Accomplishing a goal is hard work. When a project feels daunting, even if it is something you are passionate about and want to complete, all the other things on your to-do list, things that are a little more instantly gratifying, like social media, keep sneaking into your thoughts. Those along with the doubts and questions swirling around in your brain can make it nearly impossible to concentrate. Don’t fret. We are here to help.
Check out these seven steps to help you prioritize and clear your mind.
1. Stop multitasking
Instead of trying to do a million things at once, take a step back and tackle one task at a time. And while your inclination might be to start your day with busy work -- like checking emails -- and then move onto to the harder things, you should try to get your brain moving by challenging yourself with with a bigger, more creative endeavor first thing.
2. Block out your days
A good way to hold yourself accountable when it comes to quieting the noise all around you is to specifically block out time in your day -- maybe it’s 30 minutes or an hour -- to spend on a given project. Color code your calendar or set a timer to make sure you are accomplishing the goal at hand.
3. Get your blood pumping
You can’t focus if your are stuck inside and staring at a screen all day long. Turn off your computer and phone, and go for a walk for 20 minutes. The fresh air and the movement will clear your head. Also make sure that you are drinking enough water and getting enough rest.
4. Help your technology help you
A platform like RescueTime, a software that runs while you work and shows you how you are spending your day, could help you understand why something is taking longer to complete than it should. Options like Cold Turkey, Freedom and Self Control block out the internet entirely to keep you off your Twitter feed when you should be meeting deadlines.
Read more: Policing Your Productivity: 7 Tools to Help You Focus
5. Meditate
Get a recommendation for a yoga or meditation class, or even make it an office outing so everyone get some time to quiet their minds. Or look online for a plethora of apps and platforms whose stock and trade is mindfulness, like Meditation Made Simple, Calm and Headspace. For slightly more of a monetary investment, you could look into wearable tech like Thync, a device that produces electrical pulses to help your brain decrease stress.
6. Change up what’s in your headphones
While background noise might help block out a loud office or construction outside your window, you need to be careful that what you are listening to isn’t distracting you more. Music with lyrics can sap your focus from the task in front of you, so consider trying classical or electronic music instead. Or use a playlist that is familiar to you, so you aren’t tempted to turn all your attention to the new sound.
7. Streamline your communication
If you find that all of your focus gets trained on getting your inbox down to zero, think about how you can get yourself out from under a relentless deluge of email. Ask yourself and your colleagues to think about whether this conversation would be most effective through email, on the phone or in person. Taking five minutes to walk over to someone else’s workspace will save you the time and energy invested into a redundant email chain and clarify how you want to attack a problem more quickly.
Nina Zipkin
Nina Zipkin is a staff writer at Entrepreneur.com. She frequently covers media, tech, startups, culture and workplace trends.
Read more
Technology is most often designed to make life easier for employees and employers alike, but not all technology systems and policies comply with this vision....
Don't lose hope when challenging projects seem to drag on. Use these tips to stay on track.
The upper class do these things to stay focused. You can too.
A great face-to-face connection can help you jump start the career you've always wanted.
Relax Follow These 7 Steps to Stay Focused and Reach Your Goals stories
Bad habits are hard to break, but only because most people go about it the wrong way.
Despite what we're often told, positive thinking may not be conducive to meeting one's goals. In fact, you're probably better off visualizing obstacles.
Want to meet the promises you are making yourself? There are apps for that.
Get motivated with insights from these leaders.
All of us, regardless of job title or influence, do some type of sales on almost a daily basis.
To succeed, you first have to set yourself up for success.
The upper class do these things to stay focused. You can too.
Take your financial life to the next level through actions like seeking new income sources, making debts your priority and separating friendship from business.
Imagining your work life in the months and years ahead? Pick immediate and intermediate checkpoints along the way to reach your final objective.
Genuine psychopaths are relatively few but one on your team is too many.
These are the behaviors that you want to eliminate from your repertoire.
If you know you're not outgoing and don't like engaging with others, find teammates who can make up for those tendencies.
Consider these changes to set you on the winning path in the new year.
When your office is located where you reside, productivity can go out the window. Or things are just too quiet. Here's how to maximize the benefits.
Three simple techniques this soldier uses to kept him grounded in the battlefield and at home.
Tips to get your professional and personal lives in order for a more productive and efficient 2017.
Focus on adding specific elements to your life that will not only bring you positive and lasting results, but are also enjoyable in and of themselves.
Make these habits your own and boost your efficiency fast.
With the New Year right around the corner, it's time to think about just exactly what you want to achieve in 2017.
Here is how to concentrate in a world filled with distractions.
Use the momentum of Q4 to slingshot yourself to greater success in the new year.
If you are committed to happiness and success, work these into your daily routine.
Here's how to make the leap from carrying around that grand but unfulfilling job title to becoming the new you.
You sure should be. Focusing on one, important item at a time will make you more competent and productive.
Learn how to stay focused and increase your productivity by avoiding distracting signals.
Timothy Twerdahl, who previously worked on the Fire TV, will be in charge of Apple TV product marketing.
Those OLED screens don't come cheap.
The New Revolution Galactic Attack offers a gaming-like experience.
Science suggests that the approach is not only ineffective, but harmful.
Facebook is the world’s most popular social network, and with that comes a load of problems. Not only do you have to deal with all the regular trolls you find online, but crazy exes, stalkers, and fake profiles looking to con you are all permanent fixtures.
You need to be a new subscriber to both the Times and Spotify Premium to get the deal.
The agency is considering it to vet visitors from Trump’s banned countries list.
If you want your Nest Cam to store video recordings in the cloud so that you can retrieve them later on, you have to sign up for the company’s Nest Aware subscription service. But is it worth buying in the long run?
Whether it's for a business trip or a family vacation, a light, compact, and capable portable projector makes a good travel companion. These are the top-rated models we've tested under two pounds.
One user programmed the IoT Dash button to do some good every time he reads about President Trump.
