How Being Pulled in Different Directions Can Impact Your Focus & What to Try Instead
Recently, I was working with one of our clients, and she mentioned knowing exactly what she needed to do during our Accountability Meeting time. Still, she was becoming distracted despite having very clear intentions surrounding what she was meant to focus on during our time together. As I questioned what was pulling her attention away from the task at hand, she shared an answer that I have not only experienced (too many times to count) but one that I hear so very often:
“There are a bunch of fires popping up!”
It’s safe to say that many of us have been in situations where our time is limited. We feel conflicted between focusing on the tasks that need our immediate attention or something else that comes out of nowhere. These “fires” can seemingly continue to pop up throughout our day; perhaps we’re fighting our way through said fires without the proper tools or strategies to combat these situations.
It’s natural to feel as though other events/situations are pulling you from an intended task, and sometimes there is literally nothing else you can do but readjust your day and do the best you can. However, there are also plenty of times when our initial impression is that the task is an urgent “fire” that must be tended to immediately, or chaos will inevitably ensue.
Here are a few reflective questions to practice in these “fire-fighting” situations:
Is this actually a fire, or am I placing unnecessary urgency on myself?
Urgency is a complicated little bugger - it’s easy to place it on a situation despite not fitting the guidelines. Consider really reflecting on if the task that popped up is something that must be dealt with immediately or if it’s something that requires a future plan to complete. You may also consider the long-term consequences of the task and the potential impacts it might have if you don’t get it done right away.
If this is really a fire, how BIG is the fire, and does it need to be tended to immediately?
Once you have determined something is indeed a fire that needs to be put out before it grows larger, you must dig deeper to remind yourself that not all fires are the same. For example, your child forgets their lunch - is this a fire that must be tended to? YES! Your child must have something for lunch, but does that mean you must drop what you are doing at 8:02 AM to bring it back to school, thus leaving your current task hanging? NO! This is a great example of a time when you need to put a fire out. Still, it is better served by looking at your schedule and revamping it to adjust for this new inconvenience of driving back to your kid’s school. Let’s look at another example - you are working on a task when your boss comes in to tell you that there was a large error found in the contract you are presenting to a client in an hour. This must be taken care of right then and there, given the time-sensitive nature of the matter. We would qualify this as a larger fire that must be tended to immediately.
How can I readjust my day?
Learning to adjust your day based on something unexpected popping up is a situation we are forced to face often. While it’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to run full speed ahead when faced with a “fire,” it’s important to remember to take 5-10 minutes to readjust and reflect in order to create a clearly defined plan or at least a kinda okay plan that lets you regain control of your day and not have it fall off the tracks. By having this plan, you can refocus and give your brain a new outline of expectations.
Will there ever be a time when we don’t need to readjust to account for the “fires”? Probably not, but that’s okay because the more you practice stopping and reflecting, the more likely you are to feel empowered that you are fighting fires with all the correct tools.
