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Ways to Help Focus

Procrastination, inadequate planning and poor concentration are all words synonymous with a lack of focus and are things everybody struggles with. Unpleasant tasks make focus hard to come by and are the basis for believing an organized sock drawer is more important than working out on the treadmill. However, there is still hope for girding your will and learning to focus, despite all the daily distractions.

  1. Focus on What You Want and How to Get It

    • Set goals and plan what you want to achieve. Make a list that includes urgent and important tasks. Prioritize and schedule accordingly. Half way through the day, reevaluate and reset your priorities for the rest of the afternoon. This will give you a chance to re-focus. Break overwhelming goals into more manageable pieces, and set up a timetable to work on each part. Utilize SMART goals for long term projects: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound.

    Time Matters

    • Establish a deadline for important goals. Knock out more mundane tasks by setting a timer. Work on each item from your to-do list for a set amount of time, say 15 to 30 minutes. After the timer sounds, reset the timer and start the next task. Be accountable to your deadlines. If one of your goals is weight loss, attend meetings. If you have a project that you are working on, commit to sending progress reports. Let friends and family know your goals and how they can help you attain them.

    Make the Humdrum More Enjoyable

    • Listen to music or audio books. These are a good distraction while working on mundane tasks. Cleaning the house or filing paperwork suddenly become more enjoyable while listening to the latest Dean Koontz book. This is especially helpful for time-intensive projects. Use the best equipment possible. Sitting for an extended period of time is much easier with comfortable, ergonomic chair.

    Schedule a Time for Interruptions

    • Tell co-workers, family members and friends when you are available. For example, let people know that you are free between 1 to 3 p.m. This will drastically reduce the number of unscheduled interruptions. Similarly, only check your email at certain times of the day and set up an auto-response. Announce in the auto-response what times you will be checking email and that the sender should call if it's urgent. In a situation in which this will result in too many phone calls, set up filers on your email, separating the urgent ones from everything else.

    Be Mindful

    • Be aware of every task that you do and learn to enjoy being in the moment. Thich Nhat Hanh, the Buddhist monk, has written many books that highlight mindfulness and include exercises to sharpen your mental muscle. Take a yoga class. The heart of yoga is learning to focus by finding ease though the difficulty of poses.

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