5 Simple Tips I Follow To Stay More Focused
I am using these myself to stay more focused which you can follow as well
Staying focused is a very important asset in our life. I always think about focus this way — to me, staying focused is just like a magnifying glass. What happens if you just constantly move the magnifying glass? — Nothing, right? But if you hold the magnifying glass in one place under sunlight, it will light up a fire.
The magnifying glass only gathers and focuses all the photons through the small dot area created by the convex lens. This is how it’s able to create a fire.
Staying focused in our life is nothing different than the magnifying glass. If you get distracted and lose your focus then you won’t be able to accomplish your goal.
We all have to learn many skills in our life. But the weird thing is we don’t focus on the things that actually need our focus. We easily get distracted.
Think of focusing as an exercise against distractions. You need to practice this to stay away from distractions just like we exercise to stay away from various diseases.
People who can focus more are the most successful in life. This quote by Bruce Lee perfectly portrays this:
“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.” — Bruce Lee
Most often, I get distracted by my phone and social media while doing other tasks. However, I am trying some things to stay more focused on my tasks. I am not fully successful yet but I can definitely say that I am improving on my focus level. I can focus more now thanks to these tips that I have been trying to follow recently.
Here are 5 of the tips that I am practicing regularly to build more focus that you can follow too:
1. Find your peak hours
This can be very crucial if you can implement this correctly. I am experimenting with different work hours every day.
Turns out I can focus more and be more productive after waking up early in the morning. Because I check my social media beforehand so I don’t have to worry about those for a while in the morning.
But if I work or write other than morning time then I’ll get the urge to check my mobile constantly for social media updates, or I’ll start to browse YouTube and get distracted from my work. Also, I am finding early midnight productive as well because my mind is very calm at that time of night.
If you want to find your most productive hours or the “peak hours” — you can start to actively experiment and measure your productivity during various times of the day and night. Pay attention to your thought process, mood, and how you get distracted while experimenting with different work hours.
This way you will eventually find the most productive time for you when you can stay focused more than any other time of the day or night.
2. Remove “What happens if thoughts”
Negative thoughts can affect our emotions, mental health and even it can affect our focus level. We can easily get distracted by negative thoughts while doing something.
For example, suppose you will participate in a presentation on a stage with a huge amount of people in front of you. Then suddenly your brain starts to focus on negative things. You start to think — “What happens if I forget what to say, what happens if I don’t finish the speech in time.” And then the thought of giving a speech in front of a huge crowd will start to give you anxiety.
These thoughts are examples of distractions. And these distractions will affect your performance a lot.
So, you have to stop these negative thoughts. Instead, you can simply start to focus on what you have to do currently.
As for our example above, you can start to think about what you will say in the introduction of your speech or simply plan the outlines of your speech. This will cause you to stay focused and you won’t fall into the neverending abyss of negative thoughts.
“Focus on the possibilities for success, not on the potential for failure” — Napoleon Hill
The key takeaway for this point is to stop allowing negative thoughts and never focus on the outcome straightaway. This way you will stay focused on your task and then once you start doing the task, you will get momentum and it will carry you until you finish the task successfully.
Remember focusing is choosing the right thoughts among thousands of thoughts that your brain is producing constantly.
3. Binaural beats
Binaural beats can be very useful for staying focused. Tim Denning talks about this awesome technique to stay focused in this article.
I am practicing this myself. When I write or do something that needs my focus, I keep the gamma binaural beats playing on my headphones. This helps me to concentrate more while writing.
I first learned about binaural beats when I came across a weird video of binaural beats in my YouTube recommendations. I clicked that video and I was like what the F is this?
Then I searched for binaural beats on Google. I learned that there are many types of binaural beats. Low-frequency binaural beats boost relaxation and improve sleep. Theta and delta waves are perfect examples of low-frequency beats.
On the other hand, higher frequency waves like gamma binaural beats will make you more alert, focused. These waves can help you with increased cognitive flexibility, more attention to detail, or better able to recall memories.
Gamma waves are the fastest brain waves that are produced in your brain. These waves range from 30hz to as high as 140hz. Most commonly it’s about ~40hz.
