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Everyone hits those mental roadblocks when you know a deadline is approaching. Sometimes no matter what you do, you just can’t seem to focus and get it done. Quite often, even tasks that you never enjoy doing, like taking out the trash or washing dishes, all of a sudden become more enjoyable. Luckily there are ways to remove those distractions and enhance your concentration so you can things done.
- Short to-do list - When there are a number of items on your agenda that need to get done immediately, prioritize them so only the essentials need to be addressed now; everything else can wait for another day. Be realistic and make a list of things that you know you can get done in the next hour.
- Mornings - Use the mornings to work on the most pressing items so that they get done and won’t linger in your mind for the rest of the day. This may mean ignoring your inbox for a little while when you first arrive at the office so that you get the task finished. The mornings are also a time when most people are more focused, because things throughout the day have not yet come up to impede getting assignments done.
- Practice - Chess or other complex games are a great way to practice concentrating for longer stretches of time.
- Exercise - There are numerous benefits to physical activity, one of which is sharpening one’s focus. Studies suggest that aerobic exercise can build development in parts of the brain related to memory and attention.
- Distractions - Figure out what is making you distracted. There are both mental and personal distractions. Depending on what the reason is, the way to beat it will be different. A personal distraction will be better addressed by talking a short break for a walk. A mental distraction is better addressed by putting your phone away or blocking yourself from using specific apps like Facebook.
- Take breaks - Our minds and bodies need regular breaks. Spending too much time on one single task can actually hurt performance. A general rule of thumb is to work for an hour and take a 15 minute break, but everyone is different, so shorter breaks more often may work better.
- Emails - Check your inbox when there are more than just a couple emails. Some experts prefer to wait until there are at least 10 new messages before they read and respond to them. This also may vary depending on how many emails you generally get in a day. If you only receive an average of ten a day, then checking more often may be wiser. If you receive hundreds every day, waiting until there are twenty may work better.
- Mindfulness - This is a general term for cultivating greater awareness of things in the moment. This extends to activities like eating. Pay attention to every bite of food, including the taste, texture, and temperature. This will help you hone in on every task you do and be more aware of the details.
- Patience - Developing new skills takes time. The more you practice, the better you will become at being able to focus your attention for long amounts of time.
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