08/08/2021
STEPS TO STAY FOCUSED AND ACHIEVE YOUR DREAMS:
"Be so good they can't ignore you"-Steve Martin.
Most humans have a dream or next level that they aspire to attain. Dreaming is quite easy, but working towards making that dream a reality is a different ball game entirely. This is because we are usually faced with a lot of distractions in our daily lives. If you want to be successful at anything, you must know how to stay focused on the path to achieving it.
“Learning how to rein in your thoughts and focus is going to help you to achieve your goals in life. Without focus, you can never achieve anything.” – Eric Phillips
To focus simply means paying particular attention to something or making something your centre of interest or activity.Every other thing becomes a distraction that must be given the minimal time and attention possible. Yes, you still have to give your time to other things (like household chores, laundry, cooking, eating, exercising, etc) because life(and living) must continue, while you are pursuing your goals.
Steps To Take To Help You Focus On Achieving Your Goals:
1. Mind Your Mental Health: Before anything can be achieved, your mental health has to be in top shape, because a troubled mind can hardly concentrate on any task. Go to your happy place. Create a happy place, if you don’t have one. A happy place is that mental space where we can retreat to, when everything around us seem to be overpowering and almost drowning us. It can be a sweet memory filled with beautiful moments or a place you have in mind to visit someday. Play that song that makes you smile and relax, recall a movie (or some scenes from it) that makes you feel good. Indulge in some light exercises (e.g. 20 sit ups or squats daily)-don’t overdo this so that it doesn’t drain your physical strength, while you are trying to build you mental strength. Meditate, if that is what does it for you. Quiet prayers are not left out too.
The goal is to get your mind in the perfect frame to handle your daily tasks. Ensure you sleep well too.
2. Set Your Goal And Create A Road-map: What do you want to achieve? Is it to get a certification in some months’ time? Then, that is your goal! Now, break this goal into smaller tasks like scheduling a month to cover 2/3/4 modules from the certification’s curriculum. Please note that nothing stops you from covering more modules each month, just ensure you do not fall short of the target you have set for yourself. This is why you should choose the number of modules you know you can conveniently handle. After breaking your goal into smaller tasks, break them further into weekly and daily tasks. e.g. topics from your chosen modules, to cover every week or number of pages to cover daily.
3. Create A To-do List: Your to-do list should include your daily tasks, a scheduled time for them, and the activities you need to engage in to have them completed. If every daily task is completed, you would realize that you have met the goal/expectation for that week, when taking stock, at the end of the week. Ensure your tasks are achievable ones and not tasks that will end up stretching you to your limit and leaving you drained. This is to ensure that your mental health is protected too. Just like it feels good to complete each day’s task, it can make you feel sh*tty too, when you are unable to achieve them and, sometimes, that is enough to make you want to quit.
The list of tasks to accomplish for the next day should be create a day before.
4. Set Deadlines: Procrastinating on tasks to be done is one of the easiest traps and routines to fall into, especially when there is no one breathing down your neck to meet deadlines. Set deadlines and stick to them. Reward yourself when you meet/beat your deadlines.
“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.” – Zig Ziglar
5. Remove The Usual Predictable Distractions: Do all you can to prevent the usual distractions. Phones should be placed on silent mode and kept somewhere not close to you,so as to see every missed call and get to return them during your breaks or when you are through, if you do not have breaks. Avoid social media and TVs during task times too-unless they are a part of the things to aid in you getting the task done. Headphones can help here too. Intimate your friends, colleagues and family members that you are usually busy during your scheduled task times. This is to make them understand that you will not be reachable during that time and that you consider them an important part of your success journey to include them in your plan.
6. Take On One Task At A Time: It is cool to say ”I can multitask”, but that should not be the case when it comes to focusing on getting your tasks done. Take them, one at a time. Ensure you finish every task you start, before moving on to another.
7. Know And Use Your Best Moments: People are different, so they have different peak performance times. Know yours and use it to accomplish your daily task.
8. Watch What You Eat: Do not eat too much, else there is the probability that you will end up sleeping off. Also do not be hungry because when you are hungry, nothing can get into your head and when that happens, nothing meaningful can be achieved.
“Having beautiful plans is easy. Ex*****on is hard. Will you be focused enough?” – Maxime Lagacé
9. Reward Yourself: Set up a reward system that allows you to get something at the end of a successful week/month.
10. Never Lose Focus Of The Big Picture:Never forget your end game. Irrespective of how things are going, never forget why you started out on this journey in the first place. Looking at the goal and the steps you have covered helps in keeping the spirit alive.
These are the steps that have worked well for me,but I am sure there are other steps that have worked for others too.I would be grateful,if you could share,some of those effective steps you have taken before, in the comment section.
Thanks for reading.
