How to Accomplish Tasks with Laser-Like Focus

We all get distracted, it’s a part of being human. SQUIRREL.

Anyway, getting distracted sucks for productivity. How many times have you sat down to get something done and later said to yourself, “how did I end up spending the last 20 minutes on Facebook?, I was just checking my messages”. Now you’ve seen 20 cute animal videos and you know everything you never cared to know about your friend’s trip to Mexico and their dog.

Not being able to focus can be pretty frustrating. From personal experience, I can tell you I’ve had to start implementing systems to stay on task. I’m going to share some of these system with you today:

Stay On One Task Until It’s Done

Most people (you included) cannot handle doing multiple tasks simultaneously. Your time and energy is best used directed at one task than spread out over 5 with minimal focus.

Remove all distractions so the only thing left is you and your work.

You know my favourite place to write?

On the train on the way to work and back. There is no internet connection and I can focus.

All the distractions are gone.

I wouldn’t recommend that everyone takes their laptop on the train, but if you can, cool.

Some tasks require internet connection obviously, but if you’re writing a paper, coming up with ideas for a project, figuring out your finances, or simply working on your schedule, you likely don’t need an internet connection.

If you do need wifi to get your work done and don’t want to be distracted, you can use StayFocusd to block off certain or all websites for a period of time while you get your work done.

Another great tool to have is Toggl, which times your task. If you think your task should take roughly an hour, set the timer for an hour and get to work. This has drastically improved how focused I get during my work period.

The time bar shows up on the tab you, so you’ll always know how long it’s taking you to get things done. The timer will also tell you pretty quickly whether or not you’re actually being productive with that time or if you’re constantly distracted with other things:

• Emails

• Facebook

• Pinterest

• Texts

• ...Cat memes

Create a Schedule

This has made the biggest difference to my work/personal life. I’ve talked to people in the past about having a schedule, to which their response was, “I don’t want to be tied down by a schedule”. My response is always, “then don’t”.

No one is forcing you to stick exactly to that schedule, but having a guideline to work with helps you make the most out of your time. How many successful people do you know that don’t value their time and prioritize certain things in their day over others? Probably not a lot.

Having a rough schedule in your head or in front of you helps you see which tasks need the most attention and which ones can wait. Here’s a couple of things I would recommend you try:

Google Calendar

Google Calendar is a phenomenal tool to create, share, and manage your schedule. Whether you’re looking to schedule work, personal, or private times in, this is a great resource to use. You can modify who has access, who can make changes, and even who can see only certain time slots/events. So if you're working on a group project, article, business plan, or anything that requires more than one person, this is a great option.

Create Time Slots

As I mentioned before, certain things take priority over others. When you have an upcoming work/school deadline, you focus more effort on that project to get it finished. What’s the difference between that and a personal project?

Take Short Breaks to Keep Your Brain Feeling Fresh

A short break can allow you to take a step back, reassess your work, or simply allow you to recuperate from the mental tax of working on a difficult project for a prolonged time period. This is a common method people use in university when studying for mid-terms and finals.

Study/Work for 2 hours, take a 1 hour break. Repeat.

Each break is an opportunity for you to feel refreshed and get back to working at maximum efficiency.

Tell People You Will Be Busy From Time A-Time B

I need to finish “X” or I’m turning my phone off for X amount of hours to get something done. People genuinely aren’t offended if you’re not available. In a hyper-connected world, everyone feels the need to always have a means of contact. Guess what? No one is going to die if you turn your phone off or are unavailable for an hour or two. If they get offended, let them be offended. You have work to do.

#focus #tasks