How To Focus
- first published at https://journeybinder.com/blog
In today’s world, there’s an unlimited number of distractions that can pull your attention away from the important tasks you need to get done. In your pocket, you have a mobile phone that dings every time someone calls, texts, emails, or contacts you in any way.
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You have an endless feed of entertainment on apps like Twitter, TikTok, or Instagram. Even while you are scrolling through social media, advertisements pop up to pull you even further down the distraction rabbit hole!
Due to the sheer volume of ways that you can get distracted in today’s world, it is more important than ever to learn how to focus. Learning to focus effectively will allow you to boost your productivity, get projects done more quickly, reach your goals, and free up time for yourself.
This article will discuss a few methods you can use to improve and maintain your focus.
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Set a Clear Agenda
In order to focus effectively, the first thing you need to do is figure out what exactly it is that you need to focus on. To do this, we recommend creating an organized agenda or keeping a running to do list and updating it consistently.
These are some of the best ways for increasing productivity and they are used by successful people around the world…and throughout history. In particular, Benjamin Franklin was famous for keeping a to do list that he would use to track his business and personal goals.
To achieve focus and boost his productivity, Ben Franklin would use a strategy called “divide and conquer” with his agenda. Let’s take a closer look at that.
Attack the Most Important Projects First
The divide and conquer strategy involves separating your agenda items and prioritizing the tasks that are most important. The best time to do this is at the beginning of each week and then again each morning. For instance, on Sunday night, spend a few minutes looking at your entire week to make sure you know what you need to accomplish and what your most important tasks are.
Then, at the start of each morning, you can check what you need to accomplish that day and when your biggest calls or deadlines are.
In general, you should place the biggest emphasis on completing tasks that have the closest deadline or will give you the biggest payout. If you know exactly what you need to accomplish, then it will be much easier to focus and get these projects done quickly but efficiently.
If you’re looking for a good way to get started with scheduling and tackling progress toward your goals, you can create a stand-alone focus in JourneyBinder.
Block Out Distractions
As we mentioned, there have never been more distractions than there are in the world today. To make up for this, we recommend doing your absolute best to block out as many distractions as you can so that you are able to focus solely on the task at hand.
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Here are a few of the best ways that you can block out distractions:
- Setting a timer on your phone for 30–60 minutes and committing to working only on a specific project during that time, without taking a break or looking at your phone.
- Listen to music or ambient soundtracks to block out any outside noise. Use noise-canceling headphones if necessary.
- Consider using a tool like StayFocused that will prevent you from accessing time-waster websites for a specified period of time.
We hope that you have found this article valuable when it comes to understanding some of the best ways to focus.