Simplify Your Life - How To Get A Laser Sharp Focus

“Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.”

Charles Mingus

Every now and then we need to take time to reassess our overall objectives and to find ways to simplify our lives. The more simple and focused your thinking on a day to day basis, the better your results are going to be. No matter how smart of capable we are, if there are too many things going on in our lives then it is hard to really work at our best. It happens to us all at some stage. Whereas you were once carefree and able to focus on your tasks without distraction, you are now bogged down with a million and one things that play on your mind each day. Paying household bills, tax, insurance, seeing family and friends, working on ten projects at once, learning new things, reading, keeping up to date with work, keeping fit, shopping etc. All of these tasks sit at the back of our minds and make it hard to concentrate and focus our attention properly. The information we have to deal with on a day to day basis is often staggering and can cause you to feel stressed and hopeless. How can we possibly get all these things done with such little time in the day?

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”

Hans Hofmann

Simplifying your thinking means becoming more organized rather than becoming lazier. The key to all of this is removing the mental clutter that drags us down and stops us performing at our best. Before starting work on my new website project I recently realized that I had hundreds of other sites and projects lying unfinished and far too many things going on in my head. Over time I had built up a mountain of work and things to do that were starting to become overwhelming. This is a really frustrating feeling and it usually a good sign that we need to start doing a mental clear out. I could no longer find any time to concentrate as there were far too many things going on in my head all at once. To overcome this problem I started thinking of ways to sharpen my thinking and reduce the number of things I have to think about day to day. This helps me become more focused and clear about what I am trying to achieve. You can do the same thing by following these essential tips for clarifying your thinking.

Clear thinking is not a skill to take lightly as it can be a real time saver and help you work at your best. If you are the type of person who has a lot of tasks on the go at any one time and finds it hard to concentrate then these tips should help you out.

Get organized

The most import first step you can take in simplifying your thinking is to become more organized. Removing the clutter in your life generally means finding better ways to organize information in your life. The most effective way to be more organized is to find systems and software to keep track of information for you. Start off simply by writing your goals and things to do in a notebook. Once you start getting into the habit of writing out your to do lists etc, you will really be able to start focusing your attention more effectively.

One thing at a time

While it is tempting to try and juggle five tasks at once, it is just not practical. When you work, only do one thing at a time and try to do it really well.

Use software to help

There is an abundance of useful tools out there designed to make your life easier. If you struggle with organizing your life day to day then have a look for some personal organizer software, financial software etc. Even the simplest things such as the free Google Calendar can do wonders for getting you organized.

Keep everything in one place

If you have hundreds of documents lying about on your computer desktop then try and keep it all tidy and in one place. The more neatly and carefully you store your information, the more time you can spend focusing on your objectives.

Define your most important goals

If you are having trouble juggling hundreds of tasks at once then it should help to write down your three primary objectives on paper and keep your eye on the big three at all time. These are the three things that are most important to your life such as your business, personal or financial objectives. We can’t really work on that many things at once so by focusing on what is really important you improve your chance of success immensely.

Don’t procrastinate

The longer you leave your tasks unfinished the more come along, leaving you feeling overwhelmed. Learn to get into the habit of getting things done straight away and you will have fewer things hanging over your head. When you get bills etc, try and pay them straight away so that your mind stays clear and free from the worry of unfinished tasks.

Spend some time clearing out the junk that is clouding your mind and making you feel stressed. Start off by getting more organized and you will soon find your mind becomes free to focus on more important tasks.