Ways to Focus

Improving your concentration can help you achieve better at work or school and become a happier and more organized person. If you want to increase your level of focus, you need to learn how to avoid distractions and plan to focus before completing the task. Apply the following steps if you want to stay focused!

Table of Contents

Job priority

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Make a to-do list. If you want to focus better, you need to make a daily to-do list; That way, you’ll have a specific list to tick off every time you complete a task and feel like you’re getting closer to your goal. Instead of wandering around aimlessly, you will have a list of goals right in front of you and feel proud of completing the tasks you have set out. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Write down at least 3 things that you need to do today, 3 things that you need to get done the next day, and 3 things that you need to do this week. Deal with the things that you need to do today first, and feel satisfied if you still have time to continue handling other tasks.
Reward yourself with breaks. You should take a break every time you tick off something on your list.
Complete small tasks like shopping as soon as you can. Here’s how to shorten your to-do list and make sure you get the little things done first. Don’t be lazy and procrastinate on errands!

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Prioritize tasks. Remember to do the most creative or difficult things in the morning – the time when you are full of energy and motivation. Do easier things like schedule appointments, organize old files, or clean up your desk at noon when your energy is low. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Don’t put off the hardest task until the end of the day, or you’ll have to do it again the next day.

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Keep your workspace tidy. A neat working corner is the factor that helps you focus. Concentration becomes easier if you know exactly where everything is in your office, desk, backpack, or workspace. An organized workspace will save you a lot of time when you need to find something and motivate you to get things done. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Remove non-work related things from your desk. In addition to a few photos in the corner, you should keep only work-related things like paper, staplers or a few pens.
Put your phone away unless you really need it at work. You can check your phone after an hour or two, but don’t leave it on the table or you won’t stop looking at it.
Organize your records systematically. You will save a lot of time in the day knowing exactly where all your records are kept.

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Time management. This is an important part of helping you stay focused. As you start your day and make a to-do list, write down an estimated time to complete each task; that way, you will know the general plan of that day. You should do the things that take a long time first so you can get them done soon. ^{[4] X Trusted Source National Health Service (UK) Go to Source}

Set reasonable goals for each task. Don’t just spend 20 minutes on work that needs to be done in an hour. In this case, you will feel frustrated when you do not complete the goal.
If you finish work earlier, use the rest of the time to rest. Here’s how to stay motivated to get more done.

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Add breaks to your schedule. Rest is just as important as focusing on getting things done. If you have a short break after each task of the day, you will focus better than if you just spent “almost” the whole day working without taking a break. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

You should rest for at least 10-20 minutes after every hour of work. You can use this time to make a phone call, reply to a friend’s email, or go out for a cup of tea.
Allow yourself to rest. Rest time will be the motivation to help you work more effectively. If you say to yourself, “I can have a delicious smoothie after I finish this job,” you’ll work harder than if you didn’t have any positive goals.
Take advantage of breaks for light exercise. Spending 15 minutes walking or taking the stairs up and down 5 floors will stimulate blood circulation and help you feel alert and energetic.
Take a break to get out and get some fresh air. Don’t spend all day sitting in your office or at home. Instead, go outside for a breath of fresh air, enjoy the morning breeze, or bask in the early morning sun to feel more focused and ready to get back to work.

Improve concentration level

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Increase concentration. Everyone has a certain ability to focus, but this ability can improve over time. To increase your ability to focus, you just need to spend a certain amount of time, such as 30 minutes, to do a certain task. When time runs out, see how much longer you can concentrate before stopping, whether it’s an extra 5 minutes or 30 minutes. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

If you repeat this process, you’ll find you can stay focused on one task for longer than expected. Keep going until you feel the need to stop and try to stretch your focus time into the next day.

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Meditation . Meditation is not the only effective way to relax, but if you meditate for 10-20 minutes a day, your ability to focus will gradually improve. When you meditate, you won’t think about anything else, just focus on your body and your breath. From there, you can easily apply these skills to not think around and focus on the work in front of you. You can meditate as soon as you wake up, or meditate before you go to sleep, or even both. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Find a quiet place where you won’t be distracted by noise.
Next, sit in a comfortable position and place your hands on your knees or thighs.
Relax each part of your body in turn until you feel the whole body is no longer tense.

James Brown

Meditation Coach

James Brown is a teacher of Vedic Meditation in the San Francisco Bay Area, a simple and easy-to-follow form of meditation with ancient roots. To become a teacher, he completed a rigorous two-year study program with the Vees masters, which included four months of immersion in the Himalayas. Over the years, he has taught thousands of people, both individuals, companies and conferences from San Francisco to Oslo.

James Brown
Meditation Coach

Meditation can improve concentration and focus. Meditation instructor James Brown says: “We often use focus and attention as two words that mean the same thing, but these are two words with different meanings. Concentration is actively narrowing our attention, while mindfulness is not. Mindfulness is the effort to keep attention.”

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Read more books. Reading is an effective way to increase concentration. You should try reading something continuously for 30 minutes and gradually increase your ability to focus to an hour or two with just a few short breaks. Focusing on reading the content at hand, whether it’s a novel or an autobiography, helps you learn how to stay focused on your work. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

While reading, be sure to ask yourself questions every few pages to make sure you understand what you’re reading and are giving your full attention and energy to what you’re reading.
Reading in the morning is a great way to wake the mind, and reading in bed is an effective way to relax before bed.
You should aim to read for more than 30 minutes a day and watch TV for less than 30 minutes. The ability to focus formed through reading can decrease when you spend time watching TV with lots of commercials.
Avoid any distractions while reading. Put your phone on silent and, if necessary, tell family members not to disturb you while you read. Not only will this increase your ability to focus and pay attention, but it will also help you immerse yourself in the words on the page in front of you.

