Time to Focus
Over the past week, I’ve seen an increasing number of school buses on the road. It’s that tell-tale sign that summer is coming to a close. If your summer was anything like mine, it was busy, fun and filled with getting outside to enjoy everything the warm weather has to offer. Now that the weather is starting to cool and the days are getting shorter, we start to move indoors and are less inclined to get out and play as much. Much like the kids load up on those yellow buses still filled with summertime energy only to sit at a desk, we too must learn how to channel that energy into focusing on our tasks. But, how do we harness all of that energy?
Make a List
When you are starting your day, ensure that you have time to create a list of all of the projects you are working on and what goals you need to hit to further your progress on those projects. With each goal, what are the tasks that you need to accomplish that day? By laying everything out in a realistic manner, you will be able to prioritize better and start chipping away at that to-do list.
Minimize Distractions
Distractions have a huge impact on our ability to maintain focus. Some distractions are unavoidable, but what are some distractions that can be avoided?
- Emails: That little envelope notification that pops up can be so tempting! Sometimes I just can’t resist clicking on it to see what’s made its way into my inbox and distracting me from my work. In fact, the mere pop-up itself is enough to distract me. There is a solution, however. Turn the notifications off. Go into the settings of whichever email program you use and turn the notifications off. Or, close the program entirely. Dedicate time on your to-do list to focus on emails and use the time you have dedicated to work on projects to do just that.
- Send it to voice mails: Just like email, phone calls can be distracting as well. Unless you are expecting an important phone call, let it go to voice mail and go back to check your messages later.
- Put Down that Smart Phone: Oh that smart phone is so tempting in so many ways. Email, phone calls, texts, they can all wait while you are focusing on your work. Turn your phone off or silence it and stick it in a drawer while you are working.
Refresh Yourself
We cannot focus on our work properly if our brains are overworked and tired. That is why it is so important that we take care of ourselves.
Take a Break: When you feel like you are losing focus on your work, get up from your desk. Take a walk outside, grab a snack or whatever you are in the mood for, but get up from your desk and regroup!- Take your Lunch: So many of us eat our lunch every day in front of our computers. We are not utilizing our time for ourselves and are rushing to eat while we work at the same time. It’s not great for our bodies or our work. If you don’t have enough time to get out of the office for lunch, at least take it away from your desk. You are working hard and in order to keep going, you should refuel yourself!
- Go Home: Now, I’m not advocating just getting up from your desk and going home right now! No, I’m merely suggesting that you head home at a reasonable hour. If you can, do try to head home at the end of normal working hours. Things happen from time to time where you will have to stay late, but by maintaining your normal working hours most of the time, you will have plenty of time to come down from your day and rest so you are ready to go the following day!
Slow Down
If you are still having trouble maintaining focus, try to slow down. You have your list and your day planned out, do not rush through it. If you rush through your projects and try to multi-task too much, you risk quality and increase the chances for error, which will only create more work. Slow down, take a breath and look back at your list. What is the top priority? What do you need to get done to reach that goal? Get back to your list and start ticking off those boxes by focusing on each task at hand. Honor the quality of your work and you’ll start speeding up, naturally.
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