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Are you feeling swamped with too much to do and too little time? I totally get it. Staying on track with your tasks can be a real challenge. But guess what? Boosting your focus can make a huge difference, and it’s easier than you think!
Check out these 10 simple and super-effective tips to sharpen your focus. They’re perfect for keeping those pesky distractions at bay.
Let’s dive in and make your day a whole lot more productive and a lot less stressful. Ready?
1. Visualize accomplishing your task for the day
We all create our own reality, and it is shaped by our thoughts. This is because our thoughts lead to feelings, which in turn cause us to act. These actions result in what we see as the world around us.
As you start your day, set out one or two critical tasks you want to accomplish. This will motivate you to focus on these important items and ensure they’re complete.
Don’t just think of them superficially. Visualize them first, and then simulate the feelings you’ll have after finishing each task. Think about how you will feel mentally and physically once they are done and dusted.
2. Identify your productive time
Some people are most productive in the morning, others in the afternoon. To figure out when you’re most effective, take note of your current level of productivity and try to identify common times when it fluctuates.
Experimenting with different work hours is a tricky thing to do, but it’s important to pay attention to your energy, thought patterns, distractions, motivation and moods so you make sure you’re not just going through the motions. Give yourself at least a week to establish your peak hours. If you are struggling to find the time of the day that you get the most done- try it for a week and monitor your success.
3. Do not multitask
Multitasking, in general, is linked to reduced cognitive abilities since the brain can only focus on one task at a time. As tempting as it is to do more things at the same time, you should stick to focusing on one task at a time and avoid multitasking. Ensure you give your full attention to the task at hand to improve the quality and speed of work.
4. Get your mind in shape
Training your brain to stay focused requires constant practice. Every time you notice yourself getting distracted, accept it for what it is and bring your attention back to the task at hand.
Whenever you feel like “I’ve had enough for the day”, you should push on a bit more. If you have a hard time concentrating right now, you shouldn’t try to work for 60 minutes straight. Try to increase your focus levels gradually. If you can manage it, start by concentrating for 20 minutes at a time with 5-minute breaks in between. Within a few weeks, you will see a major increase in your level of focus.
5. Build Willpower and Discipline
It’s important to maintain a good balance when it comes to willpower and discipline. Your discipline will help you go past certain thoughts, comfort zone and laziness. Your willpower will fuel the actions that need to be taken. Just like everything else start small and be consistent when you start building your willpower and discipline.
6. Acknowledge Your Need to Avoid Pain and to Gain Pleasure
When we do something, it’s either because we are motivated by the thought of pleasure or avoiding pain. For students, doing homework can be a chore, because their subconscious minds are telling them that the work will affect their well-being.
So, take this example and think about it in your own life. When you want to focus on a task, acknowledge your immediate response (i.e., pain-avoidance or pleasure-seeking). If you can become an observer of yourself, then it will be much easier to be able to focus on the task at hand.
7. Minimize distraction
To train your brain to stay focused, you need an environment that is free of distractions. Your phone, for example, should never interrupt you while working. Turn off notifications, refuse to be interrupted, and remove any other sources of distraction.
8. Minimize your dependency on willpower and motivation
Willpower and motivation are very limited resources that should be used wisely. To help with that you need to build some empowering habits that will prevent you from using these valuable resources. Think of your habits – you don’t think about washing your face or brushing your teeth in the morning, do you? Because for most of us, these are habits we do without making any effort to focus. Once you create a habit, you will recognize the pattern and make the task a lot easier to accomplish. So, once you teach the brain new productive habits, it will do them with less effort and energy.
9. Practice Mindfulness
Practising mindfulness is about focusing your entire attention on the present moment. It implies self-awareness, but it’s much more than that. You’re in control. Whether you want to choose your present thoughts and feelings, the environment that surrounds you, your breath or your heartbeat …you are the decision-maker. Whatever you choose to focus on, it’s important you stay in the present and mindful.
