Ever had one of those days where you can’t seem to focus and you flit from one thing to the next? You have so much to do, yet at the end of the day you seemed to have accomplished nothing, nada, zilch. You end up feeling unaccomplished, and your negative self-talk beats you up incessantly for not getting enough done, or not doing it well, right, etc. Can you relate?

When I started this post on Monday after dropping my daughter off to 3rd grade, I thought I was just having one of those kind of days. After taking the entire day off yesterday because of the flu, I realize I’m having one of those kind of weeks! I know I’m not alone in this idea of being “distracted”, so I’ve sorted through the scattered thoughts and feelings to access the nuggets of wisdom to benefit you as a woman, mom and entrepreneur.

I wasn’t prepared for the impact the 3rd grade drop off would have on my heart as I watched in awe of this little girl grow into a young lady. I know I am not unique in the bittersweet emotions that come from dropping your child off to school, yet there is more to our story. Taylor has overcome so many health challenges in her earlier years that the magnitude of this 3rd grade drop off is profound for me as I watch her blossom.

Then, the flu yesterday that literally had me in bed all day, heading into today with an overabundant list of things to do and new opportunities coming at me at warp speed.

How do you make sense of it all? Here’s what I am learning through being “distracted”:

• There are gifts and wisdom in the distractions. Give yourself permission to explore what’s in the distraction and you’ll find your deeper truths leading to more powerful choices. For me, it meant leaving work early to pick my daughter up after her first day of 3rd grade. I needed this time with her at the end of the day to be complete with my emotions.
• Reprioritize to focus on what’s absolutely essential. Go back to your key priorities and identify one or two things that you must get done for each. You don’t want to have more than 5 priorities at a time or you will be overwhelmed. In my example, my health, my family and my work became of utmost importance so I identified my action steps for these three areas: pick up Taylor from school, get to bed early/stay in bed, connect with prospects and get the blog & newsletter done.
• Find the small wins you can be grateful for. There is always, always, always something to celebrate. Put your attention over there and you’ll see that you really have made progress.
• Make time to debrief with yourself. You must pause to find out what you’re learning, what you want to celebrate, and what you want to do differently. If you don’t, you’ll remain “distracted” and run by your life rather than you making empowered choices that serve you.

In the end, remember this:

“By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination.” Christopher Columbus

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