Are You Struggling To Focus?
If you want to focus more, you need to become obsessive about eliminating distractions.
Distractions come from two directions: Internal and External.
Identifying the source of your distractions is Step 1.
Step 2 is finding ways to reduce or eliminate them.
Internal distractions come from your body and mind.
External distractions come from other people and devices.
Both types of distractions affect your actions.
The way to reduce or eliminate your distractions is through your systems.
In a normal working day, you will likely only get one focused work session.
So how do you make it count?
It starts the evening before.
Two things you gotta do before going to bed if you want to increase your focus the next day:
Journal
It helps you clear your mind & has been shown to increase mental performance by 25%.
Clarify your One Thing
Identify the one task that if done will make the day a success. This is where you deploy max focus.
Each morning, prime your mind for your One Thing.
Listen to a podcast or audiobook that helps you get in the zone.
If I am sitting down to focus on strategy for work, I’ll listen to business podcasts during my morning meeting.
Priming your mind is one of the most effective ways to eliminate procrastination. You are now fired up to do your work.
Tap into the flow state when you do your focused work.
The flow state is when you are “in the zone”.
You get into it by building a ritual around this type of work.
It will trick your mind into focused work mode.
What are ways to get into flow state?
High Energy (good sleep, right fuel)
Hydrate (glass of water = 25% boost of mental performance)
Music (soundtracks or brain.fm)
Clear surroundings (digital and physical)
Be crystal clear on what you are doing and why
Don’t start with an empty page.
Even if you get yourself all set up right, it’s hard to get focused quickly when you start with nothing.
If it is a repeat task that you do, create a template for it.
If it is a new task, have some bullet points on the paper, key ideas, outcomes, etc.
This will jump-start your brain and help beat any urge to do an easier task instead.
Set a timer.
You can do high-focus work for max 2hrs.
It takes 20mins to get into it, then you have 80-90mins of high productive time.
Allow yourself time to wrap up, so you know exactly where you are and what the next steps are.
Reflect at the end of the session and note down any improvements needed to help you focus better.
Follow the above to to reduce your internal distractions.
Your mind is clear and you know what you need to do.
Next, eliminate any external distractions.
Block your focused session in your calendar.
Identify when you do your best deep work, put it in the calendar and schedule the rest of your day around it.
Often we put in meetings and hope to get the important work done around it. You won’t.
Make this a 2hr block of uninterrupted time.
Phone notifications off.
Place your phone out of sight.
Got a smartwatch? Take it off.
Turn off all notifications on your computer and any apps you don’t need.
If you struggle with not checking email or news feed when you sit down, install apps like ‘Self Control’ that block off distracting sites or apps for you.
Set yourself up where you can work without interruptions.
Having worked from the kitchen table during the lockdowns, I know this is sometimes not possible.
But when possible, use noise cancelling headphones and ask others to respect your space. This is the most important work you do.
If all else fails, put your focused session in the early morning or evening. Otherwise you might as well do email.
Always have pen and paper to hand.
Even when you are in flow state, new ideas, to-dos etc emerge.
You must capture them so that your brain can let go of them.
Use pen and paper, so your to-do list app doesn’t interrupt your thinking.
What to do when you get interrupted anyway?
Leave breadcrumbs.
Quickly write-down where you are in your work, and what the next 1 or 2 thoughts are you wanted to work on.
It is not ideal, but leaving these breadcrumbs will help you connect faster with your work again.
Recap:
Identify your distractions, build systems to eliminate them
Understand when you do your best focused work
Prime your mind
Tap into flow state
Block out time in your calendar
Phone away, all notifications off
Have pen & paper ready to capture thoughts
Focused work is 10% of your time, but 90% of what moves you forward.
