64: Focus: Our Most Precious Yet Rarest Resource

I could not believe that I was all of a sudden able to more quickly do really everything that I needed to do in my business in minutes compared to hours.

I'm Bonnie Christine and this is where all things creativity, design, business and marketing unite. I'm a mama living in a tiny town tucked right inside the Smoky Mountains, running a multi seven figure business, doing the most creative and impactful work of my life. But when I first set out to become an entrepreneur, I was struggling to make ends meet and wrestling with how to accomplish my biggest dream of becoming a fabric designer. Fast forward to today. I'm not only licensing my artwork all over the world, but also teaching others how to design their creative life and experience the same success. This I'm here to help you spend your life doing something that lights you up. I'll help you build a creative business that also creates an impact, changes people's lives, gives you all of the freedom you want, and is wildly profitable. Welcome to the Professional Creative Podcast.

I want to talk about what I consider to be our most precious yet rarest craft resource. Any guesses as to what it is? Yep, it's our focus. I think in today's world, where we're getting pulled in 1 million directions plus we have a hundred ideas swirling around in our heads at all times, our focus can be the hardest thing to really harness. However we learn how to do it, I think it's also our superpower. You know, as artists and entrepreneurs and leaders were constantly flooded with new ideas and interests and inspirations and the challenge truly lies in narrowing them down to the focus that we need to get to where we want to go. You know, before I had children, I used to have all day to work and I remember being busy all day and I didn't feel like I had any spare time. And so I was working a lot and very, very hard. My husband still had a regular 9 to 5 job and I remember being really worried about what my day would look like when I did have children. It did not seem like I had spare time. And so after I had my son, I got back to work pretty quickly and it didn't take me too long to get to where I really was accomplishing about the same amount as I had before in a fraction of the time. This had me thinking about why. It's the number one reason that I started studying time management and productivity because I could not believe that I was all of a sudden able to more quickly do really everything that I needed to do in my business in minutes compared to hours before. And this really meant that before I had to be very focused, I was wasting a lot of time either doing things that really didn't need to be done or just spending a lot of extra time on tasks that weren't necessary. And so I realized that I had a focus problem. And I shortly realized after that that it wasn't just me. We are all struggling with a focus problem in some form. And if we can find ways to truly effectively focus our efforts, we can reach our goals more quickly and more easily than ever before. And really, than anyone else. I think that our ability to focus is one of those things that I don't know if this will drive you or not, but truly, when you think about it, everyone is struggling with this. And so if you learn how to focus, really focus your efforts, then you really have a leg up on all of your competitors. You'll be able to rise to the top more quickly if you just figure out this one thing. So I want to dive into some very practical ways that I've learned over the years how to enhance and prioritize my focus in my day to day life. You know, before we get to them, though, I also really want to talk about the fact that as creatives and entrepreneurs, we do have so many ideas all of the time. And oftentimes this is why we struggle with focus, because we can't narrow down our interests and our inspirations. And I know you know what I'm talking about because some days it's like I don't know what to focus on because I have all of these different ideas. And so it's also difficult to, you know, work on one project for a little bit and then switch to another one because it seems like progress is just so slow. So. So what I've done to really, really narrow this down is to work with an annual plan. And I know we've already talked about this in a previous episode and we'll link that on today's show notes. Because annual planning is a huge factor in productivity. When I have an interest or an inspiration that I know I want to work on, I put it on my calendar. All I have to do is make space for it on the calendar and then I put it there, which means that I get out of my head, I get it onto paper, and it gives me permission to not think about it until the time comes. So if I have a new idea, I've got to really sit with my calendar and figure out when am I going to focus on that. This podcast is a great example. I wanted it. I wanted to do it for about a year before I actually did it because I needed to look at my calendar and make sure that I was putting it in a place where everything else lined up and I would have enough time to really do it in the way that I wanted to do it. And so if you have something, a project or a new revenue stream in your business or a new, new product that you want to work on, or maybe a new portfolio, make space for it on the calendar. Even if it's eight months out from now, you'll know that it's there. You'll know that you've carved the appropriate amount of time for that project, put it on the calendar, and then get back to what you were focused on today. I generally know that I can take on about one extra project per 30 days, meaning in addition to my day to day work, I can usually play or focus on one other big project every 30 days. And so if I'm doing a new portfolio, I know it'll take me about a month. If I'm doing a new collection, I know it'll take me about a month. If I need to focus on, you know, hiring someone for the team and onboarding them and everything that's involved with that, I know it'll take me about a month. So I just work that into the calendar. So if you don't have an annual plan or an annual calendar that you're able to reference quickly at a glance, then this is the number one thing that is going to help you really narrow