At times, it’s hard to stay focused while at work. As you begin your day, you tell yourself that you’ll accomplish a number of tasks. And regardless of how determined you may be, you end up focusing on trivial tasks rather than more critical ones – as most of us do.
We live in a world where information is readily available. Given the wide array of opportunities available because of it, we may find it difficult to complete an eight-hour workday. The loss of focus can also be caused by other factors including time-wasting activities, distractions, and annoying colleagues. All these factors could adversely affect your overall efficiency and productivity.
In this article, we’ll mention a few ways you can stay focused at work and get more tasks done in a day.
Establish an Hourly Work Schedule
Not having a proper plan is one of the major reasons why we lose focus. Consequently, our monkey brain frees itself, and we lose sight of the goal. If you’re having trouble controlling your mind, organize your tasks on an hourly basis. Your workday will be more structured with this practice. As a result, you know what you need to accomplish by the end of each day.
Prioritization is also enhanced by the creation of an hourly plan. By doing so, you can plan your day in such a way that the most demanding tasks are taken care of early in the day. You can create an hourly schedule using different scheduling tools online, but make sure you have a reliable internet connection in place like the one offered by HughesNet to use such tools effectively.
Organize Your Workspace
In order to organize your thoughts and focus on one task at a time, it is essential that your workplace fosters such clarity. Remove posters from the wall, clean your desk, and organize your computer’s desktop (if you feel it will be helpful).
Additionally, it is possible to place a large monitor between you and the rest of the office to keep people from constantly glancing at you.
Consider Taking Frequent Breaks
Whenever you are unable to concentrate on a task, it is advisable to take a break to avoid getting overwhelmed. Human brains aren’t designed to maintain focused attention for too long. Furthermore, staring at the screen for too long can lead to fatigue, headaches, and lethargy. This is why it is recommended that you take a short break after every 60 minutes of working.
Organize the Mailbox
Email can be quite distracting and stressful. You receive dozens of emails every day – both personal and professional. An interesting thing about email is that you receive it when you are busy with the most critical and challenging tasks. An average employee writes 56 emails in a day, spending about 1.5 hours on the task?
Maintaining a distinct email address for personal and work purposes can help you avoid this chaos. Filter your emails according to your preferences and set aside a certain time each day to check your email. Spending less time on email will allow you to spend more time on important tasks and remain focused.
Get Into the Flow
We are all different. Our habits and working styles are different. Many are more productive when working continuously, while others perform better when working in small increments. It’s therefore vital that we understand how our bodies and minds function. With this information, it will be possible to devise a technique that will enhance our attention span.
Wrapping Up
Focus is a muscle that needs to be exercised. The more it is exercised, the stronger it becomes. In the beginning, it may be challenging, but your brain can be trained to focus more easily with a little patience, practice, and determination.