Five Tips for Improving your Focus at Work

Focus is the ability to concentrate on specific tasks or subjects, often for extended periods of time. Focus is a skill that we develop over a lifetime, and developing good focus is important; especially in the workplace where efficiency and accuracy are pivotal to success. However for many workers, focus doesn’t come naturally for them; especially at the office or when working from home. Thankfully, there are a number of ways you can improve your on-the-job focus and performance; and we’ll be covering five of them today!

1. Limit your Distractions

One of the biggest issues facing workers today is the number of unique distractions that can pull them away from their work and in turn, impede their productivity. This can be anything from their phone, social media, television, or more. To avoid distractions, do your best to limit them in your work area. Keep your phone away, ignore social media, and do your best to remain focused solely on the task at hand you’re attempting to complete.

2. Set Realistic Focus Goals

While you might want to immediately improve your ability to focus, this isn’t going to be the case. As we mentioned in our introduction, focus is a life-long skill which requires regular practice in order for you to improve actively. This means setting realistic goals for yourself. Instead of trying to maintain your focus for an entire work day or several hours, time yourself with small increments first. Once you’re able to focus for five minutes, aim for seven, then ten, then more. Go at a pace that feels right for you, and you’ll notice improvement in no time.

3. Avoid Multitasking

Given how much hustle and bustle most of us live with, many have gotten used to the practice of multitasking. However, this can be detrimental to your productivity and your ability to focus at large. By concentrating on only one task at a time, you perform with higher levels of productivity and accuracy; which helps you conquer tasks at a faster rate and get the job done right.

4. Lead a Healthier Lifestyle

Of course, there’s plenty you can do outside of the workplace that will assist in improving your overall ability to focus. Maintaining a healthy diet, receiving adequate sleep, minimizing your use of drugs and alcohol, and exercising regularly can all contribute greatly to your ability to focus for extended periods of time. Moreover, when you have a healthier body; you generally also have a healthy mind; which means you’ll be functioning at a higher cognitive level to begin with. 

5. Use a To-Do List

Of course, there’s always the timeless method of using a to-do list to organize yourself, your tasks, and to get them completed in a timely manner. To-do lists are good for organizing both your work and home life, and by keeping one on you at all times; or by maintaining one on a daily basis; you improve your ability to not only complete tasks, but structure and schedule your living appropriately and reach more of your goals as a result.