It’s pretty easy to get sidetracked and lose focus, especially on days where we perceive it to be a long one. Or, we had a late night movie marathon or a football match the night before.
Here are some helpful tips to keep the distractions away, and be as productive as you should be!
- Make lists.
One way to help boost your focus at work would be to make lists, both for the short term and the long term. For one, having a long-term list would help you in the larger, wider goals that you wish to achieve, such as a particular sales target or even to be a better team player within the department. It can be anything!
Then, utilise the short term lists to help you created and follow actionable steps to move along that path that you set for long the long term. This at least will help direct your steps to the ultimate goal of what you want to achieve.
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- Create a routine.
Many experts advocate creating a routine because it doesn’t require active thought, which drains your mental energy that could have been used for other more important tasks.
In a way, it’s almost a ritual. Just think – do you active think to wash your face or brush your teeth the moment you wake up? It’s an automatic reaction, right? That’s a routine.
In the same way, having a routine at work will also help you be more focused – 10 am, you start checking your emails and replying to them. 1 pm you send out emails etc. you get the picture.
In this way, when there are brainstorming sessions that require a lot more mental energy, you’d have the strength and capacity to churn out great ideas, at least ones that don’t sound like a tired rehash.
- Take breaks and walk!
Sometimes sitting down and giving a 100% to your work can be very draining, sometimes to the point of even a total blank state of your mind. At this point, it would be good just to take a break from your work and just move around the office.
If you can, take a walk down at the street for 5 to 10 minutes. The new environment will help to clear your mind from the stress and focus.
Let’s face it: we aren’t robots. We can’t work at something indefinitely. So don’t be so harsh on yourself when you aren’t productive – you’re only human. So take a break, and take some time to relax!
- Remove distractions from the internet.
Yes. That also means no 9gag, Twitter, or Instagram, or any form of social media. In fact, there are even statistics that show how much social media distracts people from work! A quick browse on 9gag can turn into an hour of scrolling, which obviously translates into an hour of literally no work running. No, multitasking doesn’t work on this. Trust me. I’ve tried.
So, mute or set your phone or mobile device to aeroplane mode if necessary. You’ll also need a ton of self-discipline to make sure that you don’t start browsing at work unless it’s during lunchtime. This skill and self-discipline will serve you a long way down, even when you’re promoted to more senior positions and/or decide to do your start-up.
- Snack, and stay hydrated.
Surprisingly, snacking while at work not only keeps the hunger away, it also keeps you a little more focused as it helps to maintain your blood sugar levels! Having an apple or a banana while working will usually help boost mental cognition and alertness, leading to focus better at work.
Of course, to pair with that, drink a lot of water! Being hydrated keeps your brain equally as alert and focused. The only downside is that you’ll be headed to the toilet a little more often. Even that may be a good thing; it can be used as a break to help clear your mind (and bowels).
- Use noise cancelling headphones.
If you work in a rather noisy environment, investing in a pair of noise-cancelling headphones or in-ear pieces can do wonders in helping you shut out the rest of the world as you do your work. Not only will it cancel out the noise, but it’ll also give you peace and almost ensures that people won’t disturb you, allowing you to finish your work quickly, and maintain your focus on working.
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