Attention is the most powerful tool of the human spirit.” – Linda Stone
Where IS your focus? Often we aren’t even aware of what we are focusing on, if we are focused on anything at all. Have you ever noticed that your attention is on so many different things at the same time that you are simply NOT focused? Being focused is a choice — we have to choose where we want to put our attention to accomplish a specific task or endeavor. However, sometimes, even when (or especially when) we are trying to focus on something specific, we find ourselves struggling to stay on point.
When we are focused it can feel like magic. Things seem to flow much easier. We are clear, aware, awake, alive! Everything clicks into place. We feel productive, engaged and this is followed by a sense of accomplishment.
But how do we become more focused? Check out these 11 tips for finding focus!
#1 – Be Present – Being present and being focused go absolutely hand in hand. When you aren’t focused your mind is otherwise occupied! You have to be in the present moment in order to give anything your full attention. Concentrate first on getting back to the present moment and staying in the here and now. Noticing that you’re not present is the first step in regaining presence. Directing your attention to the current moment – your breath, your physical senses, what you see or what you hear – can bring you out of any non-present thoughts and serve as a reset to clear the way for focused thought.
#2 – Choose – The world throws all kinds of fascinating information and stimuli at us. Especially in today’s modern environment of social media and other digital noise, distractions abound! We must CHOOSE. Choice is the beginning of focus. We must recognize, first, that we have a choice on where we put our attention. Then, we must take control of our choices. Once we’ve been reminded of our ability to choose, we will be able to select where we put our attention and how we use our minds. Giving us more ability to focus.
#3 – Prioritize – Unfortunately, though some of us may try, we can’t do it all. Although multi-tasking might work for some people, it requires splitting your focus. To be able to concentrate more deeply on a task, we have to be selective about what we are giving our attention to. Prioritizing helps us make the decision of where to put our energy and attention. Take time to decide what your priorities are and do your best to stick with them. Once you have a clear idea of what really matters to you, it will be much easier to keep other distractions at bay.
#4 – Set the intention – Plant the seed of FOCUSED intention. Start off the day, or the hour, or the moment by consciously choosing focus. If you’ve worked with setting intentions before, then you’ll be more practiced at occasionally checking in with yourself to see if you are continuing to strive towards your intention. If not, “focus” is a great place to start. Set some check-in points throughout the day (or the hour) to remind yourself of your intention to focus (an alarm on your phone is a helpful tool). A lot of the time, we aren’t focused because we simply aren’t trying to be – we’re doing something else. Remind yourself of your desire to be focused. Check in with yourself periodically to see if you are still aiming towards your intention of focus.
#5 – Create Space – Set yourself up for success! Prepare yourself, prepare your environment. First, be sure that you give yourself the TIME needed to be able to focus. If you haven’t created a space and time in which to focus, how are you going to? Rushing doesn’t allow you to dig in deep. Next, prepare your physical environment for focus. Eliminate anything you can that could be distracting to you – close the door to your room, move papers and extra things you aren’t currently working on away from your space and out of view. Once you’ve made an effort to set aside time and place for your endeavor, you’ll find it much easier to focus on it!
#6 – Self-Care – Maintaining focus is much more successful when we are well rested, well fed and comfortable. Taking care of yourself is key to being able to be sharp, clear and on our game. If we’re not taking good care of ourselves physically and mentally it’s hard to do anything successfully, and we are giving ourselves more things to be distracted by. If we’re tired or hungry, stressed out or in physical pain, those things will take our focus away from wherever we’d rather be putting it. Working hard at focusing on a project or endeavor? Be sure to take breaks to recharge. Taking short breaks between focused efforts will help you maintain the energy you need to concentrate.
#7 – Practice – Focus is a skill. The more experience we have with focus, the easier it becomes. Like any skill, practice is key! Meditation is an excellent way to help train your brain to learn how to focus. When we meditate, we are learning how to focus by actively herding our attention back to a single point of concentration. There are many different meditation exercises and styles available that can help us develop this skill. A simple one is to set a timer for 5-10mins and simply close your eyes and focus on your breath. Any time you notice yourself drifting into thought or distraction, bring your attention back to your breath. Notice the breath moving in and out of your nose or mouth and through your body, try counting your breath, or just watch the breath. This is a simple way to practice focusing (and re-focusing). When our brains become more familiar with the idea of tuning in to a chosen focus, the act of focusing becomes easier for us to access during daily life.
#8 – Make a promise – Commitment is a key element of focus. Once we’ve made the choice to focus, we have to follow through on that choice with discipline. It’s easy to say “I want to focus” on this or that and then, as soon as distractions come by, let our focus go. Commit to being focused. Make a promise to yourself that you are going to do your very best to fulfill your intention to give your full attention to something. Be accountable to yourself just as you would had you made this promise to someone you care about. Sometimes this type of formalizing your intention is all that’s needed to help you maintain the discipline to stay on track.
#9 – Use Tools – Need a little help focusing? Take it! There are many tools that can help us focus better. These aids may be different for everyone so it’s important to try things and notice what works best for you. Using a timer to set periods of committed “focused time” can help some people stay more on track. Others may benefit from certain types of music or white noise. Adjusting the lighting or the temperature in the room may also have an effect. Using lists, calendars and other physical tools to keep you organized, may also lead to greater ability to focus. There are lots of tricks that people can use to help them to maintain better focus. Need a few more ideas? Check out this article on the Teams InBalance blog for a few tricks to try.
#10 – Simplify – There’s one simple truth, it’s usually easier to focus when there’s less to focus on. If things are overly complicated or overwhelming it’s much harder to see through the “mess” to a single point. When we simplify any area of our life – our surroundings, our thoughts, our to do list – we clear out the excess and begin to distill things down to clearer, more focused, core elements. Work on bringing more simplicity to your life and you may find more focus in the process.
#11 – Let Go – In order to focus, we have to recognize distractions and release them to make space in our brains. Have you ever had a song stuck in your head? Often times that song will just drive you crazy, no matter how much you want it to go away, there it is again in your head. But usually, if you sing the song and let it play its course, rather than trying frantically to keep from hearing it, your brain will be ready to move on once it’s sung it through. A similar idea can be applied to distractions of any kind. If we try to slam the door on them and block them out, often we hear them knocking even louder than before, because our FOCUS is no longer on what we want it to be on, but on the act of shutting out the distractions. Have a bunch of excess thoughts? Grab a pen & paper and scribble them out for 5 minutes or until you have nothing else to say. It will be much easier to focus with those thoughts out of your head and on the paper instead. Give yourself some time to acknowledge and possibly even indulge nagging distractions (within limits) then let them go! This will clear space for you to focus and bring your attention back to the point itself.
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