Staying focused at work is one of the biggest challenges we face in our daily lives, especially after a break. From the jargon of thoughts interrupting our creativity, to the lack of focus and concentration that our work demands – we’ve all been in a situation where we tend to lack focus. Find out what we can do to help us stay focused at work.
We live in a digital world that is ever-evolving, which has led to our brain’s ability to focus on the more important tasks has become increasingly difficult.
It’s almost crunch time, and you get an urgent priority email and task from your manager. A colleague tags you in ClickUp for an important project. You’ve got client emails buzzing in your inbox. And someone in the background is discussing a historical win from the underdogs in a football match. Would you still be able to focus?
If you can relate to this, don’t worry – today we reveal the top 5 tried-and-tested ways that help you stay focused at work.
What is focus?
Focus can be defined as a person’s ability to concentrate on a single thing or a task. When someone is focused, their attention is centered on a focal point. In terms of work, focus is when an employee’s full attention is geared towards completing their main goal or objective.
How to stay focused at work?
We’ve gathered 5 tried-and-tested ways to help you improve your mental focus and concentration at your workplace:
Eliminate distractions
Your productivity level at your workplace depends on the number of distractions you undergo. The most common distraction that one can easily relate to is your phone.
This is when you take control of your technology. You may want to try turning your notifications off while you are working at an important task, or disable your phone at certain times a day. Shifting your workstation to a quieter space also helps.
An app called Forest is designed to block distractions on all your devices. Download here: https://www.forestapp.cc/
Set clear goals
If you’ve got a lot on your plate for the day, it would be beneficial to create a to-do list, and rank your tasks accordingly as per the importance and urgency of it. In other words, it’s important to set clear goals for the day, but also necessary to prioritize tasks, and set deadlines that will only encourage you to complete the task on time.
Another useful thing would be to split time-consuming tasks. This means that instead of tackling one huge task, try breaking it down into smaller bits of doable tasks. This way, you will also feel rewarded each time a small bit of task gets completed, eventually leading you to finish the main task itself.
Prioritizing tasks also means that you need to divide your tasks as per your energy-level. Meaning, if you feel you’re someone who is more energetic during the morning hours, it would be better to set most important tasks for that time of the day.
Take small, 10-minute breaks to meditate
Surely nobody is able to work for 3 hours at a stretch without a single thought randomly interrupting your focus. Taking short, regular breaks can help you break-through the overwhelming thoughts clouding up your head.
However, make sure that your 10-minutes breaks are computer-free zone, meaning you are just utilizing your time taking a walk in the fresh air, sipping coffee (or water most importantly) listening to songs that give you a zest, or chatting your heart out with a colleague (who is also on a break, just to be clear).
Write down all your ideas
It is quite normal for us to suddenly have bursting ideas in our head, while we are working on a task. As motivating and inspiring these ideas may be, the massive amount can get overwhelming at some point, making it hard for us to focus on our ongoing task.
Whenever you feel this way, try to jot down all your ideas in a single place – this can be your notebook or Click-up, whatever makes these amazing ideas of yours stored safely for you to work on whenever you find the time.
Remember, we are not Einstein to remember everything. Or was he known for something else? (Just lighting up the mood here).
Find inspiration
Last but not the least, and probably one of the most important points, inspiration is the key! Always ask yourself – why are you doing this work? Is it merely because your manager asked you to? Or will it eventually have a positive impact on your career?
Having a purpose behind whatever task you do will always keep you inspired and on your toes. Not just this, it will always motivate you to excel in whatever you do, eventually increasing your focus and concentration.
Be a part of VAI!
Do we sound cool enough to you? If yes, try these tips and let us know if they’ve helped you increase your focus at your workplace, and stay tuned because there’s a lot more of our coolness for you to explore!
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