finding focus amidst chaos

Like most people right now, COVID-19 has tried it's best to take our attention from our daily lives, our businesses, and has us questioning what is this "new normal"...

It's no wonder that so many of us --- yes, me included --- have found it difficult to stay focused and productive.  

My husband and I moved to our place on March 1.  We barely got moved in when it seemed that the entire world took on a whole new meaning of what normal life looks like.

Things we took for granted, such as going to a grocery store, have now become a plan & prepare type of situation.  Visiting with friends, family, and colleagues is now all done via teleconferencing of some type.  I find myself looking forward to our weekend "Happy Hour" visits with our friends and I've never been so excited when the Duo Call from my family rings!  

But how do we take the situation that has impacted us to the very heart & soul and figure out what our new normal is so that we can remain productive?  The first step is being open & honest with yourself and everyone else around you.  Let them know that you are still finding your footing in this temporary new world.

Here are 3 specific, concrete strategies for how I'm continuing to stay productive and focused.

• Feeling overwhelmed? I've created a new daily planner that includes:
  • A morning journal portion
  • Listing my 3 top priorities
  • Listing my must-do work tasks
  • Listing my must-do personal tasks
  • An evening journal section listing my wins, if anything held me back, and where I need to implement a change
  • A section to keep track of my self-care routines like drinking water, eating healthy, and exercising
• Feeling distracted? Although you cannot control what's happening in the world, you can control where you are spending your time and placing your attention. I am, more than ever, using time blocking on my calendar -- for both work and personal.  I'm also being mindful of sticking to tried & true routines I find helpful & enjoy, such as morning walks.  I've also implemented new routines to help me fill the voids that seem to have been left by this temporary new normal -- I can't take an in-person yoga class so I've joined an online one.
• Trouble sticking with work/home boundaries?  This is definitely a big one for many that were not accustomed to having a home-based office or to those that have been working from home but now find themselves surrounded with children and a spouse all day long.  To help curb that grey line, try creating a routine at the end of each workday.  It helps me to set a timer 30 minutes before ending my workday so I can clean-up my work area & complete the second half of my daily planner.  I also turn off notifications and close my laptop so I'm not tempted to take just one more peek.  One super helpful strategy has been to let my co-workers know that 5 PM is my cut-off time and they help to hold me accountable and cheer me on when I report to them daily on how the previous day worked out.

I could feel myself being drawn to watching the news, listening to reports, and tuning more into social media than my own work so I stopped those poor habits in their tracks as soon as I could.

I have the time and the place for catching up on important news, working, catching up with family & friends, connecting with colleagues, continuing self-care practices, and being able to unwind both physically and mentally each evening.

If you are finding it hard to focus, be productive, or move forward with your business, I invite you to book a business strategy breakthrough session.  I'd love to share my Daily Planner with you and help you breakthrough any other struggles your business may be experiencing.

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