These 6 Easy Habits Will Help You Improve Focus At Work
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Have you ever wondered why you get bored so easily? Do you sometimes ask yourself why studying for the next exam or filling out paperwork for a deadline becomes challenging? The problem you face is a lack of focus and motivation. Sometimes, you feel so sure about accomplishing a goal that you think it’s okay to rest or procrastinate. Other times, you may struggle to keep your mind from wandering to other ideas or pursuits.
You’re not alone in dealing with this issue. Consider this: at the start of the millennium, the average human attention span was 12 seconds. Nowadays, it’s fallen down to 8 seconds, just one second behind the average attention span of a goldfish. In other words, our ability to focus has fallen so badly that a goldfish can concentrate better than we can.
Luckily, enhancing your attention span and increasing your focus is easy. With these six simple habits, you’ll learn how to train your mind to stay on target with a specific goal or task. At the end of this article, you’ll have learned the same tactics and strategies that most successful businessmen and athletes use to improve focus at work.
Eat well to think better.
What you eat every day is the source of your body’s chemical reactions and responses. You’ve probably heard how chocolate boosts serotonin, or how fruits provide vitamin C. That’s because all types of food carry different nutrients and boosters that can enhance how your brain operates.
The problem is that many people don’t realize how important healthy and proper nutrition can be. People who constantly crave sweets or consume gallons of coffee think their food choices, like candies or lattes, are a good energy source. However, consuming too many of these “energy boosters” can lead to serious medical problems in the future. You could suffer from chronic insomnia, frequent energy crashes, and high blood pressure.
How to get started
To kickstart a better nutritional plan, the best thing to do is to flush out all the toxins in your body. Learn to reduce your sugar and caffeine intake day by day. If you drink five cups of coffee, try going for only four today. Then keep reducing your intake by one cup per day until your body adjusts.
Also, consider eating more vegetables with every meal. Options like broccoli and cauliflower take longer to digest, so you feel full for more hours than if you only ate carbs. By eating longer-lasting foods and cutting out sugar from your diet, your mind will learn to rely less on short-term bursts. Soon, it will learn to accept other sources of energy to last for more hours, which helps you improve your focus at work.
Get proper rest.
Rest is a good way to improve focus at work or while studying. After all, you need to recharge your mind so that you can concentrate on the task at hand. In the fast-paced lifestyle of the modern world, many people think that having four hours of sleep is the way to go. There are also men and women who decide to take frequent naps throughout the day. Unfortunately, these strategies will only tire you out more. Your brain can’t be forced to turn off and off like a phone screen. You have to give your mind at least seven hours of uninterrupted sleep to improve focus at work and in life.
While seven hours of sleep seems unreasonable or unproductive, it’s going to help you in the long run. More rest per day gives you more energy to operate. It also allows your brain time to readjust and prepare itself for the next day.
How to get started
Tonight, set an alarm one hour before you go to sleep. When the alarm goes off, turn off your phone and log out of your work e-mail. Do not touch any device before you go to sleep. You can fall asleep faster by avoiding active stimulation from your phone screen and other digital distractions.
In addition, always follow this schedule. No matter where you are or the occasion, always listen to the alarm and shut off your devices before you sleep. Make sure that the hour you hit the bed is the same every night. By sticking to a consistent sleep pattern, you train your mind to rest when you need to. With more rest and routine, it’ll be easier for you to improve your focus at work.
Improve focus at work with an organized environment.
Does your desk or home office look dirty every time you see them? Do you have documents lying around haphazardly? Do you often get distracted by nearby recurring noises, like subway trains or the neighbor’s music? Having a proper place to work and study means having a space where your focus is stable. A cluttered desk full of disorganized files only reflects your mindset when you start working. If your environment is messy, your productivity will be just as chaotic.
How to get started
Minimize how much stuff you have on your desk to improve focus at work. If you have essential papers, store them in a nearby cabinet or shelf. If you have decorative plants or pictures, choose the ones that make you smile or feel better. Discard the rest, either throwing them away or placing them in your room. Once you realize how much – or rather, how little – stuff you need for the desk, your mind will have more space to breathe.
If you hear obstructive noises nearby, like construction work, put on your headphones and listen to soothing music or white noise. Pick something without lyrics, as words may take your attention away from your studies or reports. For example, you can hear the sounds of waterfalls or classical jazz music whenever you log in to improve focus at work.
Follow a task list.
Some people prioritize the big picture over the small details in their job. For example, you envision a grand presentation of the quarterly earnings of your office. It’s your job to make this report a reality. When you start making the slides, however, you feel disheartened or unhappy with what you get. Before you know it, you end up wasting your time imagining instead of getting that presentation made.
These people lose motivation because they spend so much time focused on the result that they neglect the tasks required to get there. Don’t be deluded into thinking that your perfect plan will arrive at the snap of your fingers. You aren’t a magician. Instead, write down a task list of what you must do to get your output. If you’re studying, list the concepts or lessons you must read for the next class.
