How to Stay focused

Tips to keep you focused at work

How to Stay Focused -

Being focused is a big challenge in today's world because there is so much information and activity constantly trying to distract you. Does this sound familiar to you. Maybe someone you know has experienced this (maybe you know them very well!!). Here's our suggestions on how to stay focused

Have you ever set a goal or made a New Year’s resolution and then got distracted. Now you are not sure if you can really achieve it! Well YOU CAN. The very fact that you clearly thought about your “resolution” means you can achieve it. Then why do so many people fail to achieve these goals?

A lack of FOCUS. Yep, focus. Focus is about not being distracted and overcoming procrastination. It is about seeing, feeling, breathing the outcome you want – NOT the one you don’t want.

Most "time challenged" individuals do not even realise that when they accomplish very little it's because they have been easily distracted from their goals - they don't know how to stay focused. An example of this is when you say you're going to clear your in tray. In the course of doing so you notice some new e-mails, you spend significant time reading them (though you swear it didn’t seem that long!).

At the end of the day you discover that the in tray contents are all over the desk and that you are no further along in your efforts to clean it out. So you put everything back and sincerely wonder why you made no progress at all!

If you're going to clear the in tray then, clear the in tray!

Do NOT allow yourself to become distracted by what is in the tray. Think about it this way. When you drive from work to your home, do you turn down streets that take you further away and contine to drive further away from your house? Probably not. So why do it with any project you're going to undertake. Which way DO you drive home? The way that gets you home in the shortest time!

This principle can also be applied equally to any outcome you want. Choose a task and stayed focused on only that task until it is completed.

Time Management tips - How to stay focused
Here are some tips on staying focused and reducing distractions

1. Do one thing at a time.

When you try to do too many things at once, each task ends up taking more time than it would if you focused on it alone. Trying to do two or more things at once increases stress and reduces productivity.
Try doing one task at a time. A great starting point is to only have one application open on your computer. Or clear you desk of everything except the task you are currenlty working on.

2. Schedule No Interruptions Time
It is difficult staying focused when there are many distractions. A great way to stay focused while doing important tasks is to schedule a block of time where you cannot be interrupted.

Tell your team, your boss, your customers and anyone else that interrupts you, that you are unavailable. You have an appointment wiht yourself, to complete your important task. It is often a good idea to get away from your desk to a place where people are less likley to find you!

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