Wait...What Was I Saying?

By Jill Dennis

 

We all have a lot on our plate.  Staying focused can be tough.  Emails, phone calls, customers and co-workers....all demanding your attention....and with today's digital environment that makes it especially hard to focus.  Understanding your brain's limitations and working around that can improve your focus and increase productivity.  According to David Rock, co-founder of the NeuroLeadership Institute and author of Your Brain at Work (Harper Collins, 2009), while multitasking is an important skill, it also has a downside.  It reduces intelligence and causes mistakes. 

 

Ultimately the goal is not constant focus but a short period of distraction free time every day.  Rock says 20 minutes a day is all that is needed.  Here are three tips to help you become more focused and productive.

 

1.  Do creative work first.  Typically we do mindless work first and build up to the tough tasks.  That drains your energy level and lowers your focus.  Every decision we make tires the brain.  In order to focus effectively, reverse the order.  Start with tasks that require creativity or concentration first thing in the morning and then move on to the easier work like reading through emails or scheduling meetings later in the day.

 

2.  Allocate your time deliberately.  We are truly focused for an average of only 6 hours per week.  Be diligent about what you put into those hours.  Most people focus best in the morning or late at night and do their best thinking away from the workplace.  Notice where and when you focus best and then allocate your toughest tasks for those moments.

 

3.  Train your mind like a muscle.  When multitasking is the norm, your brain quickly adapts.  You lose the ability to focus as distraction becomes a habit.  We've trained our brains to be unfocused.  Practice concentration by turning off all distractions and committing your attention to a single task.  Start small, maybe 5 minutes a day, then work up to larger chunks of time.  If you find your mind wandering, just return to the task at hand.  It's just like getting fit, you have to build the muscle to be focused.