If possible, be as specific about your tasks as you can. For example, you’ll have to research if you need to make a presentation. What will you study? The required information, such as quarterly earnings or profits in the last few months. What information should you include or exclude? By asking yourself repeatedly about what you need and how you get them, you train your mind to think carefully. With a more concentrated approach, you’ll be able to improve focus at work and deal with small objectives. By the time you finalize everything, you’ll have fulfilled that grand vision without feeling tired or confused.
How to get started
An excellent way to start checking your task list is to write down your goals for each work day. What do you aim to achieve within the next eight hours? Write down the most challenging tasks first. Once you do, dissect them and see what details need to be accomplished first. For example, writing this blog needed an outline. By building an outline, the flow of information can be examined, refined, and smoothed out. Once you do that, you can start writing the introduction, body, and conclusion. Once you set out an outline, you’ll find it easier to improve focus at work and get started on your tasks.
Accept your mistakes.
The most iconic and popular visionaries worldwide have one shared trait: they are accountable. They accept responsibility for all their actions, whether this leads to the success or failure of a project. An attitude of admitting to both your best and worst moments is essential for both the working world and the personal self. It’s not only an effective way to improve focus at work, but it’s also a great way to build character.
For example, Steve Jobs was one of the co-founders of Apple. He spearheaded the production of several revolutionary products, such as the Macintosh and the iPhone. However, did you know that he was fired from Apple for several years? Did you know that he launched several commercially unsuccessful products, like the Apple Lisa and the Macintosh TV? He did not always bat perfectly whenever he was on the pitch. Like many of us, even Steve sometimes struck out.
Accepting the mistakes you’ve made means that your mind learns to stop overthinking. Instead of lamenting what went wrong, treat your mistake as a lesson. If you made an error in what you wrote or how you answered a question, learn why it was wrong. Don’t dwell on the fact that you were incorrect. Spend more time on finding out how to improve.
The more you train your mind to accept failure, the faster you can improve your behavior and adjust your decisions.
How to get started
Whenever you are done with your task, step back and close your eyes. Ask yourself “What can I learn from this?”. This question is important because your mind begins to reflect on what has happened. What was right about your output? What was wrong with it? Even if your project was a massive success, assume that there is always room for improvement. Once you habitually examine your actions, your mind will automatically think about ways to improve focus at work.
Work only when it’s time to.
So many adults suffer from burnout and emotional stress because they don’t know when to stop working. Several people tend to go home and bring their workload with them. Others have difficulty shutting off their minds from upcoming deadlines and projects. The more time they spend thinking about work or studies, the less energy they have left to focus.
The answer to this dilemma is simple: stop. Step away from work entirely when the clock strikes and the shift ends. Don’t try to check your e-mails while hanging out with your family and friends. Don’t respond to business calls when you are on vacation. It may sound counterproductive, but it’s not. Work is a big part of life, but it should not be the only thing. Your social relationships, hobbies, and health are just as important. So whenever it’s time to call it a day, remind yourself that you’ll continue tomorrow. There’s no better way to improve focus at work than to take a breather when you have to.
How to get started
Remember how we said earlier that you should set an alarm for when your phone should be off? Do this with two more alarms, one for the start and end of work. If you have a 9-5 job, focus on your tasks only from 9 AM until 5 PM. If you wake up early, do something else. Perhaps you can step outside and go for a walk. You could try some yoga and practice meditation.
The same applies to the end of work for the day. Take a nice, long bath after you’ve logged off. Perhaps you can buy a nice dinner and watch some TV. Until those alarms for work strike, keep your mind free of any obligations to your job. That way, when it is time to get productive, your brain will learn to synchronize with your new schedule to improve focus at work.
In summary
With these simple habits, you’ll discover that work isn’t a tiresome task. More importantly, your mind will feel less burdened and lazy when the time is right. By following these tricks and tips, you can practice activating your brainpower for whatever tasks you have later during the day. It’ll help you improve focus at work and learn how to cope with the assignments in your backlog. Above all else, remember that your mind is a part of your body. Treat it well when you feel exhausted. You can always bounce back and work harder when you are prepared.
Another way to improve your focus at work is by meditating, you can check our new video about benefits of meditation
- Bright Business Media LLC. (2019, August 13). 10 Daily Habits to Increase Productivity. Smart Meetings.
- Lindberg, S. (2019, October 16). Need Help Staying Focused? Try These 10 Tips. Healthline.
- Ali, M. (2022, June 28). Ways to improve your FOCUS 👀. Munif Ali Brand.
- McSpadden, K. (2015, May 14). You Now Have a Shorter Attention Span Than a Goldfish. Time.
- Pozin, I. (2021, December 10). 9 Habits Of Productive People. Forbes.
- Sims, P. (2014, August 7). Five of Steve Jobs’s Biggest Mistakes. Harvard Business Review.
- Suni, E. (2022, April 13). How Much Sleep Do We Really Need? Sleep Foundation.
- Team Fearless. (2018, April 13). 10 Habits Of All Successful People!
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Being successful as a person can both be learned and taught, but you must have the willingness to overcome obstacles and create habits that will make you more successful . I will give you the systems that will do both.
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