Focus is a vital component to having your business prosper. With a million and one tasks to do on a daily basis, finding the time to truly focus on the task at hand and the others that follow can be difficult. Not to mention, as professionals, we tend to get interrupted every 11 minutes. Following those interruptions, it takes us 22 minutes to regain our focus. As you can see, the math there doesn’t quite add up to the most productivity. To set yourself up for success when it comes to getting and staying focused, there are a few tricks you can implement in your every day so that you can keep your eyes on the prize.
Time Blocks
Creating time blocks is an essential part of regaining focus. To do this, you will need to iron out and identify the most critical activities for your business that are critical drivers in your success. Once you figure out what the most important activities for each day are, roughly 20% of all daily tasks, create a time block for each. Those scheduled times are now blocked from all distractions and other activities. Create rules surrounding those blocked times, such as not taking calls or answering trivial emails.
Limit Distractions
During times of focus, you’ll need to limit any possible distractions. This could mean turning off your cell phone, closing yourself off from calls and other correspondence if possible, or making boundaries clear with the people around you so they know you are not to be bothered for anything during specific points of the day. By limiting distractions, you can focus on the most important daily activities uninterrupted.
Give yourself time to unplug
The more you focus, the more you’ll need to take breaks. While heavily focusing on the task at hand is beneficial to getting important tasks done, breaks are vital when it comes to avoiding any burnout when managing your business. If you don’t take the time to unplug and unwind, focusing becomes even harder. Studies show that true focus can occur for about 90 minutes before the mind starts to wander unconsciously. Giving yourself a break will help you stay focused in the long run.
Getting your business to where you want it to go takes time, patience, diligence, and uninterrupted focus. By practicing the proper tips to help get and stay focused during your working hours, you will push your business forward.
Colin Bradford is a certified MAPS and The One Thing Coach.