How to stay productive when you’re easily distracted
Tips for Creative Business Owners Working from Home
When I started working for myself back in 2021, I had a hard time turning from employee mindset to employer mindset.
It kinda brought me back to the beginning of college. When you’re away from home, there’s no parents around making sure you take care of yourself, and the teachers don’t care if you show up for class or not.
(to this day, I occassionally have nightmares where I show up to take a final after not being in class all semester, and I’m not sure I’m even in the right room)
Little did I know the lesson in honoring your commitments for yourself would come back in full force a decade (or two) later. Success will likely come from just showing up and doing a little bit each day to move the needle forward.
The problem with showing up for yourself as an entrepreneur is almost entirely a mental game. You know what you need to do to get what you want. It’s the battle with distractions, procrastination, confidence, time blindness, imposter syndrome, (perceived) lack of skill, overwhelm with ideas, trouble prioritizing and having a hard time saying ‘no’….
(^^ all of which are barriers to productivity)
… means you end each day feeling unaccomplished and probably not getting paid as much as you need.
Those early days were a lot of hustle, a lot of staying “busy,” but getting nothing done, and more days without clients than with them.
Now that I’m 3+ years in, I’ve got clients under my belt, automations in place, and a functioning online eco system with new email subscribers every day.
There’s a lot of productivity tips out there, but none of them worked for my neurodiverse brain. I tried time batching, setting timers, themed days, you name it. When what worked for other people didn’t work for me, I kept trying until I found out what DID.
*No pomodoros used in the making of this blog post.
“Over 90% of buyers now expect businesses to offer self-service options.”
Before I dive in, I have to get something off my chest:
The BIGGEST thing I’ve done to help myself stay focused and get more done is to practice mindfulness. I say ‘practice’ because it’s something that I have to do every day. I prayerfully and intentionally observe so I can more easily pull myself back to my focus when I’m distracted. I also allow myself time to play and be creative— which my brain craves.
I can feel the eye-roll from my teenager as I write this 😬, but let me dive a little deeper— Living in this digital age is a blessing, usually. (I can’t imaging parenting in the 80s or 90’s without Pinterest, like my own mom did). But the curse of screens in our faces all the time is real. Everything we want to know about is right at our finger tips. Always there. In our pocket, in our hand, on our dash, on the arm of the couch. We’re reaching for it mindlessly. We scroll mindlessly.
Here are 2 simple (yet life changing) ways to train your brain to focus:
Do one thing at a time.
Quick multi-tasking. Doing one thing at a time will train you to keep your attention on that ONE task.
Don’t eat WHILE watching TV. Put your phone face down and take your hands off of it when someone is talking to you. Don’t just lower it. Don’t take it to the bathroom with you. Don’t open it while you’re stopped at a red light. Don’t zone out listening to podcasts. Don’t watch TV while working out (ok that last one is pretty advanced and I’m not there yet 🫠, but I imagine it would become quite mediatitve).
Allow yourself to be bored.
Giving your brain the flex space to CREATE rather than constantly consuming is huuuuuge. This is when your next great idea will come to you. This is when that creative solution will pop in out of no where. This is how you feel a spiritual connection with your life, goals and the world around you.
Ok. Done with the woo-woo stuff. Let’s dive in:
How to get more done
TL;DR index-ey version of what works for me to be more productive:
Creating extra time
Make it a game
Mind tricks
Prioritizing when overwhelmed
Outsource
Chunking
Ship it
Self Care
Tip #1: Start Your Day an Hour Earlier for One Specific Task
We’ve all been there: staring down a long to-do list, trying to figure out where you’re going to squeeze in that one task. For me, waking up an hour earlier has been a game-changer. Instead of worrying about when I'll find time later, OR feeling overwhelmed when something takes longer than I expected (which is often), I dedicate that early hour to a single task— that I don’t have to finish. Just crank out as much as I can.
The focus I gain from doing this is incredible. Personally, I use this time to gather content for my newsletter and blog posts. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say I wouldn’t HAVE a newsletter or blog if I didn’t do that. It’s quiet, distraction-free, and feels like bonus time.
Tip: Pick a small, but high-impact task. Starting with a win early in the day sets a positive tone for everything that follows.
Tip #2: Gamify Your Tasks for Instant Gratification
We all love that feeling of crossing something off a list—it’s a little hit of dopamine that makes us feel accomplished. One thing I found useful is gamifying my tasks. For example, in 2022, I set a goal to read 100 books in a year, and while the reading itself was enjoyable, seeing my progress on Goodreads was what really kept me going. You can use the same approach for business tasks. Create a visual checklist or use apps that give you that sense of progression.
>>Did I read 100 books in a year after 2022? Lol, no.
