Do you keep getting distracted? Read this.

Have you ever popped on Facebook “real quick” while you thought about what to do next? Or how to solve a problem? Or what to write next?

How often has Future You been grateful that you did that?

As I was settling in to write this post for you, this was my thought process:

What should I write about this week?

….

….

Ummmm….

Maybe I’ll just check Facebook real quick while I think about it.

MEL, THE ANSWERS ARE NOT ON FACEBOOK.

Oh hey… that’s a good topic. Thanks, self!

Does this ever happen to you?

Do you ever find you don’t know what to write? Or aren’t sure what to do next? Or you know what you need to do next, but you aren’t quiiiiiiiite ready to do it?

So you hop on Instagram “real quick.” Or you pop over to Amazon to order that thing “before you forget.” Or you pull up the grocery store app so you can add apples to your cart and while you’re there you might as well browse the clearance Easter candy.

Or is it just me?

I didn’t think so.

We know we react because it’s easy. (In case you missed that one, read this post.) Making a decision or starting the thing or writing the words is uncomfortable. So we avoid the discomfort by doing something else.

But how often is Future You grateful you popped on Facebook “real quick?” How often do you find the answer there?

Probably not that often.

This means it’s time to start asking yourself the question:

If the answer isn’t on Facebook, then where IS the answer?

When you feel that familiar discomfort and urge to pop over here or over there ask yourself:

What the question? And where’s the answer?

Is the question…

• What to start next?
• What to write?
• How to solve this problem?
• Who to call?
• How to have that difficult conversation?

And once you have the question, you can ask:

Where’s the answer?

And in doing that, you might have to figure out where the answer isn’t…

• The answer isn’t on Facebook.
• The answer isn’t in your inbox.
• The answer isn’t in your pantry. (This is where Mel goes when she gets stuck while writing. Usually to get a snack she doesn’t need because she isn’t hungry.)

So where is the answer?

• The answer might be in talking to another person.
• It might be in journaling.
• It might be in just sitting quietly and taking 5 deep breaths.
• It might be in taking a walk and clearing your head.

THIS WEEK’S CHALLENGE:

Every time you feel that pull towards distraction… or let’s be real… after you find yourself deep in it… ask yourself these questions:

What’s the question?

Where’s the answer?

Developing this practice will be a HUGE favor for Future You. Future You won’t have a cheese-it eating habit (like Mel), won’t procrastinate so much, and will be much closer to the answers and finishing The Thing than if you spent 30 minutes on Facebook “real quick.”

You’ve got this!

Love,

Mel

Your 5-Star Life Coach