It is definitely hard to stay focused and motivated in our hectic everyday lives. We are bombarded with technology and notifications on every step we take and it is becoming increasingly hard to unplug.
I believe that MOTIVATION is what plays the biggest role in our ability to stay focused. But how are we to motivate ourselves when our days are rapidly passing by and we don't seem to have a lot of influence on it?
The first thing you want to know is HOW you want your life to change, WHEN you want it to happen and WHAT you are going to gain with it. The obvious, yet extremely effective way to do this is to write a master plan - a concise list of your goals for the next 5 years.
One of the main mistakes that we tend to do is to be over-optimistic with out planning. That can have an adverse effect on us, since we never finish everything that we start, and even more importantly, we can never really focus on anything! That is why it makes sense to spend some time planning, before jumping to a new task - no matter how smart it might seem at the moment.
The simplest way to proceed is to take 5 sheets of paper and a pen, remove all the distractions for an hour, and begin by devoting each of the sheets to one of the following categories: Relationships, Career, Money, Self-improvement and Health. Start by writing down everything you would like to achieve in that area in the course of 5 years, no matter how silly the ideas might be. Try to keep them concrete, with a time frame and other details.
Then, take a look at what you have produced and cross out half of the things on every the list. Keep doing it, until you ideally have ONLY ONE goal on every sheet of paper. These are the main goals of yours for the next 5 years. Take a look at them and ask yourself: "Will achieving these goals make me happier and more self-fulfilled?". If the answer is yes and you can't wait to get started, you have chosen right! Otherwise, try again - it will pay off!
The hardest part is still not done, however. Having a plan is pointless, unless you use it regularly. To be successful at it, I suggest that you take another sheet of paper and write down 1 YEARLY goal for each of the goals that you have chosen in the previous step. Then, take another sheet of paper and create a MONTHLY plan; again, this should be no longer than 5 goals, one for every yearly goal. Then, create the same list for WEEKLY goals and DAILY goals.
The latter can be a bit different, since we usually get to do more than 5 isolated tasks per day, right? However, to keep you focused, you should write down ONLY 3 TASKS that you will do before starting anything else that day. This is crucial to stop procrastinating and GET THINGS DONE and move a step closer to your ultimate 5-year goals.
I have been using this simple system over the course of the last year and it seems to be working wonderfully. It takes you a couple of minutes per day, but it ultimately gives you an overview of what is going on in your life and it therefore allows you to focus on the things that really matter.
Hope I have inspired someone to start managing his or her time better. Peace.