Need Help focusing? Here Are Some Great Resources To Focus Your Attention

So the new year has rolled around and you’ve probably read a thousand lists about how to streamline your life and focus your attention like a “freaking laser beam”. But really how important is this? How important is it to remove distractions like Facebook or constantly checking your email to increase your productivity? How important is it to focus on a single task at once? If you are anything like me then you’ll know that it is really important.

I am distracted by everything possible…

Facebook
Email
Clients
Twitter
My children
The kid across the road
The cloud drifting across the sky

Anything that can possibly divert my attention ensures that my focus is nothing resembling a laser beam.

So I have taken this opportunity to round up some of the articles that I thought were honest and straight forward articles on how to focus your attention on your work so you can get out from behind the laptop (or whatever you do) and get out and enjoy your location.

Here are a few articles that you should take a read through to help you focus your attention for the months ahead.

Reducing the Noise in Your Life

Christine Gilbert - The Uncomfortable Truth About Being Productive

Pico Iyer – The Joy of Quiet – this post is mentioned in Christine’s post and is definitely worth a read

Goals and Goal Tracking

Lifehacker.com – Five Best Goal Tracking Services

Aherk.com – Aherk! is a goal-oriented self-blackmailing service. With this app you set a goal for yourself. You then upload an incriminating photo of yourself… Perhaps the one you took of yourself in the bathroom mirror naked and flexing your muscles, or the one of you at that New Year Eve part where you were so drunk and the bottom of your skirt was under your armpits…

If you complete the goal (and your friends agree) then nothing happens, but if your friends vote to say you didn’t complete your goal then the incriminating photo is published on Facebook. I don’t think I would need any more motivation than people potentially seeing me starkers flexing my grossly inadequate biceps.

If you do you Aherk.com let me know you experience with it. Did you achieve the goal you set? Or has the world seen that truly hideous photo of you?

Joshua Fields Millburn – 100 Days With No Goals

Productivity Tips

Copyblogger.com – 31 Pro Tips for a Successful, Satisfying, and Insanely Profitable 2012

Timo Kiander – Effective Time Blocking Techniques To Boost Your Productivity

~~Morellos~~ Marelisa – 17 Ways to Be Happier in 2012
This article is a little general for me but I thought I would include a least one generic list of things to do.

Ali Luke – Are You Making These 7 Productivity Mistakes?

My 2012

I certainly need to start taking some of this advice as I have a massive 2012 planned. I am currently in Bulgaria, about to go skiing for 10 days and then we head to Western Europe for 3 weeks before heading back to Malaysia in the middle of February for some sun and warmth after a European winter. I have to say it has been a massive shock to the system after almost 2 years of temperatures over 30 degree Celsius.

Our 2012 plans

February – Return to Malaysia
April – flights to Sarawak, Borneo for a week
May – flights to Sri Lanka for 3 weeks
June/July – possibly flights up to China
September – we are considering flights to Australia for 3 months
December – Canada/US to start hopefully 12 months of travelling around in an RV

What are you goals or travel plans for 2012. Why not share them with us in the comments below.

Anonymous

Hi: I found some great articles that I hadn’t seen before on this blog post, so I’m glad I stopped by. I also wanted to thank you for linking to my “17 Ways to Be Happy in 2012″ post, although I would like to point out that my name is “Marelisa” and not “Morellos”. My article is general, but it contains links to more in-depth articles for each of the points that I make. I wish you the best of luck focusing in 2012. And your travel plans sound fantastic!

http://ourtravellifestyle.com Colin Burns

Hi Marelisa,Sorry I have absolutely no excuse for why I got that wrong I will duck in and edit the document now to fix your name.I included your article because it was general. I personally am a very black and white, task oriented person (can anyone say MALE????) but there are many others who would have found a lot of information valuable in your article… Maybe next time I should rephase the way I comment on a post Sorry again about the incorrect name.Cheers,Colin

http://twitter.com/timokiander Timo Kiander

Thanks for linking to my post

Cheers,
Timo
http://www.nunomad.com Laptophobo (Ricardo)

How timely! My New Year’s resolution was to turn off Facebook. The reason being much of what you’ve mentioned: it is yet another distraction that society (via me) have placed on ourselves (me again).

I’ve been back in the States for nine months now, this after 10 years on the road. And as I just now begin to plan the next phase of my (nomadic) life, I’m beginning to see just how distracting such things are as: putting things off, waiting by the email box, waiting for anything to change on my Facebook Wall — when I should be delving into my CouchSurfing replies to flat rentals in Budapest!

So, I’ll now stop blogging (is that another distraction?) and get myself busy to the travel task at hand — after I’ve scanned today’s headline news.

http://ourtravellifestyle.com Colin Burns

Hey Ricardo,

Sorry it’s taken me a while to reply, unfortunately still trying to get a handle on the commenting system while working on a new design for the site

I completely know what you mean about distractions

Good luck with the new adventures…

Cheers,
Colin

Hannah Loveplaywork

Thanks for this article- it is comforting to know other people are distracted/ overwhelmed too by all the ‘stuff’ that needs our attention! Still, travel always gets prioritised and this year we are pretty fancy free. Started the year with no plans and so far have been to Ireland, France and Utah, and it’s only February! Next trip will proabably be Ethiopia, who knows after that, maybe Spain, maybe Australia, maybe Italy….I love seeing what comes up, chucking the laptop in a bag and heading off (to be distratced and unfocused somewhere else!)