down your interests and be able to focus on the day to day more easily. So let me share with you 10 things that I do in order to prioritize my ability to focus. The first one is to align energy and time. I think by matching my most impactful work with also the time of the day where I'm most naturally productive is a game changer because when you're most alert and energetic is when you should take advantage of that window of time for your most critical tasks. And this is one great thing about being an entrepreneur because that's not always in the morning or, you know, in a 9 to 5 schedule. So it may be, you know, late at night for you, or it could be really early in the morning, or maybe it's in the afternoon. But really stepping back and figuring out what time of day is your naturally most productive and then matching your most critical tasks, what I see oftentimes is that we'll sit down and, and really use that highest impactful time to take care of most of the mundane tasks or the things that we can check off quickly. And that leaves like maybe our lower energy time for our most critical task. And that just doesn't make sense. So align your energy and your time together. Number two is time blocking. And I love this one. I probably have talked about it a lot. I generally love to set aside two to three time blocks in a day that are dedicated specifically to doing only one task. That's the key. You can't do anything else in this time block. It has to just be the one thing. And this really allows you to get into that state of flow and truly do the best work of your day. Oftentimes it'll be the best work of your life. And so depending on the task, I set, you know, a time cube, I have this little time cube that will set anywhere from 15 to 20 to 30 to 60 or 90 minutes. It's not a clock, so it's not distracting. It's just a little cube on my desk and you flip it and then it'll just alert when the time is up. And so I'll link to that. It's just from Amazon in the show notes for today, but I love having it. And then I'll choose the most appropriate amount of time for the task and set the time block, which means I'm not coming out of my focus for this particular project until the alarm goes off. One of the biggest bottlenecks that I see creative entrepreneurs and small business owners experience is made by juggling multiple platforms trying to manage their online business. Can you relate from your website to your email list, to your sales pages? It can be overwhelming and time consuming and sometimes you have to wonder, are you a creative or do you just connect the back end of the entire Internet and hope it works? But it honestly, it doesn't have to be that way because I want to tell you about the platform I use called Kajabi. Kajabi is the all in one platform that I personally use to manage my membership, my online courses, my classes, my workshops, my sales pages, my opt in pages, and honestly, even my actual website is hosted on Kajabi. And let me tell you, it's a lifesaver to have everything under one roof. So my website, BonnieCristine.com and the podcasts website ProfessionalCreative.com are all entirely built out on Kajabi by me. I didn't have to hire a programmer or anyone else to come in because the designer is that easy to use. Kajabi honestly lets you say goodbye to the headaches of managing multiple platforms and connecting a million things. And it's like having a personal assistant for your online business because it also has a super intuitive interface and easy to use tools that help you manage your courses or your memberships or your digital products. Kajabi's customer service team is also top notch. They are always there, always happy to help and they're always rolling out new updates and they're always there to help you succeed. Trust me, I've put them to the test. So if you're ready to simplify your life and take your online business to the next the Next level, head on over to BonnieChristine.comResources and sign up for Kajabi. Experience the Free trial. I think you are going to love how it streamlines your business. That leads me to number three, which is literal removal, like physical removal of distractions. Your environment, my environment influences our focus so much, you know, and removing distractions like your phone or other temptations in your work area is going to be a game changer. So for me, I very literally have to take my phone and put it in another room because I think I have willpower around my phone. But I can't tell you how many times I'll be in a project and it'll get a little bit difficult and the next thing I know I'm on my phone and I don't even know how I got there. It just me hits, happens. It's like my urge is just to reach for it and you know, check Instagram or something. So I have to remove it in order to really, really prioritize my ability to focus. For you, it could be anything else. It could be the laundry that you can see from your desk or it could be like the refrigerator and the pull for snacking or getting another cup of coffee or whatever it is. Remove distractions when you recognize them. Speaking of refrigerators, number four is to optimize nutrition. Just hear me out on this. Truly proper nutrition is vital for our brain to be able to focus. And oftentimes this is about hydration. So even mild dehydration can impair your ability to concentrate. You also need carbs in order to concentrate. And so I just find that if I'm getting hungry and I'm trying to do a deep work task, I will just not do it very well. And so optimize your nutrition. Make sure that you're hydrated, make sure that you're not hungry when you're trying to do your best work and it will help you be able to focus. Number five is Workspace optimization. And by this, I really mean minimizing clutter if this is a sticking point for you. Now, some of us as creatives, I think we really come to life and, you know, the. The process and the mess a little bit. And so I do a little bit of both of that. If I'm creating art, I kind of like the mess. But if I'm at my desk and it's starting to get cluttered, you know what I mean, like with mail and uninspiring, you know, tasks and to do lists, then it stresses me out and it distracts me. So figure out what that is for you. I love a clean, well lit, comfortable