Does it happens to you that you decide to write an article, but get distracted by doing something else — like reading random website to “research” the article or watching youtube videos to do the “research”.

How do you feel when you realize that you wasted last hour or a few hours of your time being sucked in the Wikipedia Blackhole or YouTube binge?

Probably not very good.

Let us talk about a simple strategy that has worked tremendously well for keeping the focus on what I am doing and avoiding such blackholes or binging.

Here is a simple idea: Thing you are working on (your “next action”) should remain in your field of vision at all times! If it is out of your sight, it is going to get out of your mind and your mind will have a very hard time getting back on track (or even realizing it is “off track”).

The problem with todo lists

Many of us keep a todo list and a daily plan. (Let us have compassion for those who keep all that in their heads! More power to you, super souls.)

But despite the daily plan, we have a hard time focusing on it. We realize that we spend time on other things, and we typically realize it too late in the day to do much about it.

It does not help to make a plan and not review it. It is important to follow the plan (or at least decide to “consciously not follow it”).

This is where where the above mentioned tip comes in action: to keep the “next action” you are working on in your field of vision at ALL TIMES.

This cannot be done on your screen as the tab or program it is in will not be on top when you are working on other things.

How to keep the next-action in your field of vision

I would recommend taking a 4×6 index card or 1/4th of a letter size paper and write your next action on it. Then keep it right next to your monitor, propped up so whenever you see out of the monitor, you see your next action. This is what you are working on.

This exercise of writing down your next action should not take more than 10-30 seconds.

The item that it written next to the monitor is not my day’s plan. Your day’s plan is not your next action.

This is the item you are working on. Actively. Right now. For the next few minutes to an hour or so, until the next break.

How have I benefited from this strategy? This has saved me so many times from going the rabbit hole of random apps and webpages. It happens because when I am procrastinating, I am not focused on my distractions also (procrastination is a habit), and when I look around, the first thing I see is this piece of paper that I am supposed to be working on.

And I go right back. I close the random browser tabs. I close the apps that are causing the distraction. And I go back to working on this task.

As an added benefit, it (the index card or fourth of the letter paper) is small enough that you can take it with you if you need to work in a different location than your desk or keep it with you if you are going to a meeting.

Try it and you won’t regret it.