The Mindset Shift That'll Increase Your Productivity And Fulfillment

"Where shall I focus my thoughts right now?"

​I set this as a reminder to go off every 3 hours on my phone yesterday.  It was such a great reminder!  No matter what I was doing at the time, I paused and asked myself this question.  It helped me focus more constructively and intentionally.  For a bunch of the reminders, I was at work.  So, I was pretty focused on my work anyways.  But, the reminder brought greater intentionality to my focus.  It's a little hard to describe, but it was a subtle internal shift.  Each time, it brought me back to the bigger picture of what I was doing in the moment.  Each time, I broadened my perspective to consider, "Does this fit in with my priorities and goals?" 

I got the idea from an interview I heard of Brendon Burchard on Marie Forleo's podcast.  Buchard and Forleo are both amazing entrepreneurs, speakers, coaches, and authors.  In the interview, Burchard stated an interesting stat.  That the average person watches 4 hours of tv/day.  Adding that up, it comes out to 13 years over a person's lifetime spent watching tv!  Wow!  

Now, you may not be a tv watcher, but it could be youtube or the social media flavor of the day.  The point is that we all spend quite a bit of time in "distraction."  Now, I'm not talking about rest, spending quality time with loved ones or on self-care.  Those are vital activities that allow you to be the best that you can be.  

But, I'm talking about true distraction.  For me, I'll click on my Insta app, Facebook app, and then the Gmail app on my phone.  One right after the other.  Even if I just checked it less than an hour ago!  I don't even think about it!  I do it on auto-pilot when I have a free moment.  We all have our thing.  Whether it's going down the Youtube rabbit hole, or into the voids of the Internet world.  

Setting a reminder to ask yourself this question,"Where shall I focus my thoughts right now?" is so helpful in redirecting your focus and energy onto what really matters most to you.  Now, it could be that you ask yourself that question, and you're like,"I shall focus on Instagram!"  And, that's totally ok!  At least you gave it thought and awareness.  Shifting away from doing things just out of habit.  Instead, moving into intentional action with awareness.

So, give it a try if it speaks to you!  And then, let me know what you find!  Any new insights gained from this practice?  I'd love to hear all about it!  Leave a comment below and let me know!