Focus. It is harder to achieve than it sounds. For me it is, anyway. My mind tends to go in many different directions at once. It is just the way that I am built. But if I put my mind to it, I can focus and be productive when I need to be. At times it is a challenge to achieve this. Sometimes my family is talking to me from different directions while I am trying to do something else. At work, there are impromptu phone calls or meetings, and people popping in. If I really want to get things done, I have to find quiet in my mind and focus. You can’t always shut out distractions, so I have had to find a way to mentally do that. I have tried over the years, especially as I get older, to find new ways to get and stay focused.
I am writing this post because at this time during 2020, the year of the pandemic, it has been harder than ever for me to focus. This started with sudden homeschooling in the spring, while at the same time do my extremely mentally demanding job during tax season. It took a bit of time, but I sought out some things to help me to focus on the tasks at hand, one task at a time. This is my way of getting through these challenges.
There are a few things that have been helpful to me in becoming more focused (and therefore more productive) that I would like to share, to possibly help you, the reader to do the same.
1. Get better sleep
This is one of the most helpful things for focus, yet one of the most difficult for me to achieve for me, anyway. As I had mentioned before, my mind always feels like it is going a hundred different directions so at times is it so difficult to fall asleep. And if I do, I have crazy dreams. So, before I go to bed, I try and have a “wind-down” routine. I get off of electronic devices, get kids tucked in, and read for 10-15 minutes. Then focus on clearing my mind and shutting down my body for the night. It is not perfect or exact science, but it has helped me some with getting better sleep which in turn makes me feel many times more rested, content, and productive during the day.
2. Have a solid routine
For me to stay focused, this is a must. It is essential to my productivity success. I have a daily routine, a weekly routine, and a weekend routine. Obviously, life happens so it is not always easy to stick to a routine and when you can’t, just get back to it when you can. To give you an idea of what a day looks like. A work from home day would be this – start work at 7:00 am while my husband gets the kids up and ready for school. My husband drops off the in-school child, the virtual kid starts his day. I do goodbyes, grab breakfast, etc. but try not to get distracted. I take a short lunch with my virtual child and the back to work until around 2:45. Then stop work and go to pick up in school child. Back home for dinner, chores, and family time.
3. Blocking out time
As mentioned in the above schedule, blocking out time strictly for work, or strictly for family time is really helpful in staying focused. During those blocks, keep distractions to a minimum and your focus stays on the task. Another is example is weekly blocks. I block out certain days for work, certain days for blogging, and certain days for family time and rest. Having a general idea of when you will work on certain things helps you to stay focused on your goals because you work on them consistently during that time.
4. Do not multitask
For years I thought that multi-tasking was the thing to do! As a mom I thought, wow moms have an amazing ability to multi-task. And they do! But what I found for myself was that I was doing a lot and sometimes it amounted to nothing but just getting by. I wasn’t accomplishing the goals that I wanted and honestly felt a little lost. Stopping multi-tasking and becoming more focused has helped me to accomplish more.
5. Get organized in advance
A little planning can go a long way. Think of the things that you want to accomplish and make a plan for the steps involved. Gather any necessary materials, have everything ready to go for whatever is on your to-do list. I use Sunday as a day to plan the week, get organized, and prepare for what I want to accomplish.
In addition to those listed, there are so many things that you can do to become more focused, and therefore more productive. Break things into small bite-size pieces, make time to relax and clear the mind, and put down the phone at least an hour before bed. Make it quiet while you are working. In addition, there are also things that I want to try in the future such as meditation. Any, some, or all of these things could help become more focused.
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