Focus is vital for your success. You will never be successful in life if you are all over the place, always distracted and never clear on what you want. You need focus to work consistently on one thing, so you can see real results, real progress and be proud of your achievements. With good focus, you will be able to work towards long term goals without falling out of the flow in the progress. Also, you will see results faster and better.
But from personal experience I can tell that it is not always that easy to stay focused. So I sat down to think of things one can do to improve one’s focus, so that we can reach our goals and dreams faster and also stop beating ourselves up for not progressing as fast as we would wish to.
What I found were 13 ways to improve your focus, which I am going to tell you now. But before we dive into my 13 ways to improve your focus, let’s take a closer look at what focus actually is.
Focus is the end product of a lot of personal development
Don’t beat yourself up for not having any focus. It is not an inherent feature, for nobody. It is a skill that you must acquire over time, and it takes practice.
I struggle a lot with focus myself. The thing is, as you can see, I know exactly what I need to do to improve my focus and make better progress in my projects, but still, I have difficulties to focus and stay intentional with my work.
Why? Because in my opinion,
So again, be gentle with yourself, have compassion and just never give up – that’s the only and best way to slowly but surely improve your work focus!
Now it’s time to dive into my 13 ways to improve your focus!
1. Get rid of distractions
I do not only mean distractions like social media. I mean all the other distractions that keep you from focussing on your work.
This could be a friend of yours who wants you to do stuff for him or her, and you let yourself be distracted because you cannot say no. If you know that you don’t have the time to do what he or she asks, say no. They will understand if they are real friends. If not, they’re not really a friend.
2. Do physical activity
Physical activity boosts your energy levels and help you focus. Your heart is pumping more blood through the body, your accelerated breath helps you get more oxygen into your body and also your brain. You’ll concentrate better.
As for me, my day is always significantly better and more productive when I do sports in the morning. No joke.
3. Find out your most productive time of the day
To be focused, it is better to be working on your projects during the most productive time of your day. That’s the time your concentration is best and your progress will be the fastest and best. Find out what time of the day that is and make sure that’s the time you get down to work.
For a lot of us, for me too, the most productive time is the time in the early morning right after getting out of bed. For me it’s the earlier, the better! If you want to experiment and struggle with getting up early or in general, read this amazing post from She dreams all day.
4. Don’t pour from an empty cup – care for your concentration!
To work with focus, you need concentration. To concentrate, you need to be in good physical condition. This means, make sure you get enough sleep, drink enough water and eat a healthy diet.
I think a lot of times, people don’t realize that concentration is not self-evident. The way we live our life defines our concentration level. Too often, we expect our mind and body to work perfectly without caring for it the way we should, and in the
5. Be clear on what you want
Having a clear end goal in mind is the key to focus. Write down your goals to have them under your eyes, maybe even stick them to the walls in your working space. Imagine how it feels to have reached that goal and be proud of yourself in advance. That will make you want to focus more on your projects. Check out my 11 tips to stick to your goals.
6. Meditate
Meditation is a great way to center yourself and calm down your mind. You gain the ability to observe your mind from the outside and realize what you are actually thinking all the time. When you gain more experience, you will learn to control and choose your thoughts and not be lead by them unconsciously.
The biggest thing you will learn is actually to focus. Focus on your breath. Best way to learn to focus. It’s the most basic thing, and yet can be so difficult. It’s the best way to start.
7. Don’t overthink
Don’t overthink every step you take on the way, because it will put too many worries into your head, which will not only kill your self-confidence, but also your commitment and you may end up not doing it at all. Overthinking is another way of distraction from what is really important.
Don’t overthink. Just do it.
8. Better done than perfect
Don’t get stuck in perfectionism. Perfectionism is always a bad idea. Don’t buy into it. It kills your focus, because on the way, you are always wanting to go back and change something, which usually ends being stuck on the way or turning in circles instead of making progress forward.
9. Love yourself
What focus has to do with loving yourself? Well, if you are doubting your work on the way, you will be stuck on it. So to stop doubting your work, invest in your self-love. It will calm you down, strenghten your self-confidence and help you trust in your own skills. Take a look at my self-love category here.
10. Be patient
Impatience will mess up your work and make it less good. You will literally be able to read or see or hear the impatience in your
So give yourself and your project the time you need and calm down. Don’t ever stress. Stress is not only bad for your health,
11. Enjoy the process
Like what you are doing. That’s the best way to improve your focus. If you don’t enjoy the process of focussing on your project, it may just be the wrong project. And if you HAVE to do it and there is no other option, then try to enjoy it nevertheless. Get your creativity going and find a way to make it more interesting for you.
Don’t focus too much on the end result. I know I just told you to be clear on what result you want, but still, too much emphasis on the end goal won’t make the way any shorter or less difficult. Enjoy the process, because that’s what you will be spending most of your time in, for your entire life.
12. Don’t overwork
If you keep overworking because you think that’s what will make you move forward faster, then get that belief out of your head. If your project does not move fast enough, it is not because you don’t invest enough time into it. It’s because the time you are working on it is not spent with crystal clear focus. Overworking without taking breaks will even eat more at the desired focus.
It is a vicious circle, and you only get out of there if you set clear deadlines to your workday and take breaks to fill up your energy tank.
13. Don’t work on too many projects at once
I know that it is hard to say no, and priorities are relative, but working on 10 projects at the same time makes it really hard to focus. Your mind is all over the place literally all the time, and it is 10 times harder to keep your mind on one project at a given moment, because there are so many others to worry about.
If your focus is already
To know which one to focus on first – the one that’s easiest to focus on. Like this, you can train your focus without having a hard time.
To sum up, improving your focus is a process that takes time and practice.
It includes taking care of your body and concentration because you can only working productively when your body is in a good state. Also, get rid of distractions and learn to say no.
Important is that you don’t overwork nor overthink and don’t focus TOO much on the end result, but instead enjoy the process. Also, find the most productive time of your day to work on your projects, take regular breaks and be patient! Don’t strive for perfectionism and love yourself. Self-confidence is what will make you successful.
Lastly, do one thing at a time and don’t have too many projects running that require your attention.
This was it for this week, I hope you enjoyed. If you have any more suggestions, I am always happy to hear from you in the comments or via mail!
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