Gamma waves are evidence that you’ve achieved peak concentration. In other words, when you’re intensely focused and your brain is very actively engaged in solving a problem, this is when your brain is likely producing gamma waves. They help you process information. — Healthline
The main idea of listening to binaural beats is that you’ll be able to take advantage of the benefits associated with those frequencies.
That means when you listen to for example gamma waves, your brain will automatically enter a gamma state.
As a result, your brain will also start to produce gamma waves while you listen to them. So, you will be able to focus and concentrate more because you are forcing your brain to enter the gamma state which helps you to stay more focused.
4. Build the habit of focus using the Pomodoro Technique
I am using a simple technique called “The Pomodoro Technique” to stay focused.
I set up an alarm before sitting down to do more work. Then I’ll start to do that work with more focus. After a while, when I hear the alarm, I take a 5–10-minute break. Then I set the timer again and get back to work. And I repeat this until my task is finished or I’m tired. This way my mind stays fresh and I can focus more.
This happens because our brain will always look for something to get distracted from after staying focused for 30–40 minutes. Distraction also releases some dopamine, that’s why our brain wants to get distracted. But you can train your brain to slowly focus more using The Pomodoro Technique.
Here are some steps to practice the technique:
● Simply start working by setting up an alarm beforehand. You can set the alarm to go up after 25–30 minutes.
● Try to focus more during this period. Remove every distraction while doing your task.
● Then when the alarm goes up, stop and take a break and distract yourself from working for 5–10 minutes.
● After that set an alarm and start working again.
● Repeat this 3–4 times or until your task is completed.
Remember you need to shift your focus completely to do your task efficiently in those 25–30 minutes, otherwise, you will end up wasting more time.
5. Use social media and other distractions at certain times only
Now, this is where we all suffer the most. Whenever we try to focus on something, the notifications from various social media distract us.
I used to suffer from this the most. Sometimes, I used to multi-task. I used to browse social media while doing other things. As a result, I used to take more time to finish a task. This was not productive at all.
Multi-tasking can reduce productivity by about 40 percent(reported by the American Psychological Association).
I tried to completely ignore social media while doing something for example while I write. But this didn’t work. My mind was always distracted because I was thinking about using my phone again.
But when I started using the Pomodoro Technique mentioned above at #4, I could focus more. Now I know I can use social media after focusing on the task constantly for about 25–30 minutes. I think of this as a reward after focusing on my task.
So, I try to fully concentrate before taking a break. Then when I take a break, I check my phone or social media or even do other things if I feel the need to. Then I start working again. This works like a charm for me.
The takeaway of this point is to avoid using social media or any other thing that can distract you while doing a task. Most importantly avoid multitasking to be more productive. This quote by Zen Proverb suggests us to focus on only one task at a time:
“When walking, walk. When eating, eat.” — Zen Proverb
If you really want to focus on multiple things you can try to pick tasks that are similar and then do these at a time. But I don’t recommend doing this. I suggest completing one task fully and then focusing on another. Because I tried this and it didn’t work that well for me. But if you think you will be able to pull it off, you are welcome to try.
Final takeaways
Staying focused helps you get more done in less time. You will be more productive if you focus more. I am definitely seeing a difference in my productivity after trying to stay more focused.
Staying focused will help you keep moving towards your goal and you will eventually be successful. Just like L L Cool J says:
“Stay focused, go after your dreams and keep moving toward your goals.” — L L Cool J
Don’t let yourself get carried away by your thoughts. Never be negative about the outcome of doing something and just focus on doing what you are doing right now.
Try to remove any kind of distraction while doing your task. If you want to achieve more difficult goals, practice focusing now. Because in order to achieve a long-term goal, you have to stay on track. And nothing will help you more than focusing to successfully achieve your goal.
Focus is one kind of battle against distraction. And you have to understand that discomfort creates growth. We all feel comfortable being distracted by browsing social media or doing other things while doing our tasks.
But if you want to be more productive and if you want to accomplish your goals then it’s time to say goodbye to distractions and start practicing to focus more from now on.
I appreciate it if you were focused while reading this article. Thank you very much for reading.
