6 Sure Fire Tips and tricks to Staying Focused at Work
We all have those day, weeks or months when we get so out of sync that we loose our way of managing our work, where our focus is not where it should be. With social media and other social outlets the distraction is huge. We need to get back to doing the work and doing it without distractions and interruptions. Here are some tips and tricks to staying focused at work.
Assess yourself
Look at yourself first. Are you taking care of yourself? Do you drink enough water? Get enough sleep? have healthy eating habits? Are you stress out all the time or depressed because of the workload? Sit down and take a few minutes to assess how you are treating yourself and make adjustments where you need too.
Be Healthy
To become more focused, you need to become healthy if you aren’t already. That means taking care of your body by drinking more water and less caffeine or coffee and eating a healthy meal. Start off with a protein based lunch to help you focus in the afternoon hours when your body normally starts to drain and you feel tired. Give your body the boost it needs to continue your work day and stay focused on your work. Drinking too much caffeine can actually tire out your body instead of giving you that extra boost you need to make through the day. So instead, drink a cup of coffee in the morning to get you going, but drink water afterwards to keep you going.
Get Enough Sleep
Sleeping is one of the most important aspects of a healthy body. This is the time when your body rejuvenates and gets ready for the next day. If you don’t get enough sleep your body does not have the time it needs to rest and rejuvenate for the next day. You become tired and irritable because of your lack of sleep. No body wants that. You want to wake up refreshed and ready to start your day and a good nights sleep is a great way to start.
Exercise
You guessed it, you need to exercise. It’s difficult, but if you start out small such as a fifteen minute work out a day. You can gradually work up to that thirty minute to an hour work out. Start by going for a walk and gradually working it into a jog. There are so many different workouts you can try, just make sure it’s the right one for you.
Re-evaluate your work habits
How are your work habits? Have you work through your lunch just to get that task done and forget about eating? Do you change your schedule to suit your other coworkers? Do you come in early or stay late just so you can get the task done before its due? Maybe you need to think about what is best for you. Evaluate how your work day is and make the changes needed to accomplish your goals. Schedule out your work day by working on a new time management system or if you have a different time management system in mind, use that. Do what you need to, to get yourself back on track and staying focused on your tasks.
Organize your workspace
You won’t be able to focus on your tasks if you are uncomfortable and unorganized in your workspace. Start by making yourself comfortable. Is your desk too short? Is your chair worn, torn and unbearable. Trust me, I’ve been there, it’s not a good place to be. Grab another chair that is more comfortable. Get a new desk, which I know is sometimes harder than you think. If you can’t afford it, find a safe way to lift your desk to make it more comfortable or just your computer so it’s at the right height for you to work comfortably.
You also need to clear out the clutter. If you desk is littered with papers, files, notebooks, post-its, and other materials your brain can’t focus on one thing at a time. It will want to try to make sense of the mess you have on your desk. Organize everything so you can work productively and stay focused on one thing at a time. Prioritize your files and put them in order of when they are due. It will make life so much easier.
Plan Ahead
Before your day gets started take some time to figure out what needs to be done today. Make a to-do list and them prioritize that list according to what needs to be done first, second, third, and so on. This will help your day runs smoother and more efficient.
Set Deadlines
If you have tasks with no deadlines, you will likely keep pushing those off until you forget all about them, which isn’t good especially if it for your job. So create a deadline for that task and put it in with all your other deadline task so you know you have to work on it and it gets done in a timely manner without being distracted.
Split Time-Intensive Tasks
Some tasks involve several steps to complete. So, why not break those tasks down into several smaller tasks to make it easier on you and your team. Don’t forget to create deadlines so everything gets done before the final project deadline. In the end it wasn’t so stressful and you have a sense of accomplishment when those tasks are done.
