Focus is a crucial in order to succeed in daily tasks and to be productive. Learning about strategies for concentration can help you achieve your goals and minimize distractions. This blog is designed to help you!
Here are five ways to stay focused:
Prepare
Before you go to sleep, make some basic decisions about what you will do tomorrow, such as what you will wear, what you will eat for lunch, and the route you will take to work. It is easier to pack a healthy lunch the night before than to decide what you are going to have in the restaurant closer to your workplace.
Make a decision the night before that you won’t check your emails or surf the net before you have finished the more important tasks that need to be completed. Stick to your schedule and at the end of the day close your eyes for a few minutes and take in how good you feel to be in charge of your day.
Getting into the habit of planning your day in advance will remove your easiest decisions from the table, making it easier to avoid getting sidetracked and wasting time and energy on small, unimportant things.
Stop multitasking
Instead of trying to do a million things at once, take a step back and tackle one task at a time. While your inclination might be to start your day with busy work – like checking emails and then to move onto the harder things, you should try to get your brain moving by challenging yourself with a bigger, more creative endeavor first thing in the morning.
Research has shown that our minds are sharpest in the morning and that is when we should tackle the tough jobs. After these are out of the way, we can relax and take care of the more routine work that doesn’t require as much mental strain and energy.
Eliminate distractions and time wasters
Real emergencies will come up and we have to deal with them. The majority of situations that do come up to distract us are not emergencies and do not require us to respond right away. Many of these situations will resolve themselves on their own with time.
Responding to these requests immediately will only set you up to receive more. By not responding, you are sending a message that you are a strong-willed, focused person who is very busy and over time you will be bothered less by trivial, time-wasting matters.
Get your blood pumping
You can’t focus if your are stuck inside and staring at a screen all day long. Take a quick break when working on something if you feel your energy fading. Turn off your computer and phone, and go for a walk for 20 minutes. The fresh air and the movement will clear your head.
Instead of eating a large meal at lunch, snack on healthy foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables during the day. Drink lots of water and get into a regular exercise program. Arrange a routine with these matters so that you don’t have to think about them; they just become part of your daily regime.
Review your goals daily
Reviewing your goals daily is one of the most effective ways to maintain your commitment. With enough repetition, your constructive actions will become automatic. You will generate new, related ideas throughout the day and find new opportunities to make progress. When your thinking defaults to your goal, you will stop at nothing to achieve it.
Written by Athmeka Lakshman