As us busy entrepreneurs are more than aware, getting more done in less time is the order of the year. While many of us pride ourselves in being able to do multiple things at a time, like cook dinner and have a client call while watching our kids, we really end up not doing ANY of those things well if we do them all at the same time.
Over the years, as I have gotten to know myself, how I work, and the way my brain works I have found that 2 hours of deep, focused work, will be much more productive than a day of balancing everything that falls in our lap.
Creating the time and space to focus on the parts of our business or our lives that require it is not easy. But being aware of things we can do to help CREATE the focus, and therefore the flow that is required to get the hard things done.
And much like anything, if you create a habit of it, it becomes easier and almost something you look forward to.
But putting all of the distractions away, figuring out HOW to focus is sometimes more than half the problem.
I have a few things that I utilize to help promote focus when I work on my content, PM builds, process outlines and other high-concentration tasks in my business.
Focus hacks that I’ve used for myself
- Find a space to work where you will not be interrupted, that preferably has a door, and let your family and friends know you are there to focus.
- Put your phone on silent or airplane mode and turn off all social media pop-ups or slack conversations
- Ambient music or white noise. I swear by ambient music (there is a plethora of it on youtube), my favorite is just a crackling fire
- Work when your brain works best. There is something to knowing when your neurons are firing the fastest and using those hours of the day to do.
- Have a hot drink or a snack at your disposal. Nothing distracts me more than being hungry, cold, or thirsty. I always make a hot cup of tea (currently it is peppermint) to get me through a focus-session with the most effectiveness.
- Only try to get 1-2 things done during your focus sessions and then take a break.
- Plan your session out before you do it. Knowing what you are working on prior to doing it will help you focus on the tasks at hand
- Physical activity. It is good for you, you already know that, but it also helps your focus and concentration as well. How often do you get your best ideas when working out? I know I do when I run.
Alarming Statistics about lack of focus.
- Trying to focus on more than one thing at a time reduces your productivity by as much as 40%.
- The average desk job employee loses 2.1 hours a day to distractions and interruptions. That adds up to over a full day of work every week.
- On average, employees who do the majority of their work on computers are distracted every 10.5 minutes.
- Being distracted by incoming calls or emails can lower employees’ IQ by as much 10 points.
I’d love to know what kind of ways you help your focus as well. How do you get yourself in that “flow” state quickest?
