This week I was featured on the Women On Business blog discussing 3 decluttering hacks you can apply at work for a more productive day.
I mentioned in this post that there’s a myth that humans, particularly women are great multi-taskers. Although yes we can multi-task but at what cost?
A study of adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD using a neuroimaging and cognitive testing showed that when our brains are distracted it impacts our ability to focus and reduce productivity.
But you don’t need to have ADHD to know that.
My husband who proclaims he’s such a great driver with amazing spatial awareness says that it’s only when I’m in the car he seems to lose his pizzazz.
As I was saying, I don’t know about you but often when I walk into a messy room or office, I immediately felt overwhelmed and it’s usually because I feel all over the place, I don’t know what to do or where to start.
One of my mentors, Milena would say “what’s the most important thing for you to focus on today?”
It helps cut through the chaos and gets straight to the root of what’s important now.
Have you ever tried to just sit and think nothing?
No matter how hard you try to think absolutely nothing, a thought will pass by, sometimes it’s thought about thinking nothing!
It’s a perfect example of how our brain is continually scanning your internal and external environment even when you’re focused on a task. For example, you’ve decided to sit down and read a book before bed and whilst engrossed in a chapter, you remember you need to turn the light off on the front porch or set your alarm on for tomorrow.
So what can you do?
The ABC Method
One neat little hack you can do to help you maintain focus and prevent distractions is to use the ABC method.
A stands for aware.
When you thought comes into your mind you are aware of your options to either focus on the distraction such as stop reading the book and set your alarm or you can choose to let the through drift by.
B stands for breathe.
Take a deep breath and consider your options.
C stands for choose.
They make a decision; will you stop to set that alarm?
For more tips on being more productive whilst reducing stress, download The Core Basics Guide for Balancing Hormones Naturally here.
