It’s Tuesday – Ten Minutes To Focus? That’s All You Need!

“That’s been one of my mantras – Focus and Simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex. You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” ~ Steve Jobs

By Malla Haridat

A good friend of mine has wanted to pursue a writing career for years.  I’ve encouraged her numerous times as I think she is an amazing storyteller. However, she continues to find one excuse after another why she can’t pursue her interests as a full time career — health insurance, mortgage, job security, tough economy…

While all of these are factors that prevent her from realizing her dream, I contend it’s something else.  I think it’s her focus.

Now before you start telling me how hard I’m being on her, let me share with you that focusing is not something I do naturally myself.  As a matter of fact, I had to use one of the tips listed below in order to finish this blog post. LOL!

After all, today is a sunny Sunday afternoon.  The sky is amazingly beautiful. The sun’s rays are beaming and calling my name to come outside and play. But this blog post is too important to me. 

I believe there are tips here that will help artistpreneurs, who are working full time in a J.O.B and want to earn more money from their passion/craft. So let me share some of my strategies with you —

STEP ONE: CHUNK YOUR LARGE PROJECTS INTO SMALL BITE SIZE MINI STEPS.

I am the mother of a five-month-old. I work full time and I have a business that I am passionate about turning back into a full-time income.  While I have great support from family and friends, I still do a lot of heavy lifting on a regular basis. So, I’ve learned to value 10 minutes.

Yup.  10 minutes and a structured “Things To Do” list. 

At the beginning or end of each week, I identify the goals that I want to accomplish for the upcoming week. Then, I think about how to break them down into 10-minute increments.  It often takes some time to break down my goals into small tasks and requires thinking through the entire project from start to finish. However, after I have “chunked” my goals into those small steps, it’s much easier to complete them. 

And as my day progresses, a 10-minute stretch that I have all to myself will without fail present itself.  That’s when I dive straight in.  No more thinking, “What do I need to do now?”  I just scan the list and find one thing to complete.

I started using this system about a year ago and have found huge value in it.  While I don’t always get to complete everything, I do hit about 70-80% of my targets weekly.  And the more I have been using it, the better I’ve been about setting my goals and figuring out how to break them down.

The next two steps are: Find something bigger than yourself as your motivation and Get someone to hold you accountable.

I hope you’ll enjoy reading them as much as I’ll enjoy sharing them….next time.

Artistpreneurs, isn’t it funny how I was having a difficult time getting ideas flowing at first, but once I began writing, I exceeded Monice’s word count. LOL!

Stay tuned for the conclusion of my guest post next week. I wish you nothing but success in your business!

Fam, how about Malla’s advice so far? How can you adapt her ten minutes tip to improve your life?

Malla – Entrepreneurship Educator, Coach and trainer for youth business builder programs – is an inspirational communicator who builds people, programs, and possibilities. Her company, New Designs for Life, was awarded the New York City Small Business Award of the Year and has been featured in publications like “The New York Times,” “Inc.com,” “BlackEnterprise.com” and “Martha Stewart Radio.” Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

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