During the past few months, writing has been difficult for me. I would try to write, but I couldn’t focus. I decided to hone in on what what was keeping me from being able to work on my blog. My first discovery was admitting my favorite spot to write in had turned into one big work area. My daily planner, calendar, and home business materials kept staring me in the face. But my distractions weren’t just physical, they were mental too. Every time I looked at my phone, I noticed that I had around 2,000 unread emails in my inbox that I was avoiding. I knew I was procrastinating and it was affecting my focus. I also wasn’t taking the time to write down the goals and dreams I had floating around in my head. In other words, I let clutter invade without realizing it happened. The combination of my workspace and my mind feeling cluttered both contributed to my writer’s block, and the chaos I felt. Instead of staying frustrated, I decided to do something about my problem.

These three steps helped keep me focused

I wrote about clutter in the home before and ways to keep it under control, but clutter can invade in ways other than your physical space. I saw the 2,000 plus emails staring me in the face every time I looked at my phone, but I kept putting off going through them because it would take time to delete them. Instead of facing this task, I found myself scrolling on Facebook or Instagram. My procrastination was keeping me from being productive. One day I said enough, and I finally took care of those emails. I even organized the ones I kept into different folders to reference at later a date. Sure enough, I could think clearer without that task weighing on the back of my mind. For you it may be something other than a slew of emails you are putting off. You have to decide to take care of whatever that is, and then follow through.

I still felt disorganized because I was thinking about all these goals and dreams, but I had no plan to deal with them. I had read about making a vision board, but I was reluctant. Why did I need to put my goals and dreams on a board? My hesitancy to create a vision board had more to do with procrastination and overthinking. My overthinking told me, “You can’t do a project like this in August, this is better left for the new year.” I decided to ignore that thought by putting my plan into action. I admit I am not an expert on vision boards, but I did some reading and figured out the gist of it. First I made a list of goals and dreams that I wanted to see happen (keep a notebook or use your phone to record other things that come to mind you eventually would like to accomplish). I used a bulletin board and covered it with different colored pieces of construction paper that represented different areas of my life: faith, family, business, creativity, health goals and wishes. Next, I cut out pictures from magazines or typed out words for things I couldn’t find or identified an item to represent a goal. Then I either glued or pinned them to my different areas on the board along with any affirming words. Now I understand why people make these. You see visually those things you were only thinking about. It really does work!

The last step was acknowledging my workspace wasn’t functioning effectively for me. My kitchen table was home to my calendar and daily plans, plus notebooks and other business items. In addition, this table occasionally served as another work area for meal prep. This arrangement wasn’t working, so I finally decided to do something about it. I don’t have room for a desk, but I improvised a nook we have in a corner of the kitchen. You learn to be creative when you have fewer resources, like space, in your house. I utilized the nook as a place to keep my calendar and planner, and I made it inviting using pictures, memorabilia, and Christmas lights. I also moved my cookbooks to another shelf to free up more space for my business. I already had the trays stacked upside down and the small containers to help with storage, I just had to reorganize them. Moving my work to another area freed up my space at the table. Now when I sit at the table, I feel more focused and inspired to write. You will discover me here more often writing and sipping on a cup of tea.

If you want to limit the clutter that keeps you from focusing:

• Learn what easily distracts your focus.
• Stop procrastinating a task you need to do.
• Create a vision board to organize those goals and dreams you have been thinking about.
• Make changes to keep chaos to a minimum, including decluttering your space.
• Accept there are seasons of life where you are more productive than others-tell yourself it is okay to give yourself a break.

One of my goals on my vision board says: write for 15 minutes a day. It doesn’t sound like much, but if I follow through on my commitment, it will add up quick. There are other factors that can contribute to not achieving my writing goal every day, but I remind myself I can start over. One final note-I did take some time off on purpose from writing my blog and posting on social media. I needed to take a break for my mental health, which I have learned is just as important as resting for my physical health.

Comment with something you have been struggling to do because of distractions.