It’s an established and undeniable fact that the world we live in today has too many distractions. Anywhere our heads turn, there is bound to be a distraction waiting to be noticed and caught. Distractions can come in all forms and sizes – it can be that loud, blaring speakers from the room across yours, the shouting and bickering of the little kids downstairs, the honking of cars in the street outside your house, or even the slightest ticking sound your table clock makes can be a distraction.
Focus is very important. In a study done on mice, it was found that their cognitive performance increased when their attention was improved. This same fact is true to humans. Anyone, from students to business professionals to athletes, who has better focus performs better, and becomes smarter and more productive at what they do. With the improved productivity, better performance, and smarter head, focus is a very much needed in the business world where every success and failure counts. If you are easily distracted and your attention is constantly caught on with the things around you, here are five simple tips to help you sharpen your focus.
Turn off notifications
Whether we admit it to ourselves or not, our social media accounts are one of the most distracting things around us. A single ping of Facebook notification can get our focus reeling. This tiny distraction may not cost much of our time at first, but when you add all up the time you spend on checking who liked or commented on your post or what are the recent happenings in your friends’ lives, you will realize that you could have accomplished a more important task instead.
Set your mind to focus and so not let those latest tweets, emails, and notifications control you. When it is time for work, then discipline yourself to say no to temptation. Turn off the notification for these apps that are not related to your work. That way, there will be nothing that can take your focus away from the work you need to get done.
Get enough sleep
Sleep is a very important part of our lives. When we are deprived of that needed rest for our brains, we can never expect ourselves to be able to put our best foot forward. Sleep improves our cognitive abilities – thus, helping sharpen our focus. It helps us think clearer, solve problems quicker, and remember things more clearly.
If you feel like dozing off during the day, take a little some off and get a power nap for ten to fifteen minutes, just enough to give your mind a kick it needs. Don’t rely so much on sugary energy drinks because although sugar can boost up your energy, it is not enough to sustain you and you might perform even more poorly when your energy crashes. Coffee and caffeine might do you good too, but too much can give your uncomfortable palpitations.
Make a list
Relying everything else to memory can be a real and unnecessary stress to you. With all the countless things we do daily, there are one or two things that can be forgotten. To help you sort tasks out and remember the details of the task, install a to-do list app on your phone or computer, or just grab some paper and pen and jot your to-dos down. Check your list from time to time or each time you tick off a task from the list.
Sweat it up
The mind and body benefit a lot from physical exercise. A short 10 minutes of brisk walking can improve blood circulation and help oxygen flow better to the brain and muscles, which helps sharpening our focus. Sweating also helps release tension from our bodies.
Take a breath
Breathing properly is by far the easiest way to relieve stress and enhance the mind. Like exercise but so much easier, correct breathing improves the circulation of oxygen to our brains and other vital organs. It helps release the tension in our muscles that can become tight due to stress. So don’t forget to take deep unhurried breaths every day.
These tips are quite easy to do when you have the discipline to go through. Teach your mind to focus on what you want to achieve to motivate you. You can work together with a coach or mentor to help you get your focus on track. In fact, going for a mentor can leap leadership skills. Give importance to improving your focus and you might be amazed at what you can accomplish.
Author Bio:
Sarah Jacobs is an experienced writer who loves creating articles that can benefit others. She has worked as a freelance writer in the past making informative articles and fascinating stories. She has extensive knowledge in a variety of fields such as technology, business, finance, marketing, personal development, and more.
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