Getting distracted is all part of living in this great modern world of ours. We either distract ourselves or we allow ourselves to get distracted. Think about it – smartphones, facebook, texting, even Angry Birds get us off track…HELLLLPPPP! In the simple words of the wise Mr. Miyagi most of us “Need More Focus!” Here are some easy ways to do it without having to watch the Karate Kid.
Train Your Brain
There is no way most of us could focus for eight hours straight. I know I can barely do it for more than 10 minutes some days. It is possible, however, to build up to it by training your brain. Look at improving your focus the same way you would train your body for an endurance race. Start off with short durations and build it up over time. Begin with a 10-minute burst by doing something like writing in your journal about that exciting idea you have or working on a Sudoku puzzle. Whatever it is, make sure it is a task that takes a good amount of brainpower to complete. Take a break for five minutes and then do it again. Over the next couple of weeks, work your way up from 10 – 15 – 25, all the way to 60 minutes of uninterrupted brain focus.
Beware Of Your Focus Bear Traps
The research says we get distracted on average about every 11 minutes. That’s pretty astounding! To make things worse sometimes you may find yourself ensnared in something that sucks, drains and steals all of your precious focus. For me, it’s Linked In. I’ll have a few seconds and I’ll want to post an update, check out what’s trending or read a cool article; the next thing I know my brain is trapped in a 30 minute virtual bear trap and I can’t seem to free myself. Other people have mentioned their traps are checking emails, facebook, talking on the phone or housework. Someone even shared with me that her biggest bear trap was just starting up a conversation with her office cubicle-mate. Whatever it is, the best thing you can do is to start becoming aware of your “traps.”
An Index Card?
Building awareness can be tricky, especially if you work by yourself. An easy way to do it is to simply write down every time you catch yourself doing the undesired activity. Say its facebook. Keep a 3×5 index card close to you throughout the day. Every time you notice you’re on facebook, put a little hash mark on your card. At the end of the day count how many hashes you have. Each day, see if you can get that number lower and lower. This simple act can drastically improve your awareness and really help you realize when you are about do something you know will distract you. It also works for things such as checking email, chronic smartphone use and even daydreaming.
7 More Tips!
Here are seven other simple strategies to help you stay focused.
- Only open your email three times a day.
- Only allow yourself 30 minutes each time you open your email.
- Turn your smartphone off when not in use.
- If you tend to chat with coworkers, ask them to help you by empowering them to politely ask you if you have other important stuff to do.
- Block time in your day to “Play.” This is time when you can surf the web, check facebook, talk to your brother, or whatever your want to indulge. BUT only during this time.
- Put a timer on your desk and set it for however long you want to “Focus” on something.
- At the end of your focused activity – get up and walk around for 5 minutes. You don’t want your brain to “cramp up” now do you?
Regardless of what you do or what demands you have on your time, chances are you are getting distracted. If you can build your ability to focus, become aware of the things that are distracting you and implement a few simple strategies, you will be well on your way to gaining more focus and you might even start having time to do the things you really want to do.
Want to end that 50+ hour work week, be more focused and learn proven strategies that will get your life back; check out our Life-Balance Time Management Program that starts January 9th. Click here for more information.