Creating a 3-hour work zone
Planning this 3-hour work zone will help you get your work done in complete silence, allowing you to concentrate solely on the task at hand. Now in order for this to work, you need to do some planning ahead of time. You need to let your team know you will be working in a separate area and to not disturb you for those three hours so you can work, unless there is an emergency, of course. You also might want to lay down what constitutes as an emergency to your team also, some people might not know what you constitute as an emergency compared to what they constitute as an emergency. Planning out these 3-hours in your work day ensures you have the time to dedicate to your tasks without interruptions.
Make sure others are aware of your schedule
If you are working with a team or a group you need to make sure everyone is on the same page. If you take a leave for an hour for a doctor’s appointment, or you’re working on your three hour work zone, or you have a meeting with a client and can not be interrupted. Make sure everyone is aware of your schedule so you have no interruptions or complications. This way your work day and your teams work day runs as smoothly as possible.
Create an hourly work plan
Taking your to-do list and plan your day hour-by-hour. Planning out what tasks need to be done and the amount of time it will take you to do them. Doing this will help you get an idea of what needs to be done by the end of the day each day. When creating your hourly work plan, be realistic in your expectations of each task. Don’t plan 30 minutes for social media content if it normally takes you an hour. This also helps you know what you prioritized as most important and what is due next keeping you focused and organized on your tasks for the day.
Don’t forget your breaks
Your brain and your body can keep going and going and going if you make it, but it’s more safe and productive if you take a few minutes to relax and take your mind off things. Take a walk around your building for five minutes, meditate, or read something you enjoy. Take those five minutes to rejuvenate your mind and body so you can get back to the task at hand. Don’t forget to drink water throughout the day too.
Check your email every 3 hours
This is something I have been working on, myself. I usually have so many tabs open on my computer and my email will have that little number up in the tab telling me there is another email. How distracting is that from the task at hand. So, close your email and only open it every three hours for fifteen minutes. read through your emails, answer your emails, but stick to your fifteen minute time limit, even if you are in the middle of answering someone’s email. Close it and continue on with your task. You can come back to it after your three hours are up. This helps spend less time on emails and more time on your tasks at hand.
Write down your ideas
You’re working on a project or a task and an idea comes to mind, make sure you write it down. I always keep a word doc open so I can jot down ideas either on my ipad when I’m out and about on a job or when I’m at my desk working. You can also carry around a notebook or use the notes feature on your phone to jot down your ideas. Even if they never come to fruition, at least you have them off your mind so you can concentrate on your task.
Stop procrastinating
With technology these days it seems easier and easier to get distracted while you are working. Take the time to close the browsers, put your phone away and focus on what needs to be done.
Stay away from social media
This a difficult to do especially if you are in charge of your social media content. You need to set guidelines for yourself. Once you are done uploading your content for the day, make sure you close the browsers so you can continue on with the next task on your list and you won’t get detracted when a message or comment pops up. You can always answer it later. That’s why you plan our your day, schedule in your social media content and then another time to check comments. If you don’t plan it into your schedule, don’t do it until the next day because that will throw off your whole day, and you do not need that to happen.
Put your phone away
Your phone is probably your biggest procrastinating device. Especially when everything is at your fingertips in one small portable device. The best thing to do is put it away. Put it in your purse or your desk drawer and don’t take it out until you are done with your tasks and on break. Now, if you have small children or teenage children in my case, you know you have to have your phone on in case something happens. So I changed their ringtones to something specific so that way if they or their school called I would know I have to answer it. I also told my children that they can only call me if it’s an emergency. Trust me, I had to explain to them that fighting over a juice box does not constitute as an emergency. So, I had to site down with them and explain what constitutes as an emergency. Everything else can wait until my break time when I will call them to see how they are doing unless they are in school, of course.
Use productivity tools
If it helps you, use a productivity tool. There are so many out there. Trello, or Airtable are some free ones, but there are so many different productivity tools out there that can keep you on track and focused on your tasks, you just need to find the right one for you which may take some time, but will be beneficial in the end.
Final Thoughts
Well, there was a lot of information and so many tips to help you get focused while at work. We are always looking for new ways of stay focused and productive in our work. If you have any tips, tricks or advice you would like to share we would love to hear from you! Just type it in the comments below.
