Tip 678: Even With Goals, How Do We Stay on Task?

From the Personal Development Workshops: Staying on Task

We’ve been talking about having goals. Objectives. Long range and short term.

A friend asked, “All this is good, but how do we stay on task?”  

Five suggestions: 

• Focus on the task. If you’ve used the SMART model, focus on the measure and the timing. What must you do? When must you finish? Drill those into your brain. Focus.

• Get rid of the distractions. Close your office door. Turn off your phone. Or mute it. Or “airplane mode” it. Take your work to Burger King, buy a value meal, sit in a back booth, and work until the task is done.

• Be a tortoise, not a hare. Pace yourself. Take the occasional break but return to the task.

• Build in a reward. “When I’m done, I’m gonna buy myself a Cadbury’s milk chocolate bar.” Do it. Finish the task. Enjoy the chocolate. Enjoy the triumph. Think of Timothy the Mouse as he and Dumbo fly over the circus ring: “WE DID IT!”

• Make a game of it. With recurring tasks, time yourself. See if you can beat your personal best. A famous English philosopher once said, “In every job that must be done, there’s an element of fun, and when you find the fun, then [SNAP] the job’s a game!”

What do you think? What are your suggestions? How do you stay on task? 

We love this stuff. We love it because it works.