Noticing the dishes piled up in the sink? Feeling like you need to do the laundry right now? Realizing the dog hasn’t been for a walk yet? Sounds like you’re suffering from distracted-itis.

When you sit down to do your marketing, it’s entirely likely there’s something else that needs to be done or seems more interesting -– yes, the dishes, laundry, and dog, and also starting your new exercise regime, watching YouTube cat videos, or learning how to create a bullet journal.

As a solo entrepreneur, there are many things vying for your attention. If you work at home there’s always something house-related that needs to be done (those dishes aren’t going to do themselves!); if you have an office there are other things like running out for a coffee, mindlessly checking email, or the ever-popular dusting and rearranging your desk. It’s amazing how appealing some of these tasks are when compared to “marketing” -– makes you wonder how bad marketing must really be if dusting your desk seems more appealing.

Luckily, there’’s hope. Here are three simple tricks to help you focus when you’re feeling distracted.

1. Establish a barrier.
Remove yourself from the distractions. Change location. Turn off the notifications pn your phone. Close down your Internet windows. Close the door and put up a do-not-disturb sign. Mentally close yourself off to new things. Settling yourself in will narrow your focus, which is what’s needed when there are so many other things you could be doing. Oy.

2. Remember your why.
Knowing why you do things makes a huge difference. You may not love marketing itself, yet I’m willing to bet you love what it creates: solutions for your client, shifts in how they do or perceive things, opportunities that weren’t there before. Remembering why you love what you do helps put you in the mindframe to market so you can do more of it.

3. Channel Oprah.
People like Oprah didn’t become Oprah by sitting on the couch and eating Cheetos; if they did. many of us would be a lot better known than we are. Nowadays Oprah has a team of people doing her marketing, yet in the early days it was all her. What do you imagine she’d do if she was you, trying to get noticed? Use this to get into action.

You may think persisting in doing what you know needs to be done, marketing-wise, requires focus and discipline, and while those things are handy, if you rely solely on them you’re likely making it harder than it needs to be. Distractions happen, and having a few tricks to employ will make getting your marketing done easier. Remember that consistent marketing makes getting, and keeping, clients easier so you can practice more of your why. And at the end of the day, bringing your why to the world is what it’s all about.