Can’t sustain focus? You may be frustrated because you always find yourself giving in to the urge to procrastinate, you’re indecisive, and you’re often distracted. As a result, everything around you lags behind. Your work life, your personal life, and your relationships suffer because these lack the focus they need.

Focus is the Key to Success

Many other factors contribute to success, but the one thing that you can’t do without is the focus. It would help if you had focus to be able to finish any task at hand. You need it when you’re trying to learn a new skill. You also need it when listening to your partner’s needs. The most important matters in our lives need our focus and attention. Without focus, life just passes by like a blur.

5 Steps to Improve Focus

1. Get rid of distractions

What you don’t do determines what you can do. Email, social media, meetings, phone calls and even the urge to multitask are common distractions. You can also be distracted by external noise and noise inside your head! When you need to focus on an important task, put these distractions away. Be in an environment that encourages you to concentrate. Turn off notifications. Don’t check your email first thing in the morning. You’d rather use your energy on your priorities.

2. Start meditating

A common mistake that many of us make is we fail to unplug. Our minds are overloaded with information that it becomes cluttered. Psychologists say letting our minds wander and rest helps boost our ability to focus. The best way to do this is through meditation.

3. Practice mindfulness

Practicing mindfulness simply means being fully aware and present at the moment. Be observant. Pay attention to your thoughts and emotions. Pay attention to your senses. Notice the little things that you’re generally not conscious of, like the feel of the keyboard on your fingertips or the smell of your morning coffee. Mindfulness trains you to focus.

4. Work in chunks

It’s impossible to sustain focus for hours. Focus is a limited source that needs to be recharged. This is why it’s better to set a specific amount of time to work on a task than to work straight through. Take short breaks in between to fuel your brain.

5. Get enough sleep

Sleep is another important factor for sustaining focus. When you lack sleep, the brain is hazy, and we lack the energy to concentrate. Aim for seven to nine hours of quality sleep per night.

Summary:

Our attention span is becoming shorter because of constant digital connectivity and overstimulation of our minds. But we can take back control over our actions and train ourselves to focus.

• Remove distractions.

• Meditate.

• Be mindful.

• Work in small chunks.

• Sleep better.