How to Get Focused and Get More Done
Trying to maintain focus in today’s ‘wired-world’ is like trying to paint a picture while riding a roller coaster. It’s tough. Here are a few tips on how to get into the mood of being focused and how to stay that way while you get things done. Here is an excerpt of a great article that I found while doing some research on focus:
We’ve all had times when we’ve sort of spontaneously gotten “in the zone” and been really focused and efficient. But we’ve all had more times when we’ve spontaneously frittered away our time on social media or websurfing or being “busy” but not being effective. If we want to be consistently effective with our time and energy, we can’t leave it up to chance. We have to design a way to guide ourselves to that wired in state. The specific details of how you do that will differ from person to person, but here’s the basic framework for how to get wired in, get focused, and get your work done.
Our brains like patterns. The first few times we make a concerted effort to wire in and focus, our brains might resist, especially if we’ve established a pattern of getting distracted whenever we sit down to work. But you can re-write your patterns. When it’s time to get wired in, I make myself a cup of hot tea, I light a Wood Wick candle (which makes a crackling sound like a real fire), and I light a stick of incense. There’s nothing magic about those three actions, but because I do them each time I sit down to focus, my brain knows the pattern. Now as soon as I start making that cup of tea, my brain starts getting into “focus mode.” It knows what’s coming. It knows the pattern. Those three actions set the stage for getting wired in.
Do not sit down to focus, and then look at your to-do list and decide what to tackle. Adding decision-making to the process makes it harder to get wired in, because you’ll wind up with an inner dialogue: “I could do Task A, which would be quick… but I should do Task B because that’s really stressing me out and I’d like to just be done with it… although Task C could probably get done pretty easily and then I could Task B next… but maybe I should just do Task A and then Task C and leave the stressful Task B for later…” And by the time you settle on what you’re doing, you’ve used up a chunk of your wired-in time. So make the decision before you sit down to get wired in. Brainstorm your to-do list, then review it and pick out between 1 and 3 things you want to focus on. Then when you sit down to get wired in, there is no inner dialogue about the tasks–there’s just a clear direction for your attention.
In order to get wired in to our work, we have to wire out of email and social media. If you can go offline to do your work, that’s a great option. But if you’re like me and need to be online to do your work, you have to find a workaround. My workaround is an app called Concentrate. Concentrate lets you set up a series of actions your computer performs on command to help you focus and eliminate distractions. I have Concentrate block several websites (including Gmail, Twitter and Facebook), open the Freckle timer (my time-tracking software), and launch iTunes. You can also have it open specific websites, open documents, play sounds, speak messages to you, and more. I love it, and you can download it and use it for 60 hours for free, if you want to give it a whirl.
Some of us work best when there’s total silence. If that’s you, do your best to create that. Turn off the television or leave the room where others are watching it, close your office door, use earplugs, or use noise-canceling headphones with low “white noise” playing to help block ambient sounds. I work best with certain kinds of music playing. I created a playlist in iTunes called “Focus,” and I put all of my concentration-supporting music in that playlist. (For me it’s an eclectic blend of classical, jazz, trip-hop, new age, nature sounds, Indian club tunes & electronica/trance.) When I’m ready to get wired in, I turn on my Focus music. (I also like the sound of that Wood Wick candle I mentioned–that plus the Focus music is the perfect background.)
I found this great article on marissabracke.com and thought I would share it with you. See full story on marissabracke.com