How to stay Focus?

How many times have you got distracted from what you are doing? I get distracted more often and sometimes struggle to go back to what I am doing and stay focused. We always tell our kids or we hear from others to stay focused. It is easy to say than follow. It takes a lot of practice to stay focused, especially if you are a multipod. I have read a few out of many articles available online, have practiced and improvised some. Wanted to share some of the habits I follow to stay focused and improve my productivity.

The successful warrior is the average man with laser-like focus.

– Bruce Lee

1. Witness the mind

One common distraction everyone faces is wandering mind, we tend to think about different things than what we are working on. My way of stopping those thoughts is to write them down as they cross the mind and go back to focus on the work I am doing. Once I write down thoughts on my mind, I will be free of that thoughts. Write down everything it can be personal, a new idea, something to learn or explore, something you want to work on, anything that comes to mind, because once you write it down it will not come back to your mind at least until you go back and review them again.

Your goal is not to battle with the mind, but to witness the mind.

– Swami Muktananda

2. Organize and Plan

Everyone knows life doesn’t go as planned always. But planning our day-to-day activities including our work and personal life helps to make use of our time effectively and also helps to be more productive. Organize thoughts you wrote down, prioritize and plan on how to accomplish those. Dedicating time and mind to specific tasks helps to be more productive and less distractive.

For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned.

– Benjamin Franklin

3. Be Commited

Once you have the plan, following that plan is vital. It’s easy to get carried away with our day-to-day tasks and not follow what was planned. So it is important to be on top of it, create alerts, reminders and make sure to do as planned.

Time is a created thing. To say “I don’t have time” is to say “I don’t want to.” 

– Lao Tzu

4. Create a Zone

It’s easy to get distracted, it may be your phone, sounds around us, or people around us. So, make sure to control distractions, stay away from phones, isolate yourself until you finish your work, stay in a zone to stay focused and complete your task effectively.

To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way.

-Corita Kent

5. Healthy Habits

I have mentioned this in previous posts too, “Healthy mind in a healthy body”. Eat healthy, stay hydrated, exercise regularly and sleep well. Caffeine helps to stay active, drink coffee or any caffeinated beverage. But too much may have an adverse effect, so monitor the intake.

Regular exercise and physical activities help to be active, especially if you have a sitting down job. Meditation helps to relax, and regular practice also helps to control our mind, no more wandering thoughts.

6. Take a break

Take regular breaks. Working for long hours can sometimes reduce productivity, so take a walk, listen to music or read a book, or do any other activity that helps you to relax. It helps to increase productivity and also helps to think better.

Don’t worry about breaks every 20 minutes ruining your focus on a task. Contrary to what I might have guessed, taking regular breaks from mental tasks actually improves your creativity and productivity. Skipping breaks, on the other hand, leads to stress and fatigue.

– Tom Rath