The Secret To Being Productive Online

The whole trick to working productively isn’t really a trick at all. The big trick, the big secret to being productive online is this... Work on ONE thing until you are DONE with that ONE thing. Regardless of distractions, how you feel, how many competing “BETTER THINGS/WAYS” there are to do it, all the way through to completion.

This is not to say that choosing the right thing to do, and creating a plan for how you will get it done, INCLUDING A TIMEFRAME, is not important... You can spend all day on organizing your file folders with the best category system or line up the MOST tidy box of paperclips, and STILL HAVE missed the biggest point, and not really have accomplished anything.

No. But i’m saying that choosing the right thing IS important. Priorities ARE important. But not as important as just completing a GOAL achieving project, from start to finish.

This is very simple. But its not as easy as it seems. There are endless distractions and life is messy. There is always a phone call, an email, a blaring and interesting line that comes out of the TV or radio, or your spouse, or.... NOT TO MENTION THE INTERNET IS THE WORLDS BIGGEST HARBOR OF DISTRACTING CRAZYMAKING.

The whole thing.. Really, and truly is to be able to do two things... First, DECIDE what you ARE going to do. This is tough because all the things that could potentially come up threaten to derail you or present you with a much more attractive, possibly productive, and ultimately better thing to do....

And two... Carrying through with that thing until you have completed it, without losing your mind or letting it run off into too many directions to where you lost the purpose of the objective.

It is a skill to be able to sit down on the internet and despite distractions, crank out the ONE task you have set out to do. Look left, your browser, your email, your knawing interest to jump over to twitter and get lost surfing for the next hour... It’s endless.

The next thing is that when you do zero in, figure out the next step, and commit to doing just that little piece, there is the tendency to feel like the massive workload required to actually make any real progress, by doing this NOT IMMEDIATELY GRATIFYING thing, is just hopeless.

There is an overwhelm, and that throw in the towel feeling again...

This is why working online in particular presents so many challenges...

The answer really has been the thing we alway knew was the answer but had at some point succumbed to the anxiety and overwhelm of the amount of “just keep making progress,” actually required to gain the momentum physically and mentally, and make real progress in our projects and undertakings.

Remember to keep it as simple as you can, and NEVER underestimate the power of TOTAL FOCUS. Distractions, excess noise, any atmosphere disturbing device or focus stealing shadow dweller, put em away. Train yourself to keep your work time as focused, and distraction free as is possible.

Keep it up my friend, Jamie