5 Ways To Develop Deep Focus

Deep focus comes from practicing to limit your attention to only one task at hand for a consistent amount of time. Consider your focus as a spotlight. The denser it is, the clear the image. On the other hand, if it’s distracted in multi-directions, then the image is blurred. Spotlighting your attention to only one task while ignoring the distractions enhance your cognitive skills.

To enter into a state of deep focus, follow these rules to get the best out of your performance.

Avoid Social Media

Struggling for a focused and uninterrupted hour for work seems impossible nowadays, as a beep of notification or a tweet from Twitter makes us pounce on our smartphone for the next exciting thing. It only takes a tap, swipe, and a final click to get lost in the pool of distractions.

“Combine the four-plus hours the average person spends on their smartphone with the four-plus hours the average person spends watching television, and distraction is a full-time job.”
― Jake Knapp, Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day

If we are unlocking our smartphone almost 150 times a day, it’s hard to stay focused when our phone is consistently begging us to take notice of the next TikTok trend or fancy Instagram posts.

Social media isn’t evil, but not resisting it affects your cognitive ability. Your lingering thoughts on the latest post you read and the urge to catch the next activity on social media make it harder to withstand long, productive work.

Try This!

Next time, put your phone on silent and away from you during your productive work. It will lessen the temptation you face every time your phone rings from a notification.

Make Your “Highlight of The Day”

Choosing a single highlight of the day will make you get rid of all the unnecessary tasks you want or have to do. We know that in our hectic society, multi-tasking seems the best option, but highlighting only one priority of the day will give you better results. This way, you will remember to make it done by the end of the day, and it became easier to get rid of distractions, hence entering the work zone.

Cal Newport, in his book, Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, says that doing the work in a long, uninterrupted attempt multiplies the productivity rather than doing it in short, distracted chunks of time.

The law of productivity, according to him, is:

High-Quality Work Produced = (Time Spent) x (Intensity of Focus)

Try This!

Appoint a specific time to do your highlight of the day in a room without any external distractions. This will create an optimal flow to keep you focused and perform at your best. Try staying focused for about 60 to 90 minutes, an ideal spot where you spend enough time to stay productive and not too much time to be exhausted.

Cope With Boredom

As entertainment is only clicking away from us, it’s hard to give our brains some free time to think or meditate. We pick our smartphones at even the slightest hint of boredom.

This gives us the idea of productive meditation. Resisting the urge to open our smartphones at boring times and giving some free time for your brain to think about our urgent work increases productivity.

If you are having a hard time finishing your highlight of the day, face your fear and anxiety by concentrating deeper on the problem. However, a dopamine dose through scrolling will only delay the problem.

Next time you are physically involved( like jogging, cooking, driving, eating)in something, focus on your highlighted task. It may be writing an article, completing your assignment, or planning a business strategy. This productive thinking will automatically prepare your brain to act efficiently for the task at hand.

Bring the best out of the boredom by doing productive thinking during less- mental chores!!

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During driving, eating, running, or taking a shower, occupy your brain with some productive thinking instead of listening to music. This will boost the creativity of your mind. Your brain will be less likely to wander or stall during your deep work.

You will find yourself more committed, less distracted, and mindful during your productive hours once you practice it enough.

Do Deliberate Practice

Willpower isn’t enough to chase a long-term ambition. Motivation is a fuel that is used to kickstart the journey, but it’s not permanent.

There are days when you feel motivated and deep work is easily done, but this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, when we are tired from work, emotionally exhausted, or distracted, it becomes a lot challenging to do productive deep work.

To be consistent with your deep work, you need to practice discipline.

Willpower isn’t enough to do productive tasks each day. You need to deliberately get yourself to practice deep, focused work even if you are not feeling to do it right now.

Have Fun Along The Way

When we focus too much on the reward, we forget to have fun along the journey, and productive work seems like a burden, making the journey hard for you. Feel satisfied with what you have achieved in a day.

If you want to climb a mountain, your goal should not be to reach the top. It should be to enjoy the climb. When you focus on the experiences and challenges along the way, your goal will be easier and a lot more fun.

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Feel the satisfaction of doing undisturbed, productive work and how it’s improving your efficiency whenever you are exhausted or unmotivated for your tasks at hand.