Tip: Break big projects into smaller steps so you can track and celebrate the progress, not just the completion. Get creative with a posterboard and sharpies and make something huge to put on a wall where you’ll see it every day.
Tip #3: Set Deadlines and Treat Yourself as the Client
If you struggle with staying on task, it might help to pretend you're working for a client—even when you’re not. When you’ve got client deadlines, there’s no room for procrastination. So why not set those same deadlines for yourself? Treat your own business projects with the same urgency and importance. Use a digital calendar and set alerts as reminders.
Tip: Write down due dates in your calendar or project management tool, and hold yourself accountable. It might help to work in a different room, and get dressed as if you were going into an office. Switch up the routine a little bit.
Tip #4: Prioritize with the "Glass and Rubber Ball" Theory
Not every task carries the same weight, and trying to do everything can leave you feeling overwhelmed. That’s where the "glass and rubber ball" theory comes in. Imagine your tasks as balls you're juggling. Some are glass (they'll shatter if dropped), while others are rubber (they'll bounce back). Prioritize the glass balls and let the rubber ones go when necessary. This mindset shift makes it easier to focus on what really matters without feeling guilty about the less important things falling off your radar.
I could probably write an entire blog post just on this one topic. Learning to prioritize (and say no) is hard, and it’s going to mean not doing quite a bit. But when it’s done correctly, it’s the most freeing thing.
Tip: At the start of each week, list your "glass" tasks and make sure they’re your top priority.
Tip #5: Delegate or Hire Experts When Needed
You can’t (and shouldn’t) do everything yourself. Sometimes it’s better to delegate or hire an expert for the things that you don’t have time to figure out. Sometimes it’s just not worth the brain power. What would take you a full week or more to figure out and implement, could take someone else a couple hours.
Whether it’s hiring a VA for a few hours or bringing in an expert for specific tasks like website maintenance, outsourcing is a powerful productivity hack. Most online service providers also offer VIP Days, which is a HUGE help. (click here if that’s something you’d like to explore)
Tip: Make a list of tasks that you struggle with or that aren’t worth your time, and find someone who can take them off your plate.
Tip #6: Break Down Big Tasks into Manageable Chunks
Sometimes a project feels too big to tackle, so you keep putting it off. This happened to me when someone asked me to make Christmas stockings—it seemed like a huge job I didn’t have time for. But when I broke the project down into smaller tasks, it became much more manageable. One day, I cut and embroidered the cuffs, another day I worked on the stocking pieces, and then finally sewed everything together. By breaking the job into steps, I felt less overwhelmed and made steady progress.
Tip: When a task feels too large, break it down into smaller, more manageable chunks. This way, each step feels doable, and you can chip away at the project without feeling like you need to do it all at once.
Tip #7: Ship Something Every Day
I cannot for the life of me remember where I heard this, but I know it was in a book (thanks, 2022 and Goodreads!). There is a lot of ‘advice’ out there for what you can accomplish in a day— the rule of 3, your can only handle 4 hours of deep work, 9 to-do’s every day, blah. ← If THAT makes your brain hurt, than you might like this idea…
Focus on finishing ONE thing every day. It doesn’t have to be a big thing. If you break a huge task into chunks, then finish ONE part of it. The book that inspired this thought used the term ‘ship it’. When you ship something, it’s gone. You can no longer tweak it, edit it, mess with it. In your mind. Setting a goal to COMPLETE just one thing every day WILL move the needle and leave you feeling accomplished, which builds confidence and momentum.
Tip #8: Take Care of Yourself
I know this is the most boring tip ever, but how’s your sleep? It's easy to overlook basic self-care when you're juggling a million things, but getting enough sleep, eating well, and incorporating some movement into your day can have a massive impact on your productivity. When I’m well-rested and nourished, I have more energy and focus to tackle my tasks. Even just a short walk can clear my mind and give me a fresh perspective when I'm feeling stuck or distracted.
Tip: Prioritizing your health isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity for staying focused and productive. Make sure you’re getting enough rest, fueling your body, and finding time for exercise to maintain your energy throughout the day.
Final thoughts
Productivity is NOT one-size-fits-all. (Most things aren’t, tbh.).
If time batching and Pomodoro timers don’t work for you, that’s okay—finding what clicks with your natural rhythm is key. I know that what works for my brain might not work for yours. But hopefully if you’re stuck feeling unaccomplished at the end of most days, then some of these ideas will help.
PS does anyone know the name of the book that talks about shipping??
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When I’m not wrangling kids, I’m likely drinking my 4th cup of coffee while scouring the world wide web to bring you the latest content on marketing, automations, messaging, simplifying…. so you can close that laptop, be more present, and make more money.