Is distraction an enemy? My family is Bangladeshi-Indian, and as a result, I consistently feel this sort of stressed heritage-based obligation to “do Yoga.” So every year, as a committed mission to my roots, I purchase at least one new yoga DVD (I own a minimum of 20 DVDs. Yes, 20.) with the intent of solving my current life stressors, which (according to my mother) is based on unbalanced chakras (Of course. Duh). For some folks, it’s like a pursued Zen , but really, for me, it’s a competitive sporting event between me and the DVD instructor, evolving into a daily obsessive-compulsive yoga-boxing match. I’m fascinated with how this 30-year-old-guy (who’s real age is probably 72), goes perfectly and quickly from a “twisted peach-tree-backbend” to “downward-cat-on-the-dog-back-pose”, and then, of all things, yells at me to breathe (ok, he’s a yogi and yogis are too happy to yell). And so it becomes my annual obsession for months at a time, between me and yoga-man, until I “win.” So when can my personal yoga-sport become a distraction versus a focus in my everyday? It depends on the “main event”—if I’m in the middle of building a sturdy business proposal for a client, and I decide “Hark, thou must practice warrior-tree move” when this proposal is due in an hour, then yoga is a distraction—an interference to the mission. But if my primary goal is to beat my new dvd-yoga-instructor to the next pose, then yoga is the focus—the main event, for that moment. So part of defining “focus” is 1.) defining the main event (what the heck am I trying to do right now? 2.) define the time (when do I need to get this done?) Often times, we’re juggling what feels like 10 main events in a day, but there’s a few things I’ve learned from my own horrible uses of time—if there’s an existing distraction 1.) aim to remove yourself from it (your office with no windows, latest Facebook breakups, or the client-account with the talkative guy named Rudy—2.) set up protective mental blockades (I’m only giving talkative Rudy 5 minutes today to discuss his pet ferret 3.) keep the image of what you want in front of you—whether it’s simply your day planned out in your planner, or a vision board with some life goals (side note: when I put 4 baby girls on my vision board, my husband immediately started sweating, especially when I told him “I know yoga.”) The nifty part is that what we focus on grows—negative or positive. Ask yourself not to picture a pink elephant, and there it is in all its bright glory in your head. But, distractions can be a tamed enemy. What are your talking-Rudys? and how do you focus on your main events? I’d love to hear about it.
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