You don’t even sit on a cushion and stay still to practice mindfulness. You take advantage of various situations such as reading, walking, washing the dishes, and so on. This will help you in the long run to manage stress and difficult situations.
10. Be in control of your actions
How you should align your actions and emotions with your thoughts? Most of us lack this, and life becomes a lot more difficult.
For example, you want to start training but you feel like this might need a lot of dedication and sacrifice from your free time. So, you talk yourself out of getting into a routine. Instead, if you could change those negative self-talk to positive feelings, you will commit to training.
Once you are aware of this, you can talk yourself back into positive action and in time it will become a lot easier to take control of your actions.
Bonus: 5 Books that will help you improve your focus
Deep Work by Cal Newport
It will help you overcome the distraction that is caused by the rise of technology. It provides useful strategies that can help you to concentrate better. and block out distractions more successfully. The book is written in a very easy-to-follow and accessible style, so it will help you quickly get used to the techniques and find the best strategies that suit you. It may also be useful for people who don’t know where to start when they want to improve their concentration.
Get the key insights in less than 15 minutes
The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
This is a book that will help you find your most important goal and gives you tools to use your time efficiently so that you can achieve it. The book reveals many of the maxims we accept as good practice are actually myths – these only hinder our progress. One of the principles of good living is to live in a way that contributes to a fulfilling, happy life but also keeps other important aspects in balance, like work and family life.
Get the key insights in less than 15 minutes
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
Above all, productivity is about getting to the next level. Getting Things Done (2001) is a great introduction to a system for keeping stress at bay and being productive. You might be facing an overwhelming number of things to do but with the system that is introduced by this book, you will be able to stay productive, creative and relaxed.
Get the key insights in less than 15 minutes
Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence by Daniel Goleman
Focus is a book that gives you great strategies to improve your attention span, which has become an increasingly rare resource to manage. Recent researches show that focus is the key to succeeding in today’s technologically-dependent world. In this book, you will find practical tips on how to stimulate your mind and optimise time spent at work or home. This book puts a new spin on the phrase ‘focus’. It expands the definition of focus beyond mere concentration and calls for mindfulness in one’s work, relationships, and environmental impact.
Get the key insights in less than 15 minutes
The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less by Richard Koch
The 80-20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle, is a business theory that can help you in your work. It states that for any endeavour about 80% of results are generated with just 20% of the effort. This phenomenon has huge implications for every area of life. It helps us take a look at the most important aspects of any given situation.
Get the key insights in less than 15 minutes
Bonus: 5 Apps to help you focus (Focusing Apps)
Helps you block distracting websites and apps. It allows you to schedule your focus time when you need to do your deep work. It is an essential tool to help you focus better.
Completely free tool to help you block distraction, where it’s supposed to be. It works with all major browsers. You can keep those distracting content at its bay when you need to focus on your work.
it analyses where you spend most of your time and creates a plan to reduce distractions. It has over 2 million users and works both on PC and Mac.
This is an app that will help you control distractions on your phone. It is available on App Store and Google Play.
This app is available for Mac that helps you gain your productivity back by blocking distracting sites.
Bonus: Music to help you focus
According to many studies (Study 1, Study 2, Study 3), music can mprove your cognitive abilities. It can help you make connections and remember things a lot better.
Here are some collection of music that will help you to focus better:
Bonus: 4 Supplements that will improve your ability to focus
They contribute emmensly to good mental health and cognitive abilities. Fatty acids can improve your thinking skills and therefore can have direct impact on your focus.
Creatine is known to be used to improve your performance during the training, but it can also improve your concentration levels.
Alpha-GPC is known its direct effect on brain function. It is used to improve brain health and used by athletes to increase their power output.
L-Tyrosine Supplements & Food
It is an amino acid that replenish catecholamine levels in the brain. They are mostly used to improve brain health and also increases energy and reduces fatigue.
Bonus: Podcast about focusing
If you want the right tools and strategies to improve your focus, you must listen to these podcasts from Andrew Huberman. Believe me, you won’t get disappointed.