Your brain is bubbling with ideas, you’ve got a design project, two phone calls to return, and a big proposal to write. What do you do first? How do you keep focused keep yourself from wandering off to something new, bright, and shiny….ooohhh blog posts… Twitter….

Eat the frog first

I cheerfully stole this from Bolaji. He doesn’t mean an actual frog. He means if there’s a big, ugly thing you have to do (like your taxes, for instance), do that first. Get it out of the way. You’ll feel better and can go on to something more fun.

Turn off your email

My second favorite new trick. If I need to write or think, the new mail sound is a big distraction. I turn it off for an hour or two, first thing in the morning. It’s when I think best anyway.

Got five minutes?

If you can do something quickly, do it and get it out of the way. Got 3 quick emails to write? Write them, send them, and cross them off your list.

Announce a deadline

Make it public. Your friends, blog readers, and forum members will nag you.  Remember, what you do is ship.

Get a buddy

Another way to be accountable. Get someone whose “job” it is to nag you. Then, you return the favor for them.

What tricks do you use to get more done?  How do you stay focused?  Share your ideas in the comments.

Image compliments of: NoShoes

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