Obsidian Launch | 31 Ways to Get Your Focus Back

31 Ways to Get Your Focus Back

No one ever said building your company would be easy. The fact is, building a successful company takes consistent effort and serious focus. But it is so easy to get distracted. So here are 31 tips you can use to get your focus back.

Stop – When you lose focus, take a 10 or 15 minute break. You need to relax at times. Don’t always be go, go, go.
Move – If you usually sit while you work, get up and move. Get your heart rate up and break a little bit of a sweat. Then get back to work.
Turn Off Email – I mean turn it off completely. Disable the Crackberry and disable all email on your computer. No sneaking peaks either.
Shutdown the Web – Frequently checking the news, weather, stocks and other stuff is a huge time waster. Two minutes here and five minutes there add up to a big waste of time.
Change Stations – If the radio is tuned to a talk show or a station that plays your favorite songs, put on some instrumental music that you aren’t familiar with.
Turn off the Phone – Those rings are distracting and can pull you off track even if you don’t answer the calls.
Pay Active Attention – Pay attention to your thoughts as you work. When your mind wanders, refocus your attention on the task at hand. Doing this consciously will make you naturally more focused over time.
Make a Plan – End today by planning what you are going to accomplish tomorrow.
Write it Down – As important thoughts cross your mind, write them down right away. This will alleviate you from worrying about what you need to remember.
Exercise – Work out at least three times a week (4 is better) and do it in the morning if possible. A sound body supports a sound mind
Drink Water – Our bodies are something like 97% water. Keep replenishing it with clean fresh water.
Eat – Starving yourself is a bad idea. A grumbling stomach can be a huge distraction. Eating breakfast, lunch, dinner and healthy snacks in between (my favorite is Clif Bars) makes a world of difference.
Sleep – If you don’t get a good nights rest you might as well forget about having a productive day. Get your 8 hours.
Chunks – Instead of tackling a huge task all at once, break it down into smaller manageable pieces.
Celebrate – When you complete a chunk, celebrate your success. Maybe take an extended break for some personal time.
Isolate – If you need to, become a hermit so that you don’t get distracted by others. Put a sign on your door and unplug the phone.
Get the Tools – Before you start a task, make sure you have all the tools you need. A quick trip to the supply shelf may cut your task time in half.
Clean Your Desk – All those papers, magazines and books within arm’s reach can be a major distraction. Clear ‘em out.
Work When They Eat – If you work in an office environment, that hour when everyone heads out to lunch provides you with an hour of peace and quiet. Eat a snack before lunch, so you’re not too hungry and work while they are away. Then go to lunch when they get back and bring your work with you.
Get Started Now – Sharpening the pencils, answering emails, and gazing out the window will not help you get things rolling. Get started even if you aren’t 100% ready.
Have Other People Depend on It – Have other people waiting on the delivery of your project. That pressure can be a good thing, especially when there is a specific time frame.
Odd Hours – How about digging into your work at the crack of dawn? The phone won’t ring, your colleagues won’t distract you and your commute will be a breeze.
Proper Lighting – Working in the dark or a poorly lit room is horrible for concentration. Turn the lights up. Natural sun light is the best!
Don’t Bitch – The worst thing you can do is to complain about not being able to focus and becoming overwhelmed by your own complaints. Do what you can and do what’s most important, but don’t waste time and energy complaining about it.
Use a Calendar/Planner – A lack of planning and organization can destroy focus, and leave your wheels spinning. You have no excuse for not using an organizer – whether it is a paper system or software based. Get one now.
Mark Your Place – When you stop in the middle of a task, mark where you left off so it is easy to startup again.
Log Your Distractions – If your focus keeps drifting, write down what is making your mind wander. You will discover what thoughts keep popping into your mind and you’ll be able to take action to satisfy them.
Do the Worst First – If a task is uninteresting, tackle it first. Get it out of the way while you’re still fresh.
Use a Voice Recorder – When your mind drifts, it is simply a conversation that is going on in your own head. Reading and writing does not allow you to easily quell that conversation, but when you speak out loud it significantly quiets the silent conversation in your head.
15 then 10 times 5 – Sometimes rapid pushes and breaks are the best way to get stuff done. If you work for 15 minutes, then take a 10 minute break and repeat this work/break process 5 times – you will have completed 75 minutes of hard focused work in just over two hours. That’s pretty good. Now it’s time to take a food/water break.
Hit the Bathroom – If you gotta go, you gotta go. Just as important, take a shower, brush your teeth and put on comfortable clothes. You’ll be surprised how much more you’ll get done when you feel clean and refreshed.

Posted by Mike Michalowicz

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Showing comments 1 to 4 of 5 | Next | Last

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Posts: 5

Yeh very good
Reply #5 on : Sun December 13, 2009, 22:49:04

1819 – Alabama was admitted as the 22nd U.S. state, after the statehood of present-day Northern Alabama was delayed for several years by the lack of a coastline until Mobile was captured from Spain during the War of 1812.

carpet
Posts: 5

New
Reply #4 on : Sun December 13, 2009, 22:47:27

Mt. Redoubt eruption

The eruption cloud of Mount Redoubt, an active stratovolcano found in the Chigmit Mountains of the U.S. state of Alaska, seen here from the Kenai Peninsula four months after it began erupting on December 14, 1989. This eruption was the first ever to be successfully predicted through the observation of long-period seismic events.

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Posts: 5

Daisy
Reply #3 on : Sun December 13, 2009, 22:46:13

Eric Bana (born 1968) is an Australian film and television actor. He began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biopic Chopper (2000). After a decade of roles in Australian TV shows and films, Bana gained Hollywood's attention by playing the role of American Delta Force Sergeant Norm 'Hoot' Hooten in Black Hawk Down (2001),

Daniel Penner
Posts: 5

Invaluable!
Reply #2 on : Fri July 17, 2009, 17:22:16

I think we instictively know all this stuff but for others and myself it's nice to remind ourselves of it - ALWAYS!

The worst thing that happened to me which I can share was when I was setting up my service based yoga company I was working so hard that I no time to do yoga and to take care of myself which innevitably led to burn out and obviously negatively affecting the company. Think about taking a yoga class from an overworked, numbercrunching, deck building, landscaping, bank humping, floor sanding yoga instructor. What a shitty yoga class that must have been, lol! I'm embarrassed even to talk about it.

Another example of focus on what you're good at!

Dan the Man - Revitalized and Revised Yogi Centric Serial Entrepreneur!

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