When someone tells you that you have a one-track-mind, how do you feel?
I don’t care if someone says that to me as an insult or compliment. It’s a statement about focus, which is a great thing.
There are tons of benefits of having a one-track-mind
What you focus on grows. If you’re intent on reaching your goals, having a one-track mind is the exact way to be thinking.
Most of us are goal-setters. We realize that in order to have the life and career we want, to reach the success we dream of, and to accomplish anything you have to be forward thinking. Enter: setting goals to get stuff done and move forward.
However, the villain in this story is DISTRACTION. It’s super-easy to get distracted and lose focus. Especially in the digital age.
Spend any amount of time on Facebook and you will probably find yourself doing something other than what you intentionally went there for. Maybe you wanted to post a new video for something you’ve been working on. Or maybe you wanted to tell your friends about a opportunity or project you’re working on.
But something happened along the way that made your intentional posting not happen as planned……
You got distracted by a different post that looked funny or grabbed your attention. Then you saw another post from a different friend that took away your focus. And the snowball of posts, videos, pics, and everything else began to fall.
At some point you might have remembered what it was you were originally going to do. But how much time did making that one update take?
I’m seeing the distraction-time-sucker take place a lot, even with me. I have big goals and plans that are more important than the distractions. So here’s what I’m doing to stay on track:
Being solid in my dedication to focusing on specific tasks to achieve weekly goals.
Call it having a One-Track-Mind
This means that I have to make a specific list of Action-Items for the day. I write down my goals every morning when I wake up and every evening as I lay down to sleep in a custom journal. My journal consists of:
- a grateful diary
- a list of affirmations I write by hand
- my goals for the week and month
- actions I’m taking to accomplish my goals
After I write my morning and evening journal, I read it outloud to myself to further plant what I want and am focused on inside me. The daily affirmations alone make a massive impact on my confidence to push through obstacles and experience success.
I’m already seeing exponential results. The practice of starting and ending the day with a clear focus makes a massive difference in getting things done, not getting distracted, and taking the appropriate actions for execution.
Putting a one-track-mind into its most effective gear for growth
Big picture goals are essential. Don’t forget, those who play the long game are those who succeed. Before getting started on my day, I write out a short list of at least 2 actions I’m going to take that day to bring the weekly goal into reality, creating more action and progress towards the monthly goal. Set milestones for steps you’re taking to move forward (action steps). Then break down a milestone to reach by the end of the week to make that big goal happen.
Focus and dedication is a compliment. It takes work, but it’s well worth it.
Break down your goal setting into incremental actions you can take each day to move forward. Stay focused on your goals and don’t let yourself get distracted.
“It’s not as easy as you say it is….”
Let’s be honest: social media serves more as a distraction vehicle than it does a connection or productivity resource. It’s useful and helpful in staying connected to your friends, prospects, customers, and others you want to network with. But it takes discipline to not spend egregious amounts of time jumping from post to post, video to video, and so forth.
If you need to take a break from your action-ing, give yourself a 15 minute window to break away. But be sure to finish your daily action-items so that you can win for the day. That’s how progress is made.
If this kind of focus feels like more than you can stay committed to, give yourself some grace and kindness. It’s hard stuff because we’re not trained in school to focus on specific tasks.
Plus, it’s human nature to follow your mind to whatever it wants to think about. Don’t give up on your goals. Be focused on fully completing your One-Track-Mind actions until they’re finished.
Get help in staying focused and reaching your goals here
Take this action now: Experience the difference that focus, clarity, and accountability make in reaching your goals. We don’t do anything alone. It’s my mission and my passion to help you grow, reach your goals, and achieve success in your life and work.
