Hello, March!
Come on in, take a seat, and don’t touch anything. Ain’t no March madness over here!
How y’all feeling about 2023 so far? This year started off very slow for me but that was very intentional. I usually write out goals for the new year sometime between October and December but last year I didn’t do this at all. I’m not going to lie, I started to panic a little in December because I felt like I hadn’t really heard anything from God concerning 2023. Until one day I was chatting with my best friend about goals and she (prophetically) encouraged me to give God a blank canvas for the new year. God spoke through her for me. I took those instructions and started the year with a blank canvas. I didn’t write down any lofty goals for 2023. I went on a 7-day cruise to Mexico and Belize instead. #POPOUT 😂💃
Deep Cleaning
After my 7-day cruise in January, I went into 3 weeks of consecration because I wanted to set my intentions for the year with God. To my surprise, He did some much needed spiritual deep cleaning in my heart. Chile if I can be honest it was uncomfortable. In my last blog post on 2022 Reflections, I talked about resting and recovery from all the transitions that occurred last year. I thought I was done recovering but God was not done with me. There were things hidden in my heart that I thought I dealt with. I had to get rid of clutter in my heart and mind to see what was hindering my healing process. God required me to let go of emotions and memories I was holding on to which were tied to unforgiveness, disappointment, fear, self-sabotage, hope-deferred, etc. Whew chile! It’s been a journey and he’s still not done. We going DEEP!
Deep Work
One of the things that God is demanding from me this year is my focus. My current responsibilities and future demand it. During my time consecrating, I limited social media use, fasted on water only from 6am-6pm, and increased my prayer and devotion time. These were practical things I did to go deeper spiritually. Removing distractions was THEE biggest struggle. This was in the way of me truly executing my goals.
Last fall, I started reading Deep Work by Cal Newport and Indistractable by Nir Eyal. I was so distracted that I didn’t finish either of them. #Fail My short attention span made it hard for me to finish a book, binge a tv (I would fall asleep), or again execute goals. This is a bad habit that I am FIGHTING to break which is why I started reading both books again last month. I am reclaiming my focus this year. Sis got things to do!
What is Deep Work and How Do I become Indistractable?
The two books simply discuss the value of having uninterrupted focus. Most people would agree that their biggest distractions come from their electronic devices. Others may be distracted by food, being a busybody, a relationship, impulsive shopping, kids that demand your attention, a new puppy (#Brownie), etc. I am guilty of being tied to my phone for good and bad reasons. These two books honed in on the power of focus and managing distractions. I will share the definitions and a few takeaways but you all MUST get these books for yourselves.
Deep Work is defined as:
“Professional acitivites performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capacities to the their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate.”
~Cal Newport
The author simply puts it as this, to learn hard things quickly, you must focus intensely without distraction. He argues that this is how you remain valuable in your career and even in this economy as competitive as it is. Also, artificial intelligence technology is coming for our jobs. Learning new skills is not always easy but it will add value in the long run. This requires deep work.
My takeaway: As I plan to pivot in my career this year I must cultivate the ability to do deep work and have extreme focus. I want to add value to the spaces I enter in and having skillsets that set you apart can contribute to this. This requires reading to gain more knowledge, critical thinking, conviction, and passion. Another thing about deep work is deep thinking. I see and experience a lot of shallowness in people and things I read online today. Does anybody else feel like the world has become more shallow? Many people don’t think deeply and we allow the media to influence us. I never want to lose my convictions. I will not succumb to shallow living and thinking NEVER! #DeepWork
Indistractable is defined as:
“Striving to do what we say we’re going to do. It doesn’t mean you will never get distracted again. It means you are striving to do what you do and you’re getting better and better at managing distraction and doing more acts of traction.”
~Nir Eyal
My takeaway: It’s quite challenging to eliminate distractions but we can manage them. It’s also diffcult to be a man or woman of your word when you’re all over the place. Setting boundaries, creating daily routines, killing bad habits, and being present are pivatol to becoming indistractable. For example, the iPhone allows you to turn on the “Focus” feature so that your notifications won’t interrupt you every second. Also, having a planner or calendar is literally setting structure and boundaries with your time. Now, it’s impossible to be completely distraction-free but we have control over what we give our attention towards.
I have a list of takeaways from these two books that I will discuss in my PODCAST in the future. (Yes, I said podcast!)
Reclaim your FOCUS! #GoDeeper
God has given me instructions and things to focus on daily for this year. I realized that I didn’t need too many new goals but I needed to pick back up the assignments that I pushed to the side in previous years. I spent time reflecting on what I started but didn’t finish. I also asked myself, what was hindering my ability to execute goals? I needed to do some soul-searching. Fasting and reading these two books helped me reclaim my focus. Sidenote: I highly recommend going on fast regulary throughout the year.
Here are some other practical things I incorporated throughout my fast and from reading these two books that you can also implement:
- Stick to a schedule – I purchased an hourly planner last month because my 5-month old puppy, Brownie, needed a strict schedule or else he would be all over the place. Brownie keeps me on a tight schedule and I keep him on a tight leash.
- Create morning routines – Start my day with prayer, devotion, and quiet time. After this, I exercise for 45min-1hr.
- Learn a new skill – I am diving head first into learning the ins and outs of podcasting. I can’t wait to share my journey with you all on this one. It’s been a long time coming. I am putting in DEEP work.
- Take a social media break – I gave up social media for lent. It is my biggest distraction and I want a healthier relationship with it. I refuse to be addicted or consumed by social media so I am killing this bad habit now! I will return to it more focused and intentional about how I spend my time on social media. #DeepFocus
I hope that the changes I made inspire you to take back control of your focus.
Talk to me in the comments! What are you focusing on 2023? What are your biggest distractions and how are you managing them in the new year?
Until next time,
Chelsa
P.S. These two books, Deep Work and Indistractable are MUST READS. Check them out on amazon or your local book stores. Don’t say I never gave you anything! 🙂
Chelsa S. Moore 