"Death by a thousand cuts" has its origins in lingchi, a highly unpleasant form of execution used in Imperial China, which involved the slicing of the convicted criminal's flesh until death ensued.
Not a very pleasant way to start a blog. And what does this have to do with procrastination?
The 'cuts' we are referring to here are the constant distractions and interruptions that plague us throughout the day.
What are they? SMS text messages, Facebook notifications (and the need to keep checking on Facebook to keep up with who is eating what for lunch with whom and where - all the important stuff required for your success), emails, Phone Calls, following Links and investigating things that have nothing to do with your purpose, eg. the latest Malaysian Airlines disaster, Skype, IM, Youtube, Spotify, TV, Radio, oh look a butterfly, etc. etc.
If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got!
So what can you do about it? You can't live in a bubble, disconnected from the World, right?
Well you can, for short, focused, periods of time.
When its time to work (and you have those periods scheduled, right?), shut off your email, your IM's, your Skype, your Phone, etc. etc.
Then work for your scheduled period of focused time. Simple right? At the end of your allotted time, check your emails, your messages, voicemails, Facebook if you must, and then get back into it again.
Life is not a marathon, it's a series of short sprints.
Oh, and just in case you are not disciplined enough to unplug for a while, there are plenty of apps to download that can help you with that.
To your Success,
Trevor Long
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