How To Stop Losing Focus On Your Ambition
Readtime: 4 minutes
Achieving big goals requires more than ambition.
It takes focus.
But we’re constantly distracted.
So, how do we win?
It’s not just about removing distractions; it’s about outsmarting them.
Today, we’ll explore three unconventional strategies to help you stay focused and keep your ambitious plans on track.
1. Reverse Engineer Your Distractions
Most people fight distractions head-on, but there’s a better way:
Study them.
Rather than getting frustrated when you’re pulled away from your work, take a step back and analyse what’s actually distracting you.
Is it your phone?
Random social media scrolling?
Urgent but non-important tasks?
Once you identify the patterns behind your distractions, you can reverse-engineer ways to prevent them from happening.
Action: Spend one week paying attention to every distraction.
Write down what pulls you away from your focus and when it happens.
Is it right after lunch?
Mid-morning?
Do certain tasks lead to procrastination more than others?
Use this data to find patterns in your behaviour and adjust your routine accordingly.
For example: If social media is your weakness right after lunch, set a rule to only check it during specific times, or block access entirely during focus periods.
2. Create a ‘Not To-Do’ List
Once you’ve identified your distractions, take things a step further by creating a ‘Not To-Do’ list.
This is a simple but powerful tool to keep you laser-focused on your goals.
It serves as a reminder of what not to do during the day, ensuring that low-value tasks or habits don’t creep into your time.
Your list might include things like:
No social media before 5 pm
No accepting unplanned meetings
No answering non-urgent emails before lunch
The clarity of this list keeps you on track by outlining behaviours and activities that don’t contribute to your ambition.
Action: From your distraction log, create a ‘Not To-Do’ list based on what consistently pulls you off course.
Write down at least three things to avoid each day, and keep the list visible while you work.
For example: If responding to every email as soon as it hits your inbox is a constant distraction, add “No checking email more than twice a day” to your list.
3. Limit Decisions by Planning Your Day in Advance
Every decision you make during the day uses up a bit of your mental energy.
By the time afternoon rolls around, decision fatigue sets in, and it’s easier to get distracted.
To stay focused on your ambitions, minimise decisions about what to do by planning your day in advance – specifically deciding how you’ll spend your non-meeting time.
The night before, look at your schedule and pre-decide how to use any free blocks of time.
The key is sticking to it.
By pre-planning your workday, you remove the temptation to engage in low-value activities.
Action: Every evening, spend five minutes deciding exactly what you’ll do during your non-meeting hours the next day.
Write down 2–3 specific tasks you’ll tackle during that time.
For example: If you have a two-hour window tomorrow morning without meetings, decide tonight that you’ll use it to do specific actions on your top priority project.
That way, when the time comes, you won’t waste time figuring out what to do – you’ll just get to work.
In Summary
Congratulations! You now know three unconventional but highly effective strategies to help you protect your focus and stay committed to your big goals:
Reverse Engineer Your Distractions: Identify and study your distractions so you can develop targeted solutions.
Create a ‘Not To-Do’ List: Keep yourself accountable by listing the behaviours or habits you’ll avoid each day.
Limit Decisions by Planning in Advance: Plan tomorrow’s non-meeting time the night before to reduce decision fatigue and stick to high-value activities.
On A Personal Note
Since I started my own business nearly two years ago, I’ve struggled with what to focus on.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m highly productive during the day (using all the techniques from my Sustaining High Performance Masterclass that I run with big companies).
The issue has been deciding which big things to actually focus on, as I get so many opportunities to do different things. (Which is great, but you can’t do everything!).
In the summer, I narrowed this down for the rest of the year, so my areas of focus are now:
Delivering incredible Masterclasses
The feedback from companies is consistently excellent
Scoping out a virtual course, launching in January
Click here to get on the waitlist and lock-in a big discount
Growing my audience on LinkedIn
I’ve grown from 6,000 followers to 11,000 followers in the last 17 days
All alongside coaching some brilliant executives!
Having these areas of focus has really helped me decide what I won’t do each day, in addition to what I will.
“Focus is not saying yes to everything. It’s saying no to everything except what’s most important.”
I run highly effective corporate Masterclasses to help companies such as Bupa, KPMG, and Just Group plc:
– Sustain high performance without burning out.
– Use Imposter Syndrome as fuel for growth.
– Build a culture of appreciation.
– Enable brilliant careers.
Book a 20 minute call here to see if they’re right for your team.