Winning the War Against Distractions: Strategies for Entrepreneurs

Mastering Focus: Overcoming Distractions to Boost Your Business

In this episode of the Quality of Life Podcast, Erin Olson addresses the importance of maintaining focus and minimizing distractions to achieve business success. Sharing personal experiences and insights from successful figures like Ed Mylett and Tony Robbins, Erin highlights the negative impact of distractions such as excessive news consumption, competition focus, and procrastination. Practical tips are provided to combat overwhelm and procrastination, including the 'Power List' method by Andy Frisella and the 'Five Second Rule' by Mel Robbins. Erin encourages listeners to prioritize their tasks and commit to forming new habits over the next 21 days for a more productive and fulfilling life.

00:00 Introduction and Episode Overview
00:23 The Confession: Battling Distractions
01:10 The Impact of News and Media
03:41 Focusing on Your Own Business
07:11 Overcoming Overwhelm
08:48 Dealing with Drama and Procrastination
11:31 Creating New Habits and Staying Focused
13:25 The Power List Method
14:15 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Resources:
Episode # 24 on Competition
Episode # 13 on Killing Overwhelm
Real AF Podcast on The Power List
Mel Robbins The Five Second Rule

Thanks for listening! I'm glad you're here.

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See ya next week!
Erin

Transcript

Erin: 0:01

Hey guys and thank you for joining me today on the quality of life podcast. I'm Erin Olson and my goal is to get you from business idea to big business. This week's episode is to help you to keep focus and minimize distractions so you can make your time work for you. Now, guys, I have a confession. I am speaking and coaching myself here in this episode right now because I have literally had this episode on my to do list for well over a week. And actually, it's probably closer to two weeks. I have allowed myself to get distracted over and over again, keeping me from the things that will actually move the needle in my world. And I have a feeling that you are feeling more distracted lately too. The amount of things that are pulling at our attention are at an all time high. And some distractions are so sneaky that only later when you look back, you actually realize how much time they took from you.. currently here in the U. S. we have been exposed to so much political crap and news and the internet is chock full of all of the things that really have no business on your business. And Really, I know that we think that we need to keep up on the presidential election, the local news, the Olympics, and weather and stuff, but really we only need to focus on the tasks that move the needle in our business and personal growth. You know, I was listening to Ed Mylett the other day and he was talking to a fellow billionaire about politics and asked him how much time each day he spends following the news or politics in general. And he said six to eight minutes. That's it. And Ed totally agreed with him. they both attribute this lack of time that's spent on the political drama as one of their keys to success. Think about that for just a moment. Two billionaires. That's with a B, billionaires. Only listen to the news for six to eight minutes total a day. Okay, now be honest with yourself. How much time do you spend daily reading or watching the news or other media? Well, let's dive just a little bit deeper into this. When you are scrolling or watching the news or anything, what exactly are you doing? You are focusing on other people's lives, right? Now, I know we need some downtime and time to do like the brainless activity, and I totally get that. I do it too, but you are probably focusing the bulk of your time and energy on other people's lives. Just let that sink in for a minute. And guys and gals, if you are a person who Spends their time following sports. Those are other people's lives that you're following too. And yes, entertainment is essential to healthy life, but so is focusing on the things that are actually going to help you enjoy your life and things that are making it better. I'm not saying give up TV, Twitter, Netflix, Tik TOK, and the like. I am just asking you to audit how much time you actually spend paying attention to what other people are doing in their lives. Okay, now that I'm going to climb down from my soapbox, How do distractions actually affect your business? Well, there are several ways. the first way that I found myself in my businesses to be distracted is by focusing on competition. Now, in episode number 24 of this year, I touched on this, but focusing on the competitors in your business actually pulls you away from your own business. And Tony Robbins, I think said it best, where focus goes, energy flows. And where energy flows, whatever you're focusing on grows. So we all know that what you focus on is going to expand or draw more of your attention, right? So, well, if you're focusing on what your business is doing versus what your competitor's business are doing, You are going to have more energy and more focus into your business. So just keep that in mind for a minute. Now, you also have to remember your priorities. Okay, what and who is the most important thing in your life and your business? You or them. I'm guessing you are the most important thing in your business, right? Without you, there is no business. So keep your priorities straight and focus the bulk of your time on what you're doing in your business. And let me just tell you that when you focus on the competition, that is actually putting you in the wrong mindset to be creative. victim mentality or comparing to what other people are doing squashes your ability to be creative. And I'm sorry guys, but you need to be as creative as possible in your business and not having that energy and that attention. can literally suck the creativity right out. So back in Hay Chix, we experienced a totally different type of distraction. and that type of distraction was in some contests that we were part of. Now we were in the Minnesota cup back in, I think, 2013. And That contest was an awesome experience. Was it all bad? No, but I do got to tell you that even though we grew our business by having a more focused business plan because it was a business plan competition, we actually were less visible to our employees and by being not as visible and not in the shop as often, we ended up having a slower production and a lot more drama happening in the shop when we were gone. And we all know when the shopkeeper's away, the mice will play, but we had no idea until much later how much of a distraction this competition actually was. We also had a distraction in the form of trying to be on a reality show. No, really? Well, we had thought about being on Shark Tank. We actually were more drawn to the West Texas Investors Club, which is a very similar idea, but it's with some cowboys and our product being a horse product, we thought fit in very well. But unfortunately we didn't make it to the show. And