Ever notice when you start a new hobby or fall in love with a new shrub or flower you start to see it everywhere? This isn't necessarily because everyone else has the same new hobby it’s because you have the flower or shrub or hobby at the top of your mind.

You are focused on it, thinking about how much you enjoy it and you end up noticing it when you never did before. It's not merely a coincidence it's your Reticular Activating System located at the junction of the base of the brain and the spinal cord that is responsible for stimulating this top of the mind response.

Every minute our body receives thousands of stimuli; sounds, smells, sensations, tastes, and changes in environment. All these stimuli are filtered through the Reticular Activating System and the most important ones are passed onto the largest portion of our brain, the cerebrum; the central portion, which is responsible for cognition and then, translated into thoughts and emotions.

Understanding how this system functions allows us to better filter the distractions in our world. You can focus on the work or play at hand and only process the things that are most important to you at the moment. It's a great way to filter out all the distracting thoughts while you are fishing or gardening. Or to come up with the best ideas for the new brochure you've been working on.

Use the Reticular Activating System to help you reach your goals or solve a problem. Keep it on the top of your mind by thinking about it, writing about it, even doing affirmations. Talking about the things you want to achieve as if you already have achieved them.

Another good tool is to create and image book. Clip pictures that reflect the idea or desired outcome and keep adding to the book. Look it over every day and keep your goals foremost in your mind. You can use the same system to keep you from being overwhelmed.

Don't look at everything that needs to be done. Pick out three of the most important things and break each one down into two or three steps and work in a methodical fashion to complete each step. Then list the next three things that need to be taken care of and continue to focus on the most important things first.

Do some spring-cleaning of the clutter in your brain and make your year more productive. Write down the five most important goals you would like to achieve in the next 6- 9 months. Then list three or four steps under each that will let you reach each goal.