How Game of Thrones (Almost) Made Me Miss My Flight

It was a bright and sunny Monday morning. I would definitely have the Monday blues had it been a regular one, but this was a much awaited Monday because the season 6 finale episode of Game Of Thrones was released the night before. I managed to initiate the download before I could catch on some sleep as I had an early morning flight to Udaipur.

Out of excitement, I woke up before my alarm could start beeping. This gave me a brilliant idea; I could watch the downloaded episode after getting ready and head on to the  airport to board the flight and catch up on some sleep enroute.

Little did I realise that the finale episode had a longer run time than all the others. By the time the episode ended, I was 20 minutes behind schedule and found myself running on all fours to reach the airport on time. Being me, I knew it wasn’t possible and to prove the fact right, it started to rain, drizzling at first and then pouring cats and dogs. Now I was sure that I would not be able to catch the flight and started looking for other flight options.

Long story short, I managed to catch my flight after running a lot through the airport, and finally when I was in my seat, I was panting, gasping for air. “Phew! A close shave,” I thought to myself and promised not to be in that situation again. But then I realised that this is something that happens to a lot of us on a daily basis. Imagine this: you’re working on a project which requires you to research and read over multiple references provided online. Suddenly you see an advertisement staring at you from the corner of your screen describing your dream vacation or your dream vehicle. Very innocently you click on it and here on starts the endless threads of articles linked to one another, giving captivating details and reeling you into a short lived dream. Distracting enough? I bet it is.

Too often, even the smallest distraction can be the difference between achieving your goals and missing the mark. Well, it doesn’t have to be this way. All you have to do is finish this article to find out how. Are you game?

• Don’t Have a lot on Your Plate:
  If you have committed to get 20 tasks done every day, how focused do you think you will be? Not so much, right? Just focus on a minimum number of important tasks in a day (even one is okay). It’s enough to accomplish your goal in the end. After all, slow and steady wins the race.
• Just Do It:
  Now that you have your list in place, you need to get on it as soon as possible. This means you’re planning your day as soon as you’re up. Spend some time visualizing your day and dedicate a time limit to each of the tasks. When you’re done visualizing: Just do it.
• Eat That Frog:
  If you have one larger task and a set of smaller tasks to be done, consider the bigger task your frog; that’s what you need to kill first. With that one out of the way, you will feel accomplished and gain momentum for the rest of the day. Prioritize what’s important and requires more attention and time.
• The Power of Compounding: If given a choice between the following 2 options: 1 Rupee (amount doubles every consecutive day) for 30 days or Rs.10,000 right now, which one would you choose. Most of us will say Rs. 10,000, right? But little do we realize that the former option will amount to much higher amount than Rs. 10,000. Such is the magic of compounding. Looking at it another way; if you have a giant goal to achieve, for example, writing a book, or running a marathon 6 months from now, it’s easy to get discouraged and surrender. So, what should we do? Break it down into a smaller number of tasks instead. For example, what sounds more achievable:
  • Writing 500 words a day or writing 1 paragraph a day?
  • Running 2 kilometres a day or running 200 meters a day?

  The point here is to keep it manageable. Chances are that you’ll overachieve your minimum target every day. Once you develop a habit, your minimums will increase and so will your ability to stay focused on your bigger goal.

• Remove External Distractions:
  This one is pure science and it’s as simple as it gets. If you want to quit smoking, remove all the ash trays and lighters from the house. Similarly, if the television is a distraction, then work in another room. Is the internet tempting? Turn off the Wi-Fi. Simply put, get away from anything that distracts you.

To sum it up; a goal without distractions is a rose without thorns. Impossible!