Having Trouble Focusing? – Try These 7 Tips To Improve Your Focus

“Focusing is about saying No” – Given that was said by a multi-billion-dollar business magnate and CEO of one of the most prominent companies, Apple and there is a lot of truth to it. While this philosophy did help Steve Jobs navigate through his struggles to achieve extreme success, not everyone can manage to fulfill it properly. 

Life is stressful, and everyone has things that can hamper their focus on work. Moreover, often, people cannot adequately concentrate on their work because of distractions, good and bad. Regardless of the reason, reduced focus can hamper work productivity to a high degree.

Are you going through a similar issue? In this article, you will learn seven things you can do to increase your focus and take charge of your work life. 

1. Exercise Your Way to Better Concentration 

Have you watched movies where the protagonist starts their day with a healthy run or trip to the gym before conquering their workplace?

While these two matters do not seem to correlate, the reality is that exercise boosts work productivity highly. To be more specific, it can benefit your brain activities and your body. 

Of course, this does not mean that you have to toil at your nearest gym for 3 to 4 continuous hours. Even a small-scale workout per day would work wonderfully to improve your focus and mental strength. A run for 20 minutes or so would increase regular blood flow, especially to the brain. Thereby, you would feel more awake and get a better focus for the rest of the day. 

You can alternate between different techniques as well. Choose an exercise style that suits your taste and body, like yoga, swimming, or cycling. They are low-impact exercises, so you would have an easier time maintaining them as a regular activity. 

So, get a morning workout first, whether you are training to be Rocky or just working at a sedentary office workspace. 

2. Set Small Goals 

One of the biggest problems many people end up doing is setting big goals early on. However, the bigger the building, the faster it falls. This goes in the corporate world, where setting a massive objective initially would feel more difficult to handle. Having a big vision is essential, though. But it can get tiring to reach the destination if you race towards it. 

To get the best of both, you should break your tasks into manageable portions and follow that. Complete each part diligently, like planning a marketing strategy or making all edits section by section. 

Tackle one thing at a time, and you can see a massive improvement in your focus. 

3. Note The Critical Tasks Every Hour 

Yes, you should break down your tasks into small parts and finish each. However, some tasks have set deadlines, and they are more complex. Instead of winging it, you can write down the most critical tasks for the day in a notepad or on your phone. Break them down hour by hour. Then, complete the critical tasks in each hour and focus consistently. 

4. Get Better Sleep 

Indeed, good focus does rely heavily on how awake you are. For that, having a quality night’s sleep is crucial. Many people involved in relatively monotonous work lives like software coding, or desk jobs can feel tired as they stare at the screen. This tricks their brain into feeling ‘foggy’ and going into sleep mode, which affects concentration on work. Then, the person has to stay awake longer to complete their work, which contributes to the destructive cycle of sleeping late daily.

You can avoid this issue by getting a good REM cycle at night. You can keep your electronics switched off after a particular time, like completing dinner. Do not stream hours of shows at night and keep your room condition very comfortable. After that, you can accept a better sleeping process at night. You will feel more clear-headed and emotionally stable the next day as well.

5. Look at What You Consume 

What goes inside the body can show physical, mental, and physiological output. One of the main targets of different food groups for body health is the brain. 

To note, the brain itself contains around 60% of fat, which means people need to eat a reasonable amount of good fats to keep the brain active. Many people who follow diets like low-fat or low-carb diets have trouble with this. 

Certainly, while trying out such diets to look like celebrities like Angelina Jolie, do not forget to plan the meal carefully. More fat would increase your cognitive functions. Here, add good fats like eggs, avocados, nuts, or coconut oil to your diet. 

6. Clean and Comfortable Environment 

Many companies plan and create an eco-friendly workspace with clean surroundings, spacey floor plans, and interior plants. A sanitary and well-organized workspace would make it easier to focus on your work. 

Not only would a clutter-free work area make it easier to find documents and look pleasant, but it would also trick your brain into thinking the workload is lesser. That helps increase concentration. 

7. Take Breaks Consistently 

Of course, your brain needs time to recharge. So, you must avoid constant working, instead, take small breaks daily to give your hands and eyes some rest.

Get up every hour for five minutes to stretch your muscles and legs. Then, get a glass of water while you are at it. Set a reminder for breaks, and that would improve your concentration drastically. 

Conclusion

Understandably, improving your focus is not going to be an instantaneous thing. It’s an uphill battle, but if you follow these tips regularly, you will notice a lot of improvement with time. Therefore, eat right, improve your sleep schedule, and compartmentalize your tasks. Ultimately, you would have an easier time concentrating at work.