2 things that are killing your ability to focus
Parent Post
Two major challenges are
Two major challenges are destroying our ability to focus:
- We are overwhelmed with distractions from various connected devices.
- We rely excessively on meetings as the default form of interaction with other people at work.
Here are five daily practices that will help.
Clean up. Keeping a clean
Clean up.
Keeping a clean work environment, both physical and digital, is essential to your ability to stay focused.
Create folders on your desktop to get rid of all the random files, and keep only the most important 8–12 apps on your home screen. Turn off all unnecessary notifications.
Shrink meetings. To stay focused,
Shrink meetings.
To stay focused, keep your team focused.
Limit the number of people in any meeting to eight or fewer unless it is a meeting that is purely informational.
Make sure each meeting results in action items, a timeline for each action item, and one person who is responsible for ensuring that it gets done.
Practice mindfulness. Try a simple
Practice mindfulness.
Try a simple mindfulness practice when you wake up, which can be anything from quietly taking a few deep breaths to meditating for 20 or 30 minutes.
Meditation is a way to train your nervous system to calm down despite the stress of your daily life. When you are calmer, you are more emotionally intelligent and make better decisions.
Preserve buffers. If you want
Preserve buffers.
If you want to avoid wasting time and burning out, add buffer time between each meeting.
For every 45–60 minutes you spend in a meeting, make sure to take 15 minutes or more to process, reflect, and prioritize.
Staying focused at work is not easy, but it is doable. These five practical techniques will help you stay on task, accomplish what matters, and enjoy yourself more throughout the day.
Organize tasks. Instead of struggling
Organize tasks.
Instead of struggling to accomplish what matters, take advantage of your body’s natural rhythms.
Focus on complex, creative tasks in the morning; these things will tend to be ones you accomplish individually or with 2–3 other people. Push all other meetings to the afternoon.