We live in a world that shares information 24/7. Social media showcases everyone’s ideas, strategies, and opinions, while blogs and articles are written by industry thinkers. It’s understandable that the average entrepreneur would always feel pressured to remain in the “idea stage.” Every idea and opportunity feels right, and FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) looms large. Unfortunately, you don’t have a clone, and you can’t implement every idea. So, learning the art of focusing on one thought and seeing it through to the end will make life a lot easier. There are many distractions out there, but here are five ways to focus and pursue your best thoughts (one at a time).
Take a mission and stick to it
your “why?” What is? Why you choose to do something should be the guiding principle for your company and personal mission as an entrepreneur. This concept should help you weed out ideas that don’t fit your mission as to why you do what you do. For example, if part of your company’s mission is related to social impact and community development, any opportunities that don’t reflect this should be brushed aside.
“For values or guiding principles to be truly effective, they must be actionable. It’s not “honesty,” it’s “always do the right thing.” It’s not “innovation,” it’s “look at the problem from a different angle.” “Expressing our values in the form of actions gives us a clear idea – we have a clear idea of how to act in any given situation.” It is important to have clear guiding principles in your decision-making process.
Know your bandwidth
How Much Can You Afford? What is your breaking point when it comes to workload? As an entrepreneur, you should always be aware of your bandwidth. This wonderful idea may sound great in theory, but are you already working on something else that’s taking up a lot of your time? See what’s possible with your time and focus on what you can and can’t do. What are the main activities of your business that need to be accomplished? Know how long each of them takes, and analyze your schedule before you’re tempted to do anything else. You may have an excellent idea or opportunity that may need to be postponed for some other time.
Learn to Say “No”
This idea is in line with the previous entry. As an entrepreneur you will be asked to participate in many things. Speaking at the next conference, holding a webinar, joining the board of a nonprofit, partnering with a liaison, and everything in between is going to sound incredibly tempting. It would be great if other people want to hear what you know. However, not every opportunity and idea may fit your mission or your program. So, you have to be comfortable saying “no.”
“Just saying yes because you can’t bear the short-term pain of saying no won’t help your job.” Whenever asked about an opportunity, always return to your mission and bandwidth, and never be afraid to decline.
Allow yourself to be creative
Another reason to watch your workload and avoid getting bogged down in extra commitments is so that you have time to think of creative ideas about what you do. Constant distraction, a heavy work schedule, and an inability to say “no” can keep you stagnant. You don’t have time to truly embrace creativity and innovation to find your next best idea. Some of the best ideas emerged when individuals were “doing nothing.” So, make sure your schedule isn’t packed to the point where you can’t enjoy some downtime to encourage creativity.
Always have a plan
When you add a strategy to them, the idea starts moving from idea to action. Deciding which approach to pursue becomes more natural if you can see how to best do it. Sit down and start thinking about how this fits in with your current goals, what the potential budget will be, how long it will take to execute, and what you need for it to be successful. Taking an in-depth look at the strategic planning aspect of ideas will help you separate the ideas that are worth pursuing from the potentially fleeting ones.
Final thoughts
FOMO is a fascinating but dangerous concept to embrace. When you feel like the next idea or opportunity should always be pursued, it can be challenging to focus your attention on what’s really important. Your next idea may be a promising one, but only if it is approached with a lens that considers your mission, bandwidth, and overall strategy. Never let FOMO deter you from staying still and focused.