workspace, and it really, really helps me just be able to focus. And I truly believe that wherever you work should be a sanctuary for your creativity. Go ahead and do yourself that favor. Number six is about doing just that one thing. I think that we all probably think we're pretty good at multitasking until you realize that you're just not. We are just not meant to multitask. This really sunk in for me recently when someone gave me the test to count up in numbers, but alternate my ABCs in between as quickly as I can. So, for instance, A1, B2, C3, D4. Because you know your Alphabet and you know your numbers, but you get, I don't know, I got to, like, maybe number eight and I couldn't do it anymore. And our brains just cannot flip flop in between those two tasks very effectively. And that's a simple project. So when we've got tabs open and different projects open, and, you know, our phone buzzing at us, and maybe people on your team needing something for you, then it's really, really hard to focus. And so there is great power in singularity. Multitasking might seem efficient, but I promise it leads to errors and overall decreased productivity. So just try this. Stick to one task at a time and prove it to yourself that you will create such better quality work if you're just doing one thing at a time. Now, the way that I like to kind of counteract that is with a simple reward. This is number seven of all of those, you know, multitasking things. After I finish a time block, I will reward myself with 10 or 15 minutes of Internet browsing, clicking all the things, checking my tabs, checking in with the team, looking at my email, checking Instagram, like, all those little tiny things that typically can just chop up your day immensely. So give yourself 10 or 15 minutes to do that, and then you're going right back into another time block. Number eight is about the structure of your day and being really intentional about it. So specifically, I love an established morning routine. Now, it doesn't matter what time it is, no matter what time you wake up, if you're an early bird or a little bit later. But starting your day with intention and like a regular routine will really kind of set the tone for the rest of the day. So this could include something like journaling or stretching or having a cup of coffee or all of these different things. I shared my morning routine recently, recently with you, so we'll link that in today's show notes as well. But I think whatever it is, having a routine that you do every single day that just puts you into the flow of the day is a really important part of being able to focus. Now, number nine, I only do occasionally, but I included it because sometimes it's really helpful. It's called a focus playlist. So typically I do my best work in silence. I love silence. This is not the case for my husband. He does his best work with sound, with music playing or something like that. And so there is one type of playlist, there's one playlist on Spotify called Peaceful Piano. And it's my go to when maybe I'm in a loud situation like a coffee shop or an airplane and I want to do some deep work work. This Peaceful Piano will just really help me go deep into my thoughts. And so on occasion I pull that out and use it. There are also playlists about like Brain Food, and there are some great apps I'm sure some of you are using as well. So whatever it is for you. But don't forget the power of a hyper focused playlist. Whatever will help you kind of get into the zone and help you maintain focus. Typically this is something that's instrumental or classical. Generally no lyrics, just something that really gets you into that zone. And then number 10 is something that I like to do. I'm calling it my paper dump spot. Okay, just hear me out and maybe give me a better name for this. But when I go into a time block, I like to keep a piece of paper next to me to jot down all of those things that are going to tug at my attention and I'll just jot them down to come back to once I'm exiting that time block. So for instance, that thing I need to order from Amazon or the, you know, recipe in the back of my mind that bubbled to the top, I need to get basil on my way home. Like it's Amazing what will happen when you go into a time block. It's like the whole world wants to pull you out of it. And so those things will kind of bubble up in your mind and you don't want to just dismiss them because then you'll try to remember them and it'll distract your focus the whole time. But you also don't want to break and go add the thing to cart on Amazon that you just thought about. And so instead of breaking my focus, I just jot it down really quick. And sometimes I can't believe how much is on my dump paper at the end of the day because I've just had all of these things pulling at my attention, and so I'll have them there. And then I'll use this, like, one session to just sit down and go through and take care of all the little things that popped up for me, little reminders and to dos that just love to, you know, knock at the door of your focus. So Those are my 10 things as a recap. Number one is align your energy with the best time of the day. Number two is time blocking. I have a time cube I will link in today's show notes that I love. Number three is physically removing distractions. Number four is optimize your nutrition. Make sure that you're hydrated. It affects your focus and ability to concentrate so much. Number five is workspace optimization. Number six is doing the one thing this is about, the power of singularity. Number seven is rewards. Number eight is to establish a morning routine to get your day started off right. Number five is perhaps try a Focus playlist. And number 10 is your dump spot on paper. Just remember that our focus is not a limitless well. It is a precious resource that is so fleeting and we need to nurture it and put it on guard as we venture on this journey together to be able to focus more and more clearly, rise to the top more and more quickly. Just remember to create the beauty that you want to see come alive in the world. And remember, there's room for you. Until next time, my friends. Keep focusing, keep creating, and let's make the most of our time that we are at work and being creative. I'll see you next time.