7 steps to end procrastination and sharpen your focus

Have you ever experienced an infinite loop of wasting time? It’s likely you often do. At Harvard University, they say people get distracted every three minutes. It then takes 15 minutes to regain the same level of focus.

The dreaded infinite loop of time-wasting is the process of starting something and hitting a delay every three minutes, which then significantly stretches out the time it takes for you to complete a task.

To get out of this cycle and gain clarity and the ability to focus on what’s important, try Daily Focused Time (DFT). This method is a simple process that you can repeatedly use at any time to align your conscious and unconscious brain.

The key is to never rely on willpower alone. Instead, rely on your willpower with discipline and structure. Here are the steps:

1. Ask yourself a good-quality question. It could be, What actions do I need to get done now? That is a focus DFT. Or it could be, Why is it I can’t get things done? This is more of a clarity DFT.
2. Write down the question, then empty your brain in a brain dump of everything in your mind, relevant or not. If it is there, just write it, write it, write it. You may quickly hit a mind block though. Push through and keep filling the page with everything in your brain. Keep focused and go with it until you’re done. The goal is to empty your brain and reinstall the relevant content so that the rest of the rubbish can be thrown away.
3. Read the inquiry question once again, and then grab a pen and circle 10 of the most relevant answers that connect with you.
4. The moment you have circled those 10, rewrite the 10 on a separate piece of paper.
5. Look at your 10 and circle five of those 10. Rewrite those five separately on another piece of paper. Then select the top three of your answers and rewrite them on another piece of paper.
6. Circle the most important answer, rewrite that one and cross out the other ones. I guarantee that the answer has filtered through your conscious brain and unconscious alignment and is the correct answer for you. Once you have resolved that, it’s magical.
7. If you find you have more than one important task to do, though, put them in order, such as No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3. Then get the first action done, get the second one done and then get the third one done.

With DFT, you will get through those tasks quicker because of your increased focus, which equals better results without the shackles of extra mind chatter.

Sukhi Wahiwala is an award-winning business entrepreneur, speaker and Forbes judge. He’s an expert on how the brain handles time management, distractions and procrastination. This was excerpted from “Techniques to put an end to procrastination,” (MDRT member-exclusive content) his 2020 MDRT Annual Meeting and Global Conference Virtual Event presentation.

For more ideas to increase your focus and your success:

• Read “Make every minute count”
• Watch “How a business strategy multiplies success” (MDRT member-exclusive content)
• Watch “How to get back on course”