Let me ask you something...
One of my strengths is when needed I have high levels of focus on a given task, whereby
I can concentrate on it without procrastinating or being distracted.
Is this something you would like?
Given you're here I would assume "Yes".
Is this something unique to me or a small group of esoteric people?
No!
It's a skill that all of us can learn and develop, so in this video, I'm going to give
you tips on how to improve your focus and concentration on a given task.
For this video, I'm going to use a breakdown that was given by Jordan Peterson, who I think
explained it in a succinct and useful way for anyone to apply.
So without wasting time, how can you maintain focus on a task?
Regulate Habits
The starting point of building up your focus is to initially assess your day to day routines
to help set your up to have a positive day ahead.
Why is this?
Well, our circadian rhythm, or body clock, play a huge role in our energy levels and
consistency in state and mood on a day to day basis.
Humans, like most animals, have a need for a routine and so when they follow a clear
routine it helps to regulate mood and function in the body, notably with us regulating when
we feel more alert and ready to work.
Critical areas to be focusing in on is also to make sure that you give yourself time and
opportunity to eat a healthy diet and get some form of exercise, both of which are critical
in how we perform.
In the case of diet, eating a rich and nutritious diet that's well balanced will help you feel
more energetic, with numerous studies today showing how it influences our mood and cognitive
health, meaning it's something that needs to be managed for your overall wellbeing.
Exercise is similar, with it helping us feel more energetic as adrenaline levels increase
and help put us in a state of alert.
After all, we've evolved as creatures that need to be active and move.
Not only does a person who regularly gets exercise have greater energy levels, but again
it significantly improves mood as dopamine and serotonin release in the brain, helping
you feel happier and less stressed, critical in functioning at your best when working.
This all focuses on a high level lifestyle choice, but fundamentally, what do you need
to consider when you actually sit down at a desk ready to get to work.
Well, first and foremost you need to...
Schedule Time
Scheduling your time is fundamental in making the most efficient use of your time to hit
the targets you want to hit.
However, before you schedule your time, you should focus on developing a long term plan,
so you have a clear direction to work towards and can reverse engineer to help you identify
the individual tasks that you need to do to reach that goal.
So let's say you've developed a long term plan and have a clear goal you're working
towards, and have identified what tasks need to be done to complete this.
What do you do?
Well, it's at this point you need to design your days to allow you to complete these tasks.
That means set aside time in your daily routine to work, assigning what task will be done
at what time and follow a timetable you set up for yourself.
Don't forget, we also live in an age where we have constant access to a calendar in our
pocket.
Not only does this calendar allow us to organise our days, but will alert us when it's time
to start or stop.
So utilise technology if you can to help benefit you.
Now, some of you might be getting put off with the idea of a schedule and honestly this
isn't too infrequent.
After all, when growing up a schedule is often viewed as a prison preventing us from having
the day we want.
After all, most of us need to wake up at a certain time to get ready for school, then
we go to school and our day is governed by set class times that we need to attend, otherwise
we risk getting in trouble.
From here you come home tired, are told to eat dinner at a set time and then need to
go bed at a set time to, minimising the time you get to actually do something you get to
enjoy.
As a kid, it's normal to associate a schedule as restrictive.
But, and this is a big but, a schedule as you grow older serves a very different function.
You see no longer is your routine and schedule being dictated by other people, rather it's
something that you control.
This means it's no longer restrictive as you may previously perceive it to be, instead
it's something that liberates you to help you set up your ideal day.
So importantly, as you grow older, you need to remember that a schedule isn't a prison,
it's a choice to help you live your life as you hope to.
And you may not hit that schedule perfectly, that's ok.
Instead, work to...
Incrementally Grow
Here's the thing, if we set up a schedule it's going to be challenging to hit it 100%
everyday when we have so much to try and juggle in life.
As you grow older, your responsibilities pile up and with them you can often hit unforeseen
circumstances that can prevent you from the day you intended to have.
This is ok, sometimes you just need to move on, other times you can learn from them.
One of the biggest difficulties people have when trying to set up a schedule is they pressure
themselves to do too much too quickly, usually resulting in them struggling to do what they
wanted to.
Think of it this way, when you start eating healthier it's often difficult to go cold
turkey on all sweet snacks, you can feel a sense of withdrawal symptoms coming on.
Instead, allowing yourself a little, or controlled, amount is often more effective in the short
term.
The same goes with building positive habits in your schedule.
If you want to read, then rather than saying you need to read 1 hour each day, start with
just 10 to 15 minutes, working your way up slowly after you've had a few days of success.
In effect, you build the habit to at least show up, which is often half the battle when
following a schedule, which can be built up as showing up becomes a habit.
Now this isn't to say you should make it too easy for yourself, as we need challenge to
feel as though we're making progress, but equally you shouldn't be tyrranising yourself
either.
One method that might help is adapting the Pomodoro technique to help you manage your
time in small chunks.
Normally it is to work intensely for about 25 minutes before having a couple of minutes
break.
After doing this four times, you'd take a longer break.
However, when starting out you can shift it to be just 10 to 15 minutes of work, before
taking a 5 minute break, perhaps affording yourself a longer 15 or 20 minutes when you
do only three pomodori.
As I mentioned before, the key when starting out is to build a routine, and you do this
when you...
Build Micro Habits
We started out by talking about how your general routine is fundamental in helping your be
more focused, but as with many things, the devil is in the detail.
When you start building yourself schedules and find you're succeeding in doing the tasks
you set yourself, it's useful to go through a process of analysing what's working and
what isn't.
As you identify what helps, you want to double down to keep these habits in place to help
you stay focused, while you want to change those that prevent you from focusing.
Let's take listening to music while working as an example.
For some, music tends to help them focus when working, whereas for others it can detract
from the concentration.
For me, I find music often helps, so I usually keep earphones in with music on when working.
However, equally I know for friends of mine it has the opposite effect so they prefer
to work in silence.
Likewise, if you find micro habits set your state to be more productive, then apply these
as part of your working routine.
For example, when I know I need to focus on something, I'll usually take a few deep breaths
as I think about what it is I need to do.
For me, this helps set my state and helps me focus in on the specific item I need to
focus on, a micro habit I started out doing unconciously, but have identified as one that
helps my productivity and so consciously incorporate into my routine.
And remember, when you win and focus on your task to completion, give yourself a little
reward.
It might just be a small treat, it might be a quick session on a game or it might be something.
Regardless, it will reinforce positive behaviours and help you get on your way to be more focused
when working.
These tips will help you break down what it is you need to do to help you be more focused
and concentrated when working.
It's not an immediate solution and certainly not a quick fix, but the long term benefits
are much more impactful and lasting.
So I want to know, do you set up a daily schedule?
Let me know in the comments.
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Thanks for watching