How to focus on one thing at a time?

[hassan]

I have literally dozens of things simultaneously on my mind.I like trying new hobbies,learning new skills.But the problem is I remain still there after all the effort.Infact one of my friend describes me as:

Always busy doing nothing.

I just have too many plans to do everything.I want to learn every skill,every new thing to look cool,every geeky thing,anything interesting,quickly and without much effort.I feel like if I chunk down things or do them one by one it will take me years to achieve what I want.Thus the thought of chunking or doing things one by one makes me sick.

Moreover, whenever I do something I always think what do next to it,how i'll do the next thing,when will I do it,never really concentrating at the present task.Infact I spent most of the time imagining things and if I actually get to start something,the illusion of imagination is so captivating,I get bored of the work and try to imagine things,which makes me feel good at least for that moment but later you can guess very well how I feel..

So What I want to ask is:

What exactly is my problem in this case?

What is the most effective strategy to overcome it?

How do I convince myself to chunk down tasks and do them one by one?(Very important!)

Thanks.

[Sami]

It sounds like you're just plain overwhelmed. When you have too much on your mind and/or feel stressed, it's very difficult to know where to start and get forward movement.

Here's a great article I came across that may help; 3 Ways to Get More Done With the Power of Less.

I've used the strategies outlined in this article myself and have found them very effective.

[Matt Willard]

Actually, read a LOT of Zen Habits. It's great for finding direction and cutting out all of the junk to get to the core.

[FazK]

All i can say is pick one thing and stick with it no matter what. You will get distract but ignore those feelings and carry on with what you have chosen and trust that a higher power has led you to making the right choice

[Jon Tore]

I often get the feeling of having too much going on too .
I wanna learn and create so much that I end up doing almost none of them... or I get bored or find it too stressing to continue once I've taken a break from a project one day.

One of my tactics in the first place is to stop doing big favors for other people (especially things over the internet, like "Yeah I can edit a video for you!" and such.) That really makes me feel like I have too much to do.

I once read in a guide to increase mental power or something, that a good way to practise concentration is by finding a white image with a black spot, for instance. And then try to concentrate on that spot for as long as possible without thinking of anything else, just pushing all other thoughts bouncing in away. It's not easy, I always have a song looping in my head, and it's almost impossible to make one song or another to shut up for 10 seconds.
I might be tracking off a bit now though, but it might help you concentrating the way you want.

If you wanna learn 10 things or if you have tons of projects and you wanna do all of em at once, and they're all things that take a long time to perfect... pick one or two that you think would last more than one day... and once you get a hang of it or have a pattern, do other things too if you feel like it!
But obviously you can't do it all at once, so you have to chunk it down more or less I think.

The only other thing I can think of at the moment would be to just 'take a day off'... do none of the things, take a walk, count some sheep, anything that clears your mind Then try to figure out priorities properly!
I do this by playing guitar, but I admit.. I usually end up finding a neat melody, and whoopidoo, got another project going on...!

[Geek Entrepreneur]

I would suggest perhaps starting with one goal to focus on and write it at the top of a single sheet of paper along with an achievement date. Underneath your goal, list the steps (in chronicological order) detailing how you will achieve the goal (you may want to do this on a separate piece of papter first to hammer out the details). For each step, set a completion time to help you keep on track and on focus.

I would think by having a goal with steps and dates will help you stay focused. Hope this helps!

Wesley Craig Green

[Thekla]

I sometimes suggest that people choose a dedicated chunk of time (30-90 minutes) and one thing that they will work on. Then, keep a notepad beside you while working, and jot down a 3-5 word note about anything that distracts you and go right back to your task. At the end of your work time, you can do things from the list, add them to your other notes or list, or decide that you don't need to worry about them after all. Sometimes, this can teach your subconscious that it can trust you to actually do things later and not forget or dismiss them- that deeper part of you might feel reassured that you are taking it seriously and writing down whatever it was that felt so urgent in the moment.

[William Womack]

I am JUST like you. There's always something that is newer and better that I want to learn. Something to try, or achieve.

For awhile just spun my wheels and would try new thing after new thing. So many plans, so little time!

The best thing that I did to solve that problem was to sit down and write down a list of things that I HAD to achieve. Things that I couldn't live without.

And then I went after those things. Sure, things distracted me from time to time, and they still do. But I have my goals right in front of me. (The one in front of me right now is getting married. Which means financial stability, and emotional stability, etc.)

And as far as working and not getting distracted during the day, I do the things that I love to do! Something that is fun and enticing and I would do anyways, even if I didn't have to.

I took me awhile to find something that I really enjoyed doing. So don't worry about flipping from thing to thing. I think it's just part of a discovery process.

A good blog to check out for you would be Zen Habits — Simple Productivity

There is a ton of great posts here about simplifying, focusing, and finding your passion.

Hope this helps! Tell me what you think of the blog!

[Abitofzen]

Originally Posted by hassan

What exactly is my problem in this case?

Here are a few of my thoughts:

• You know what to do, but you don't want to do it.
  
• Some people get a kick out of playing a persona
  
• Whatever thoughts anyone formulates of you (including you), they aren't you. If you don't realize your self image is just an illusion (though it can be a useful illusion), you can become a slave to it.
  
• You don't sound like you are really clear on what you want

Originally Posted by hassan

What is the most effective strategy to overcome it?

Let go of the need to believe this about yourself... or use the belief on itself.

• How can you use this busy mental state to get exactly what you want?
• How is the perceived challenge working well for you in other areas?
• Why did you learn how to do this in the first place?

Do you know exactly what you want?

Originally Posted by hassan

How do I convince myself to chunk down tasks and do them one by one?(Very important!)

You might benefit greatly from meditation/hypnosis... create a peaceful space and then operate from there... but you might not. I offer a variety of meditations on my blogs... I encourage you to take a look. Energy Oneness | Inducing Consciousness | EFT

Are you willing to deeply accept this about yourself? Acceptance must come before change.

If there is not a clear, specific goal you know you want... find one! Write it down! Then take a few moments (or minutes, or hours, as time and attitude permit) everyday to take steps toward it.

You can start out with a specific plan... or you can just start moving toward it, and make adjustments along the way.

Once you have successfully created one small aspect of your life, it will get easier and easier.

The first thing to do is get clear on where you want to go... once you know your destination... once you have a burning desire to get there... then we can discuss how to get there in your current car... or tuning up your car for the journey... or maybe getting a different vehicle altogether.

keep smiling,

Ben

[sidsavara]

I periodically go through and cull extra "stuff" from my life. One thing that I use judiciously is my @someday list - I often have new projects I want to take up, or have my attention drawn in different directions. I just tell myself no problem, let's write it down and put it on the @someday list and we can look at it tomorrow or next week - lets finish what needs to be done today

Often I will look at that list a week or two later and realize I don't really care about many of the goals I wrote down - it was just something I wanted in that moment, but relative to all my other goals it's not really very important to me.

I think the thing that jumps out most from your question is I think you're doing a lot of what I call "metawork" - it's tasks that *look* productive, but that aren't getting you anywhere (or as far) as really digging in deep. I'm not criticizing, this is something I often struggle with, and I'm just putting it out there for you in case it might help.

I discuss it in detail in my article on metawork:

Are You Really Working – or Just Using Metawork as an Excuse to Avoid Real Work?