Are you struggling to maintain focus? You're not alone. The culprits are often closer than we think. Let's delve into the two major factors that are sabotaging your concentration and explore how to reclaim your mental clarity.
Two major challenges are destroying our ability to focus
We are overwhelmed with distractions flying at us from various connected devices
- Smartphone and tablet use is spiking, and we now use digital media for an average of over 12 hours per day
- Studies indicate that we spend anywhere from 35%-55% of our time, and sometimes much more, in meetings
- If we want to stay focused on truly meaningful activity, something has to change
Practice mindfulness
Try a simple mindfulness practice when you wake up, such as taking a few deep breaths or meditating for 20 or 30 minutes.
- Organize tasks
- Make sure you leave enough time to accomplish complex, creative tasks in the morning, and push all other meetings to the afternoon.
5 practical techniques to stay focused at work
Clean up
- Keep a clean work environment
- Shrink meetings
- Limit the number of people in any meeting to eight or fewer unless it is a meeting that is purely informational
- Preserve buffers
- For every 45-60 minutes you spend in a meeting, take 15 minutes or more to process, reflect, and prioritize
