I always want too much... and can't focus because of that

[shaggles]

Hi,

Looks like a great place with friendly and smart people here. Maybe anyone of you can relate to my situation and give me some advice.

My situation:
I'm a 27 year old guy and started to make a bit money online after I finished my studies three years ago. I studied multimedia design and can do all sorts of websites. After my studies I got more into Internet marketing and I built up some websites. I like building websites and making money online but it was not the thing I wanted to do forever. That's why I started to build my own company that is going to sell customized fashion accessories.

I still make a bit of money (1400$/month) from my websites but don't really have the time to give them as much attention as they would need to make them a real success or keep them relevant in their niches. They are starting to make less and less money now since I don't have enough time for them.

This new business I'm going to launch is really what I want to do but I keep getting distracted by things I have to do for my websites. Right now they are the only source of income for me and I can live with that (I live in Bangkok so life is cheap).

My problem is that in this case and when I look back in the past I always started too many things and then ran out of time to make one really great.

I know now I should focus 100% of my energy on my new business but I feel not good about letting my websites "die". This is probably because they are the only source of income right now and give me a bit the feeling of achievement. I didn't see any return on my new venture because we didn't launch it yet. It is a complex business I will be getting in and needs some time to prepare but we will be ready in 2-3 weeks.

I have been doing GTD and other time and project management systems and think I do alright in this matter (there is always something to improve of course).

Choosing the right priorities is obviously not my strength. I also overestimate how much workload I can handle. I want to make everything great but in reality there is just not enough time for that. I would call myself a smart person and I know I can do really good things but I don't want to spend the rest of my life being mediocre just because I divert my energy to too many things instead of pushing one thing really far.

I just would like to hear a bit about your mindset and how you can stay focused on one project even if it is over a longer period of time without getting distracted or the feeling you want to start something else.

If you have any advice regarding my situation please go ahead as well. Any help would be awesome!

[smartile]

Hi shaggles,

I think you answered your own question. Choose one goal/intention/outcome and stick with it. Tenacity is key.

Stephen Martile — Personal Development Made Simple

[shaggles]

Thanks, but do you have any ideas, mind tricks or something that helps to stay focused?

I think it is a matter of perspective and how you see things if you want to be able to stay focused. I have a hard time to get my mindset right. Even though actually writing this here already helped me.

[smartile]

To be totally honest I have gained the most focus by clearly writing out my purpose. I carry my purpose statement on a laminated card in my pocket. I didn't get clear on my purpose the way Steve Pavlina outlines in his post; I went through a different process.

Once you've got you're purpose defined you'll immediately have a 'knowing' of what is important to you and what is not. This helps you focus and create your vision.

Now that I think of it, I'll create my own article on How to Find Your Purpose.

Stephen Martile — Personal Development Made Simple

[Matthew Haupt]

You know, I suffer from kind of the same thing as you sometimes. I want to write a book. Actually I want to write a whole bunch of books, put up a website, and write an RPG book, produce some movies, and the list goes on and on. But I know it all starts with the first book.

And I have a business to run in the meantime. But I like the business, too. At any rate, I know (or, I think?) I need to take baby steps with my crazy cool goals. For now at least. I am passionate about both. But Steve has written some great articles that can probably help you, like they helped me. Make sure you've read: How to Create a Personal Productivity Scaffold, The Abundance Mindset, and especially Microtasks.

You can't put more hours in your day, but you might be able to squeeze more into them.

[FrancescoBellafante]

If you are clear on the outcome you want to create, and you were honest when you created it and you still want that outcome, you may want to further distinguish why you are referring to "doing what you have to do" to pay bills while you start your new business as a lack of focus.

If you need the $1400 and haven't figured out a way to replace it with the new business yet, the old websites aren't a lack of focus. They are a means to an end. If you look at them as something that "failed" consider looking at the experience as a step closer to your next level of achievement or fulfillment.

You're working on what is next, while leveraging the value you created in the past.

I think I'm saying what others have said much more succinctly.

[realvagabond]

The book "Renaissance Soul - Life Design for People with Too Many Passions to Pick Just On" by Margaret Lobenstine might be an interesting read for you.

[Roman Budzowski]

Being focused for a long time is very hard. I can't do it myself, though try to do it everyday. I run a game development company. Creating a game takes 6 to 15 months (in our case). After few months of working on the game we become tired of it and it's natural that we look out for a new project. Running two projects at a time prevents burning out, though both projects take more time.

One man - one goal.
Two goals - one team.
Few goals - few teams.

cheers
Roman

[Matthew Haupt]

You know what? I've thought I should start a blog before. I really love writing sci-fi, and I have a lovely little galaxy of systems and planets I've concocted and played with for the past decade, and I really need to start putting it out there. I think I have some pretty damn good ideas for things no one has seen before. So after reading your response, here it is, heh. I dunno how fast I'll be able to write chapters, but starting it feels better than waiting for more ideas or to take more notes.

And yeah, J. Mathews is my nom de plume, for now, I guess. I'm going to check out that Renaissance Soul book, too. Thanks for the suggestion! Looks interesting.