Focus Booster:
How To Stay Focused During An Organizing Project

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Need a focus booster? Well you've come to the right place!

You know when you're trying to organize a room or space and you get distracted? Here's a tip on how to stay focused in that scenario and how to eliminate procrastination associated with this type of distraction.

focus booster to stay on task during an organizing project

QUICK BUT IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE: Letting organizing projects go unfinished, also known as The "Start Stop" Practice, is one of the ways in which we procrastinate and then getting organized never happens. There is a specific formula that will help you beat every barrier your mind puts between you and a clutter-free life.

Do The Opposite Of Nothing: The Ridiculously Simple Strategy For Serious Procrastinators To Go From Overwhelmed To Organized

Check out my latest book and bust through that procrastination! Available as a paperback, an audiobook and an ebook on Kindle but NO KINDLE NECESSARY. Enjoy!

One Focus Booster Tip That Will Keep You On Task During An Organizing Project

You know when you're working on an organizing project in one room but you get distracted for whatever reason and end up in another room? And then another room? And then ANOTHER room?? Then whatever you were working on goes unfinished?!!

It happens to the best of us, including me, but I've figured out a focus booster that will keep you on task so that this doesn't happen.

Let's say that you're working on decluttering your bedroom. You're sorting stuff and you're on a roll (pat on the back). Then, you come across something that belongs in another room like your kid's toy. You think to yourself, "This will only take a minute. Might as well get it done." You take it back to his room and notice that his toys are all over the place. You start to tidy up and find a cup that needs to be taken to the kitchen. You take it to the kitchen. No doubt there is a ton of stuff there that needs to be cleaned and put away, so you start doing so. The bedroom organizing project is a distant memory now and goes unfinished.

Does that sound familiar? Here's what to do instead.

If you are in the middle of an organizing project and you come across something that belongs in another part of the house, simply place the object by the door. By the end of the organizing project, you'll probably have a pile of things that need to be distributed. Leave a few minutes (or up to 15 minutes, depending on how big the pile by the door is) at the end of your organizing session to put those items in their rightful locations.

This way you don't get distracted, you don't leave the room AND stuff still gets put away.

Apply this focus booster tip to any projects or tasks and your productivity will increase as well.

Here are some examples:

Let's say you're tidying up the main level of your house, but you find a bunch of stuff that needs to go upstairs. No need to run up and down every time you come across something that belongs up there. Instead, put the stuff on the stairs, continue doing what you're doing and then bring the items with you the next time you go up. An important thing to note here is to actually bring the stuff up when you are on the stairs. Otherwise, you will have a stair mountain monster before you know it!
This can also be applied to running errands. Rather than running out every single time you need to visit the grocery store or the bank or the dry cleaners or the post office, try to make the most of your outing by doing a few or all of them.
It's the same thing when you are working on one task on your computer, but something distracts you and you end up clicking around. Instead of wandering from email to social media to the project you're supposed to be working on, set a timer for an allotted amount of time and focus on the task at hand. No clicking around allowed until the timer goes off.
I also apply this tip to the laundry. I fold all the clothes in my bedroom first and put them into piles for each member of our family. I then put away my husband's and my own clothing (since I'm already in our room). Then I put away each of my son's folded clothes in their rooms.

The bottom line is to finish the task you are currently performing before moving on to do something else. If something does distract you that will need your attention later, put it aside and/or make a note of it on a piece of paper or in your phone so you don't forget about it. Then come right back to the task at hand. Leave some time at the end to put away things that belong in other parts of the house, answer the text, call someone back, etc. This way you have completed your current project as well as tending to the distractions that came in along the way. Productive powerhouse!

[TWEETABLE] You know when you're organizing in one room but get distracted & end up in another room? http://ctt.ec/NOnfV+ @life_on_track

This is just one of the ways in which an organizing project can go unfinished...

The "Start Stop" Practice mentioned earlier can occur due to distraction like this blog post explains or it can be the result of indecision or being overwhelmed or simply not knowing what to do next.

If this procrastination method resonates with you, then you might be interested in The Procrastinator's Guide To Getting Organized.