How To Focus In 2021
A balanced life requires an ability to focus on multiple things that need equal attention. Staying focused on tasks, especially those we consider mundane, can get tedious for most people. This is why practicing staying focused will make your overall life better.
In this article, we’ll look at some things you can do to learn how to focus better. The methods that we’ll discuss can help students, entrepreneurs, and just about anyone focus better.
This is especially important for people who are beginning to keenly feel the passing of years – after all, people tend to lose their memory faster, get distracted more quickly and even feel less energized as they age. For others, head injuries and mental health disorders like ADHD can also play a significant role in how well people can focus on activities.
Regardless of your situation, you can always find focus and improve with time. Once you realize that it takes time to develop your focus ‘muscle’, as it were, it’ll be easier to practice building it.
Here are a few things that are proven to improve focus and the ability of your brain to concentrate on specific tasks.
1. Make a to-do list
Making a to-do list sounds like a simple enough task to most people. However, there are several benefits to making one. Physically creating a list allows you to focus yourself and to think about what needs to be done.
Writing down these tasks makes you anticipate getting them done, and this can help reduce the ‘lazy feeling’ most people get when they have many things to do.
A to-do list is also a great way to compartmentalize your time. When you look at your list, it is easier to figure out the amount of time each task requires. Intrinsically, you will know what jobs will need more attention.
According to Healthline, picking out the critical tasks on your to-do list and prioritizing them can allow you to accomplish more in a shorter span of time. You can increaseenergy without caffeine by planning your day in advance and staying focused on the tasks ahead of you.
2. Try FeelZing
You can use wearable technologies, such as FeelZing patches, as a way of staying productive. The FeelZing patches, designed by Thync, use neurostimulation on targeted nerves to produce effects such as improving energy levels and the ability to focus when tired.
The FeelZing patch can make difficult tasks a bit easier as well, by reducing mental strain. According to a customer survey, 90% of users cited benefits of using the patch, with 50% reporting an increase in alertness, 37% reported an increase in motivation, and 35% of users reported feeling reduce mental fogginess. Using a FeelZing patch can increase energy without caffeine and also improve mental focus and sleep quality.
FeelZing can provide effects for up to 4 hours after only 7 minutes of use. It works by sending electrical impulses to nerves, thereby creating an optimal state of alertness. This signals the autonomic nervous system to balance the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems, leading to staying focused for a more extended time period.
3. Get rid of distractions
Distractions are the biggest enemy when you are trying to focus. They waste your time while making you feel busy and occupied. A lot of times, folks equate running around with productivity. On the contrary – running around can distract you from being productive.
Distractions can occur in our environments in many forms. It can be a loud TV in the background, kids causing a ruckus, or even your phone. Once you figure out which activities are stealing your time, you’ll be able to step away and consciously put them at bay.
If you want to focus on one specific task, you need to eliminate all distractions around you. If you are at home, locking yourself in a room and doing the task that needs getting done can help you focus.
Putting your phone in a different room and even using app blockers can help you stay away from social media, which can be a huge time waster. Become aware of the things that often distract you and create a space that allows you to focus on yourself.
4. Practice mindfulness
Mindfulness has become a topic of conversation among some crowds, and for good reason. Mindfulness is staying in a state of consciousness/awareness. The beautiful aspect of mindfulness is that you practice how to simply be in the present moment.
Mindfulness allows you to bring back your thoughts and feelings to the task at hand, which can help you focus better. With practice, you’ll be able to exist purely in the present, dealing with issues without becoming overwhelmed.
Mindfulness is a habit that requires forming over a period of time. Once you start staying mindful, you will realize that staying focused on a task becomes easier than ever before. This is an added advantage to the overall positive qualities of actively practising mindfulness and mindfulness meditation.
According to Verywellmind, staying mindful allows people to switch between tasks less frequently and perform tasks more efficiently. This is a benefit of practising mindfulness that can gradually improve and sustain focus when tired.
5. Try single-tasking
Some people pride themselves in their ability to do multiple tasks at one go. This is often detrimental to theirability to focus. Single-tasking can help you achieve more in a shorter period of time. Multi-tasking, on the other hand, forces you to spread out your energy across multiple tasks. This reduces your ability to focus, and it ultimately works against you.
Single-tasking means that you choose one task and only move on to the next task when the first is already complete. A lot of people can benefit from re-learning to do things one at a time, especially in our fast-paced, constantly online modern world.
The single most crucial factor that makes multitasking detrimental to your focus is that with too many things to accomplish, a lot of people freeze and end up doing less than they had intended to do.
To take advantage of single-tasking, practice completing one task before jumping on to the next task. With experience, you’ll have a better ability to focus when tired, by simply putting one foot in front of the other, metaphorically.
6. Take Breaks
Rest is an important part of work. Taking rests allows your mind to recharge, which helps keep your brain focused on the next task. Consider a situation where you have spent hours on a single task. Resting will allow you to look at the progress you have made in a new light. This is an excellent tactic for staying focused long term.
Any mistakes made will also be easy to spot after taking a break. This is an essential aspect of focus that everyone must keep in mind when looking for ways to improve their ability to focus. Taking breaks allows you to see the work at hand from a new perspective and enables you to be critical of the progress you have made or lack thereof.
Key takeaway
Concentrating and finding focus is paramount to achievement. One’s ability to do complex work is the determining factor in how much is achieved at the end of the day. Learning to focus is a long term game that requires practice.
You can slowly learn how to improve your focus by repeating the same beneficial tips on a daily basis. After a while, you will find that your ability to focus on a single task at a time will rapidly improve. We all want to maximize our effectiveness each day, but often, we are our own biggest enemies.
These tips can drastically improve productivity and allow you to stay awake and focused on a task. Have you used any of these hacks? Tell us in the comments what your experience was and how others can incorporate better habits to improve their productivity.