I think it was a blessing in disguise, but once again, it pulled our attention away from manufacturing. away from advertising, away from our marketing and all the other things that go along with running a business. So you just have to make sure that if you are going to be signing up for one of these, competitions or doing something else in your business to get more exposure, then you have to make sure that your return on the investment of the time away from your business is going to be worth it. The third way that I have personally dealt with distractions in my business is by becoming overwhelmed. And I know none of you guys out there are overwhelmed or have been overwhelmed owning a business, right? That is just not true. You and I both know it. So, business owners, entrepreneurs are probably all, to some certain extent, a little overwhelmed all the time. Now, overwhelm, I define as having so many things that have got to get done. And you are exhausted and don't have enough time to do them all. That is my personal definition of overwhelm. And I'm going to tell you, I have figured out in my personal life, what actually kills overwhelm. And I did do a whole podcast on this last year and I will link that in the show notes. But what really kills the overwhelming feelings is first knowing that it's normal. And I know that sounds so weird, but overwhelm as a business owner. is actually normal. The second thing you have to keep in mind is that action is going to kill overwhelm a hundred percent of the time. If you just move forward with what you can control, you will be better off and overwhelm will start to subside. Focus on the most important thing that you can do in your business to grow it, and and do it. That is what's going to kill overwhelm. Now, there is another thing that happens in business that can really distract you from the goal of growing your business. And that is drama. Again, this is other people's lives, right? I don't know why, but we always get sucked into the drama in other people's lives. It's just part of being human, I think. So one thing to remember is to not get sucked into drama. Keep your focus on the main thing. And the main thing is you and growing your business, right? now the fifth thing that can distract you from business that I personally struggle with, but am becoming much better is procrastination. Procrastinators unite, right? Oh my, I cannot even tell you how hard this has been for me to learn, but procrastination is something that according to LinkedIn, 80 percent of all high achievers have a problem with procrastination. So I'm going to consider myself a high achiever because I procrastinate, right? It's gotta be the same, same, right? Same, same, only different. Um, they do say that on LinkedIn that, 80 percent of high achievers are procrastinators. because of their high standards and expectations of themselves. So most people who are procrastinators tend to also consider themselves perfectionists. And this is a very dangerous thing. I'm going to tell you the book the five second rule by Mel Robbins, really helped me with this. It helped me to realize and be aware of when I'm procrastinating on things that I know I have to do and to just five, four, three, two, one and do it. Okay. So check out her book. It's the five second rule, Mel Robbins. It's awesome. You will not be disappointed, but procrastination is one way that keeps you distracted from doing things that you're supposed to do. Like guys, I seriously have been trying to do this exact podcast for well over a week and I keep thinking of other things that are so important to do every time I sit down to write my outline or my script or just hit record. So today I'm in my office and hopefully I'm going to kick this procrastination to the curb. the bottom line is the things that we put off and allow to sit on our to do lists are the exact things that are going to keep you up at night, making you have less sleep and keep you from your next level in business and personal life. I don't know why we make these things so hard because the second we finally do them, they aren't nearly as tough. in real life as we work them up to be in our minds. So guys, I want to help you out and give you something tactical. This is hands down the best thing to do when you start feeling distracted and start putting off the things that you know you're supposed to do before bed. Write down the most important things that you have to do tomorrow. If that is catching up on the most recent season of Yellowstone, so be it. I don't care what these things are. If it's planning your dinners, if it's working out, doing some yoga, I don't know what your most important things are, but write down the three to five things that are actually going to make tomorrow a better day. Then, when you wake up in the morning, before anything, except coffee. Do them before you do anything else, before you fire up your TV, your laptop, or even check your phone or emails because those things are other people's priorities, not yours. so take this time to not turn your attention to anyone else's priorities or lives before you tend to the things that are the most important in yours. That's it. That's the whole secret. Now guys, if you are ready, let's do this together and make it our homework for the next three weeks. Cause you know, three weeks is 21 days and it takes 21 days to create a new habit. so then after three weeks, we will see if we are better off. And I know we will be because you and me, we are doing this together. If we put our priorities first, our lives will be so much better. And as a side note, be really nice to yourself because any new habits that you start, you're going to have hiccups and you're going to fail and you're going to have moments of weakness where you go back to doing what you've done before. So just be nice to yourself and restart and do it again. Now, there is a tried and true method that Andy Friscella came up with to help you to be more focused and less distracted, and That is called the power list. Check out his podcast episode 16 on the real AF podcast for warn you. It may be some swear words. It's very brash and bold, but it is exactly what people like you and I probably need to hear. So go and check that out. I'm going to link that in the show notes. He does have a book called the power list that you can purchase, but he insists that you can do it without the book. Just any old notebook will do. And I'm going to tell you guys it works. So check out his podcast and get better at living life without distractions, then you can win the day, the week, the month. And yes, guys, you can win the year. All right, guys, thank you again so much for joining me today on the quality of life podcast. Be sure to subscribe, like, and share with anyone else that seems to be distracted by all of the noise out there. Transcribed And once you do the homework and put you at the top of your priorities, life is going to feel so much more focused. Well guys, I hope this helps. And I will see you here next week on the quality of life podcast. See ya.