If you are tired of allowing yourself to be distracted and fail at your goals, then mimicking The Ulysses Pact will help you out. Bind yourself to a commitment – or make a precommitment – just as Ulysses bound himself to the ship when he wanted to hear the mermaids song but didn’t want to drive his ship into the rocks, as so many men did as they were drawn to the signing. He knew that he needed to be tied up and his crew needed to not be able to hear him if he wanted to hear the songs without sinking his ship. He planned it out and he made it through without dying or going crazy, which is what we all want when it comes to our goals!
Make Your Own Pacts To Keep Distraction To A Minimum As You Work Towards Your Goals
If you want to stop being distracted, set yourself up for success as Ulysses did. You can do this in 3 ways.
1. Work With Others For Accountability
Group challenges are great for helping you get done what you want to get done. As you watch other people working, doing tasks, and moving towards the finish line, you will feel inspired, and sometimes obligated, to keep going forward too.
At work, enlist one or two other people to help you achieve what you want. For instance, if you want to stop being distracted while working, you may want to work near someone else who also wants to not be distracted during work. Create a pact to work distraction-free together for however long you want. As you work together you will be inspired to keep going.
If you work virtually, you can use a service such as Focus Mate. There you can get an accountability partner who you can see on your computer.
Or just do what you need to do in front of someone who believes in you. If they believe in you, you will be much more likely to do what you need to do without distractions under their watchful eyes.
2. Make A Bet
Are you willing to pay $500 to someone if you don’t finish a task? Probably not. This is what makes putting money on the table so effective. You are going to work your butt off to get done what you say you will get done, and distractions will be less tempting.
Find someone and make a pact that you will pay them a certain amount of money if you do not get [fill in the blank] done by a certain date or time. The more money you are willing to pay, the more effective it will be.
Keep in mind that external factors may come into play. Leave some room for external distractions that are out of your control and make sure you don’t bet more than you can lose in case you simply cannot live up to the pact.
3. Make A Pact With Yourself
Be who you want to be. Affirm to yourself that you are a certain way and make an agreement with yourself that you are.
For instance, affirm that you are a hard worker to yourself. Tell people that you are a hard worker and enjoy working hard. Write about being a hard worker. Make a video about being a hard worker. Post notes all over your house about what a hard worker you are. Make an agreement with your mind that you ARE a hard worker. This is going to help you be a hard worker and avoid distractions.
Other things you can affirm to yourself:
- I’m not someone who uses my phone while working.
- I don’t enjoy checking Twitter during work hours.
- I love getting my daily tasks done.
- I am really good at staying focused.
The important thing is to share this pact with yourself and others as much as possible. The more you share, the more you will be held accountable to live up to that pact.
