To increase the amount of attention you have available to invest in what you want, you may need to recover some that you’ve invested in other stuff (i.e. that phone call you’ve been meaning to make, that mess in the garage you’ve been meaning to sort through, that pile on your desk you’ve been meaning to file, the stories you have running on a repeat loop – yes! all of these eat up your available attention).

Here are a few questions to ponder…

1. What tasks are consuming my attention even though I’m not focusing on them specifically? (i.e. things needing to be done… filing, taxes, gardening, repairs, cleaning, apologies, thank you’s, etc.)

2. What stuff could I give away, discard, or return?

3. What needs repaired or discarded? (i.e. sewing that button on that shirt)

4. What stories do I have that I could let go of? (i.e. “I can’t believe she said that! Who does she think she is? The very nerve of her!” repeat… or “He said he would clean it before he returned it! Look at this mess! I’m never loaning him my stuff ever again!” repeat…)

Public storage is a booming business because our stuff fills every crack and crevice of our space. Have you ever cleaned out the garage or your closet and felt freer, lighter? That’s attention detaching from the stuff and returning to your attention bank account.

Ever finally made that call or said what was on your mind and felt energized? We spend more attention on those “I’m gonna” thoughts than you might imagine. Just do it or decide not to… either way you recover the attention (hint: the relief is in the decision).

Download this simple flowchart to help you organize your stuff. Use it when answering these questions (and others like them) to help you recover attention so you can re-invest it in what you want. The flowchart is based on David Allen’s book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity and his system for getting out of your mind and managing your stuff more effortlessly…I highly recommend his book!

As you go through your day, notice what you give your attention to… you will likely be surprised just how little of it is what you want.

Take my What You Want Challenge and I’ll mentor you free of charge!
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