waiting for 1 page to load.

And this has happened many, many, many times is that it'll be like 20 minutes later, and I will have completely forgotten about the word search. I will be in my email, which has pinged to something else, which has pinged to something else. And I'm like down this rabbit hole. And then I'm like, Oh shit.

I was working on a translation. And so this is why I always say, like, close out anything that is not directly related to the task that you have. Because it is so easy, right? Technology is set up in such a way and notifications are set up in such a way that is so, so, so easy to go down a rabbit hole. That has nothing to do with what you're doing.

The same thing goes for your phone. Like, I will either put my phone on focus mode or on I mean, you can put it on airplane mode, like, whatever works for you during that moment of like, Sheer focus if you do not want to get distracted by notifications. That's the best way. AirPods are also wonderful.

I love my AirPods because they cancel out the noise. They allow me to get in this like, almost like airplane mode for your brain. It's like this humming noise where you are just kind of in focus and you're just in your own flow, in your own world, and that's what I love about that.

If, for example, I need a little bit more grounding, you can also go onto YouTube and find binaural beats, which is just kind of like a frequency type sound, like music. It doesn't have lyrics, it's just, solely kind of this frequency and melody beats that you listen to and that really works for me, especially because a lot of the work that I do is related to language and is related to words.

And so as much as I love music. It distracts the hell outta me. I cannot listen to a song that I'm gonna be like singing along to if I'm trying to at the same time write, right? If I'm trying at the same time to translate, it just, it doesn't work. And so I need something that's going to ground me, that's going to keep me focused.

And that's not going to, to distract me even further. So that's one of the things that I will sometimes use if I'm finding myself. Like easily distractible. And then obviously, like you guys, I, I can't finish this episode without telling you about coworking. I found, and a lot of women that I have worked with have found that the simple fact of getting on a zoom call and having other women in their focus mode.

Is actually really beautiful for focusing yourself. It's it gives you that kind of added accountability. So, you know, that somebody else is there and sitting with you at the same time, and they are in focus mode and you're in focus mode and it and it has also been called body doubling. So, if you found that having a physical person in your space, sitting there, allowing you to get your focus work done, to not get distracted, obviously not somebody who's going to be talking to you the whole time because that's not going to work, but someone just sitting there with you I know a lot of people who are neurodivergent or have ADHD, this works really well for them because they need that added kind of like pressure to sit down and Focus.

So those are my tips for for getting focused work done. I would love to know if you guys have any other like specific tips, like what helps you focus? Do you find yourself getting distracted a lot? And how do you get into that productive flow?

So, all right, guys, if you like this episode, you might also enjoy the village, our community and co work space. We've got opportunities for connection, accountability, attention setting, like I said, co working as well. Check out the link in the show notes for upcoming meetups and to follow along with our daily prompts this month.

 All right, guys, see you next time.