Do you find your mind wandering while you’re at work? Do you catch yourself looking at the clock? Do you end up getting distracted by nearly everything? Follow these tips to improve your focus when you’re at work, and improve your performance and productivity as a result.
Make a List
Start each day by writing out a to-do list full of tasks you need to complete, and stay on track by following your list. You can celebrate a little victory each time you strike another item off the list, and that will help you stay focused on getting stuff done. Break it down into small tasks, if needed, to keep yourself busy throughout the day and keep those mini celebrations coming.
Seriously, Put Down Your Phone
You probably don’t even notice how many times a day you pick up your phone, or how much time you’re spending on it. After all, it all seems harmless enough. What, so you spend 15 seconds looking at a text or checking a status update? But those little breaks really add up over the course of a day, and each and every time they break your focus. After you look at your phone, you have to reorient yourself to the task at hand, remind yourself what you need to do and try to pick up where you left off. It leads up to a huge loss of time and a overall productivity problem. Wait for your scheduled breaks to look at your phone; if it’s really all that important, they’re going to call you at work.
Break it Up
If your job requires you to do one task for a very long time, or many similar tasks all in a row, things can get sort of monotonous. If you do too much of the same thing, your mind is naturally going to wander. Do what you can to mix up your workday and break up those long tasks. Work on something for an hour or two, then switch over to something else. Maybe you need to return some calls, check your work email, or follow up on a report. Pepper your workday with little tasks and give yourself some natural diversions, so the day will feel a little less boring.
Take Care of Yourself
If you’re having a lot of trouble staying focused at work, it could be due to poor habits. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you eating a balanced diet of healthy foods? Do you exercise? A healthy body leads to a much healthier mind. If you feel sluggish and distracted when you’re at work, it may be caused by poor sleep, poor diet and lack of exercise. Make room in your life to take good care of yourself, and you’ll find that your mind is sharper, clearer and more energetic overall.
Improving Focus
Life is full of distractions. You can’t even browse online without finding some viral story or video that everyone has already seen, and there’s always another notification to look at on your phone. Something is happening all the time, and that can make it feel impossible to maintain focus. Change some of your habits to keep yourself focused at work, and keep yourself on track to stay productive all day long.