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Limit multitasking. While many people think that multitasking is a faster way to reach your goals and get two or three things done at once, this is actually bad for your ability to focus. When you multitask, you may think you get a lot done, but in reality you don’t put your focus and energy into any one task, and as a result your ability to focus. affected. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Try to do one thing at a time, and you’ll find yourself getting things done faster.
There is nothing worse than working and chatting with friends online. Your productivity will be cut in half when you chat with friends.
When at home, try not to do housework while working or studying. You will probably be able to wash all the dishes, but your work efficiency will also decrease significantly.

Prepare

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Consider the incident. Have you ever spent an entire day “working” and then wondered why you get almost nothing done? If this ever happens, you should consider it before you start another unproductive day. Before you get down to business, make a list of all the things that worked and weren’t helpful for the study or work session to make sure you have a better experience. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Did you spend the whole study group “eighting” with your friends? If so, next time you will study alone.
While working in the office, did you spend the day helping your co-workers instead of completing your own work? If that’s the case, you should reduce your time helping others and focus on your own work.
Have you wasted your day reading Facebook posts, chatting with friends, or texting to tell your friends what you’re up to that night? You’re better off doing these things after the workday is over.
Before you get down to business, make a list of what’s stopping you from accomplishing your goals so you don’t make the same mistake.

Avoid distractions

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Avoid distractions from the internet. The internet is full of interesting and useful information, but it will also make you waste a lot of time while working. If you really want to get work done, you need to avoid using social media and not chatting with friends during work hours; only check email a few times per day if you really need to. ^{[15] X Research Source}

If you find an article interesting, tell yourself that you can read it during your break, not now.
Avoid sending personal emails while at work. This will distract you and take longer than you think.
If you don’t really need to use the internet while working, disconnect from the internet. You can still get online every hour or two.
You need time to avoid distractions on the Internet. If you keep checking Facebook and email every 15 minutes, try to do it every 30 minutes, and see if you can only check two or three times a day or stop using Facebook.
If you need the Internet to work, don’t open more than 5 browser windows at a time. Focus on what you need to read and keep working. If you have too many windows open, your mind will go into multitasking mode.

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Don’t let others distract you. Regardless of whether you are working in an office or a library, the people around you can be a source of distraction. Don’t let them stop you from achieving your goals. While there will be times when you want to communicate with others while at work, this will reduce your productivity and cause you to work overtime. ^{[16] X Research Source}

Let everyone around you know your priorities for getting things done, whether you’re working from home or in the office. As such, they will limit their access to you when they know you need to give your full attention to the job.
Don’t take personal calls or text unless you can’t avoid it. Let friends and family know that they should only contact you during work when it’s really important, and you’ll limit texting.
If you’re studying with a friend or studying in a group, make sure everyone is focused on learning. You can clap when friends become distracted to remind them of the importance of staying focused.

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Don’t let the work environment distract you. Any work environment can be distracting if you allow it. However, with the right mindset, you can benefit from any work environment. Here’s what you should do:

If you work in a noisy public place, buy noise-cancelling headphones or listen to instrumental music to stay focused.
If you’re sitting next to the person on the phone or two friends are talking loudly, move away, even if it’s your fixed seat.
If you work where the TV is on, don’t look at it more than once an hour, or you’ll get caught up in what’s playing.

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Stay motivated. If you want to avoid distractions and be more focused, the best way is to try to stay motivated to get things done. You should write down the reason you want to get things done, and revisit this reason several times a day to remember the importance of staying focused and avoiding distractions. ^{[17] X Research Source}

Realize the importance of the work you are doing. If you’re grading essays, remind yourself that it’s important to write comments for students. If you are completing a project, what matters here is the success of the company.
Consider the personal aspect. What personal benefit will you gain from getting the job done? When you make an effort to study for the exam, you can get good results and improve your academic performance. If you close an important contract with a client, you may get a promotion.
Think of the exciting things that are waiting for you to get the job done. Remind yourself of the fun things you can do after work, such as going to an evening yoga class, going out for ice cream with an old friend, having a relaxing dinner with your lover.

Advice

Regular exercise can improve concentration. A 20-minute walk does not take much time but also brings many benefits.
If you enjoy listening to music while you work, listen to a song from a certain video game. This is background music composed to improve concentration.
A long attention span will work for you. To prolong your attention span, don’t spend a lot of time on activities that divert your attention every few seconds. This type of activity only trains the brain to focus on the task for a short period of time, making it difficult to concentrate. Some typical activities are texting in chat rooms and playing video games.
Find the right place or time to do work that requires concentration. For example, you can put a study desk in your bedroom to use for studying.
Music also helps you focus, but don’t choose music that distracts you or gets caught up in the tune. You should listen to music without lyrics because the lyrics can be distracting.
Try to relax your mind. Avoid thinking or stressing about anything or anyone.

Warning

Lack of motivation or laziness is not the main cause of your distraction. Certain medical conditions, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can cause distraction; So, if you’ve tried everything you can to stay focused but still get distracted, seek professional help.

Steps