5 Easy Tips to Help You Stay More Focused (For Longer)

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In this fast-paced world full of distractions, overload of stimuli, and never-ending social media scrolls, it is hard to stay focused. I mean, did you know that you have an attention span shorter than a goldfish? (Well, now you know ;))

There is a reason why you’re here, reading this post. Your lack of focus is (most likely) negatively impacting your life by:

• holding you back from achieving your goals
• increasing your procrastination
• making you more anxious
• stopping you from living your dream life

In this post, you’ll find out the root causes of your problem, together with 5 tips to help you stay focused.

Are you ready? Then, let’s get started!

DISCLAIMER: I will receive a small commission – which won’t affect your final price – on the mentioned products. I am only promoting products that I consider valuable and beneficial. If you decide to make any purchase, well…thank you for buying me a cup of coffee today! Xx

What is Affecting Your Concentration?

First of all, if you want to improve your focus, you must be aware of the reason(s) why you can’t stay concentrated in the first place. 

Some causes that make you unable to concentrate are:

• Lacking sleep
• Having an unbalanced diet
• Having a sedentary lifestyle
• Experiencing prolonged stress
• Suffering from mental health issues

So, before you continue reading this article, you must do a self-check-in. Some important questions to ask are:

• Am I getting 7-9 hours of sleep?
• Do I move my body regularly?
• Am I hydrated enough?
• Are my meals nutritious?
• Am I taking care of my mental health?
• Do I regularly engage in self-care practices?
• Am I satisfied with my social circle?
• Do I engage in unhealthy coping mechanisms when feeling overwhelmed?

Grab a pen and paper, and set aside some alone time to truthfully answer those questions.

How Can You Be More Focused?

Once you get clear on the points above, it will be much easier to adopt the following 5 strategies that will help you stay more focused. 

Are you ready? Let’s dive in!

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SINGLE-TASKING

“Doing one thing at a time means being totally present in what you do” 

– Gianluca Gotto

In a society that bases one’s self-worth on one’s productivity level, slowing down can be a form of rebellion.

For years, they have been feeding us with the idea that multitasking is the key to success: it allows you to achieve more in less time. But…is it true?

When you’re multitasking, you’re constantly shifting your focus from one thing to another. So, can you say you’re really focusing on any of those things?

Research has shown that multitasking is also one of the reasons for our attention span getting shorter and shorter. Yet, why is it still seen as the “holy grail” of productivity?

If you want to know how to stay more focused, you should ditch multitasking and try single-tasking, instead.

Single-tasking means that whenever you’re doing something, no matter what, you’re giving it your total and undivided attention. 

By doing so, you’ll increase your chances of getting in the flow and accomplishing more while struggling less! Isn’t that a win?

Learn the art of doing one thing at a time, and you’ll find yourself feeling like you have more time to do things. 

TIME BATCHING

Another great way to prevent you from wasting precious time when switching your attention from one task to another is sticking to time batching.

Time batching is a time management technique that involves grouping similar tasks and blocking out a specific time slot in your days to get those tasks done in one sitting. 

Here are some examples of how you could use time batching to boost your daily productivity:

• Read and answer emails at a specific time
• Check your social media stats in one sitting
• Research your upcoming blog post topics for the whole month
• Record your next 3 YouTube videos in one sitting
• Schedule all your meetings either in the morning or afternoon

If you want to take it even a step further, you could have theme days, in which you get done all of your similar tasks. For example, you could have a:

• House chores day
• Running errands day
• Writing day
• Creating social media content day
• Life admin tasks day

Related: Read here how I use time batching to have the “Ideal Day In The Life Of A Successful Blogger”

CHANGE YOUR ENVIRONMENT

A golden tip to improve your ability to stay focused – better and for longer – is to change your environment.

While routines are great systems to have in place to stay accountable, sometimes the boredom that comes from your routines can do more harm than good.

You’re not a superhero. You’re only human. And, even if you think your willpower should be strong enough, you’re more likely to keep procrastinating if your space is full of distractions.

So, here are some adjustments you could make to your environment to help you stay focused:

• Identify your triggers (TV, phone, people)
• Minimize your distractions (turn off the TV, hide your phone, set boundaries)
• Use music to help you get in the zone
• Clean up your space and keep it organized
• Have a water bottle always with you
• Design a “distraction-free” room in your house
• Consider working in a different environment (library, café, co-working space)

Your environment influences your productivity and focus more than you think. Luckily, the tips above can help you create the best environment to boost your concentration!

SELECTIVE ATTENTION

Do you know what’s one of the most precious things in this world, over which you have total control?

How you decide to spend your time.

Where you decide to channel your focus.

What you choose to focus on. 

Your attention is precious. You should be selective about it.

It’s ok to be selective of the people you decide to spend your time with. You shouldn’t feel guilty for doing what you feel called to do, even if everyone else is telling you to move in another direction.

It’s not a waste of time to pursue what your heart wants you to pursue. 

Too many people choose to stay with anyone, only to avoid spending time alone. Be okay with solitude – (which doesn’t equal loneliness, by the way). 

It’s so easy to turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms rather than facing what you feel inside. In this case, choose to do the right thing over the easy thing.

Once you get clear on what’s worth your attention, it’s time to let go of unhealthy habits, such as:

• Mindless scrolling
• Emotional eating
• Excessive partying
• Wasting time watching TV
• Spending time with negative and toxic people

While you have no control over how much time you have left on this planet, you’re 100% in control of how you decide to spend the time you have. Spend it wisely.

SET TIME LIMITS TO DISTRACTIONS

Finally, the last tip to increase your focus is to set time limits to your distractions.

In point #3 I’ve already discussed the importance of tweaking your environment to boost your productivity, including minimizing distractions.

While it would be ideal to eliminate your distractions cold-turkey so that you’re not tempted to fall back into your old, negative patterns – it’s also highly unrealistic to think that you will never be tempted by some distractions.

Unfortunately, unless you live on top of a mountain surrounded by no one, you’ll face some temptations along the journey of becoming more focused. 

So, what can you do in this case?

If you cannot completely avoid your distractions, the best thing you can do is to exert some control over your distractions, for example by setting time limits.

Here are some ways you could add time limits to reduce your daily distractions:

• Set a bedtime mode on your phone
• Adopt the “no phone first thing in the morning” rule
• Set a time limit on your most addicting social media apps
• Use the Pomodoro technique to alternate productive and “chill” time
• Download some apps to help you stay productive

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That’s all for me today!

I hope this post provided you with some good tips to increase your focus – because that’s one of the most valuable things you’ll ever have control over.

Q: “In which area of your life do you need to stay more focused?” – Let me know in a comment! 🙂

Until next time,

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