I just received a very timely joke in my email in basket. The story starts with a woman of a certain age going out to wash her car. On the way to the garage, she notices the mail on the hall table and stops to read it. Putting the junk mail in the trash can reminds her that the garbage needs to be taken out. Since she’ll pass the mailbox on the way out, she decides to write some bills to drop off on her way. These distractions go on all day. She jumps from activity to activity, never completing any of them. The joke ends with the car unwashed, the bills not paid, the flowers not watered, and our heroine trying to figure out why she didn’t get anything done even though she was busy all day. 

  No matter what our age, we can all relate to her dilemma. It seems that our list of things to accomplish each day gets longer and longer both at work and at home. We start to give our attention to one thing which reminds us of something else that is not getting done, or we start a project only to be interrupted. It seems that the only time we can truly concentrate is when we have an imminent deadline and are forced to work on one thing until it’s done. When the cookies need to be ready for the bake sale the next day or an important report is due to the client we force ourselves to concentrate on the task at hand.

 The ability to concentrate is a valuable asset in life and in business. Strengthening our skills in this area will give us a distinct advantage in accomplishing our goals.

One way to do this is to give yourself permission to concentrate for only a short period of time. For example, if you are working on a task that will take four hours, tell yourself you only have to work on it for the next thirty minutes (or fifteen or ten). In those thirty minutes, close the door and don’t answer the phone. Give all of your attention to the project.  At the end of the thirty minutes, relax and do something else. By working on the project in small chunks of time, you increase the odds that you won’t get bored or distracted and lose concentration. 

 Try this technique the next time you are struggling to complete a task and let me know how you make out.