Keith Goodrum

Gypsy woke me this morning like she does most mornings. We get up and go out into the backyard, and do the usual. Rocky J. Squirrel is there waiting for the morning chase, and Gypsy obliges. She will bolt after him and chase Rocky up a tree. After Rocky gets treed she will sniff around the yard and do her thing. Then we wrap it up with a play session in the back yard.

Except for this morning…

Gypsy bolted into the back yard after the Squirrel, or so I thought. I rounded the corner expecting to see Rocky, but not today. I’m shocked to see two deer standing in the middle of the backyard staring at me. The backyard is a pretty big, and they were about 100′ away.

In a flash the scene exploded!

Gypsy got about 20′ away from the deer when they turned and leaped out of the yard. Gypsy was in hot pursuit, and I was sprinting after her yelling; “STOP!” But I knew she had tuned me out and was focused on the deer. Our neighbor’s don’t have fences, so there was no barrier to slow anyone down.

There I was sprinting through the back yards calling for Gypsy… all by myself. Both the deer & Gypsy were long out of sight. While running along I was doing 2 things, calling for the dog and hatching a plan to explain to my wife how I lost the dog!

Fortunately, Gypsy reappeared casually trotting towards me… I was relieved that I could save the “How I lost the dog” story for another time. I was also glad to see Gypsy, because we are not far from a busy highway, and didn’t want her to get hurt.

As we were walking back to the house instead of being angry at her… I started thinking about her focus.

Gypsy is a very obedient dog, and that was only the 2nd time in 5 years I’ve lost voice control over her. She tuned everything out and zoned in on the deer. Nothing was going to take her away from her target. She had a singular focus & didn’t get distracted.

Imagine if we applied the same level of focus to our Internet business…

How much do you think you would get done?
What would your level of production be?
Would you have any problems creating content if you completely blocked out all distractions?

You know it’s possible to get to that level of focus. It’s really just as simple as making a decision. Then blocking out all distractions, focusing on the task at hand and getting to work.

Here are a few tips I use to keep me focused:

1. Unplug the phone – nothing kills time & momentum like a phone call. Hey, if it’s important they will leave a message & you can call them back

2. Turn off the cell phone – Unless you are a brain/heart surgeon allowing everyone and anyone to have constant contact with you is really unnecessary. Believe it or not… but I remember a time when you could take a car ride without a phone ringing! Seriously… it really use to be that way.

3. Close your email client/browser – This one can be a huge distraction while working on a project. The temptation can be too great to take a quick peak, if it is just sitting there.

4. Close all IM applications – Don’t think that if it’s sitting there idle it won’t pop up at the worst time.

5. Set a deadline – A deadline will force you to really bear down & knock a project out. You will be surprised at the power of deadlines. John Carlton said that deadlines are one of mans greatest inventions.

6. Give yourself a small reward for completing the task – This will motivate you to drive on and finish a task. Especially when you feel like putting it aside and “getting back to it later”. Any reward will work… like checking your email when you finish a blog post or reading your RSS reader after you finish one article. It doesn’t have to be a big reward… just one that motivates you.

So, what are some productivity tips you use to help you focus? Leave a comment, and share your best focusing tips.

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