Have you sometimes (or even often) sat at your desk, looking at your screen and attempted to focus on the task at hand, only to find that your mind keeps wandering and you are like Dory from Finding Nemo and constantly distracted by the tinniest little thing?
Sometimes we need to “just keep swimming swimming swimming” (Did you sing that as you read it – yep me too.
Despite our best intentions, we find that sometimes we just can't concentrate. We've all been in this familiar, frustrating situation, and it's something that can really undermine our performance.
So, what are some strategies we can use to improve our concentration and to reduce those daily distractions.
Environment
Your personal work environment plays a large role in your ability to concentrate. The more comfortable and welcoming your environment is, the easier it will likely be for you to stay there and focus.
Consider some opportunities to make your physical environment conducive to focusing.
· Make sure you're comfortable – Start by ensuring that your chair and desk are at the right height for you to work comfortably. If your chair is too high or your desk is too low, you'll be uncomfortable, and you'll be tempted to use this as an excuse to get up and walk away.
· Put up pictures – Viewing a natural scene or watching wildlife can help improve concentration. If you're able to put up pictures in your office or work area, then choose landscapes or natural images that you enjoy. This can help your focus, especially if you can see the pictures from your desk.
· Shut out distractions as much as possible – Listening to music can help, especially if it's instrumental music. Some people even use "white noise" apps – these produce a steady, undistracting sound like ocean waves or falling rain. This steady background noise can drown out other noise, helping you focus better and ignore distractions.
Nutrition
Follow some simple nutritional tips:
· Drink water – Many of us don't think about drinking water while we're at work, yet dehydration can make us feel tired, irritable, slow, or even sick. When our brains don't have enough fluid, they can't operate at peak performance. Staying hydrated is an easy way to help improve your concentration during the day.
· Eat breakfast – Start your day with a healthy breakfast. It's much harder to concentrate when you're hungry, so eat a well-rounded meal before you go to work. You can also help your concentration throughout the day by keeping healthy snacks at your desk. Almonds, wholegrain crackers, fresh fruit, and vegetables are good choices.
· Get up and move around – Do you walk around during the day? If you're like many people, you probably don't move around enough. Research has shown that regular walking can help increase your focus during the day.
Mindset
Constant distractions, and the low productivity that's associated with these distractions, have become so commonplace in today's offices that doctors have even given it a name: Attention Deficit Trait, or ADT. And, they say that entire organisations can suffer from it.
· Set aside time to deal with worries – Many of us have trouble concentrating during the day because we're constantly worrying about other things. It could be an approaching deadline for a project you haven't started, a new colleague who's causing problems, or just the amount of work on your desk. If you find yourself distracted by worries, then note these down so that you don't need to hold them in your mind. Then schedule time to deal with these issues.
· Focus on one task at a time – It can be much harder to focus if you take minibreaks (15–30 seconds) to answer emails, send text messages, or take quick phone calls. Some researchers believe that it can take up to 15 minutes for us to regain complete focus after a distraction.
· Close your email inbox and chat program – Let your voicemail do its job. If your office allows it, close your office door or put up a "Do Not Disturb" sign to let colleagues know you need to focus.
· Switch between high- and low-attention tasks – This can give your brain a rest after heavy concentration. For instance, if you spend two hours working on your department's budget, you'll probably feel tired afterward. You can recharge your energy by working on a low-attention task, like filing, for 15 minutes before going back to your budget.
· Prioritise – Having too much to do can be distracting, and this sometime causes procrastination. Or, you may quickly jump from task to task, creating the illusion of work – but in reality, you're not accomplishing very much. If you're not sure which tasks to start or which are most important, take 10 or 15 minutes to prioritise your To-Do List.
Consider some further Tips
· Take short breaks – We can be masters at focusing, but eventually we're going to need a break. Our minds can struggle to focus intensely on tasks for eight hours a day. This is where it can be better to divide your work into 60 – 90 minute segments, with a 5–10 minute break between tasks. This short break will allow your mind to rest before focusing again.
· Do your hardest tasks when you're most alert – This will help you maximise your concentration.
· Use a headset – If you have a headset for your phone, consider using it for a few hours each day. If your colleagues think you're on the phone, they're less likely to interrupt you.
· Promise yourself a reward – For instance, make a rule that if you focus intensively for 60 plus minutes on one task, you can take a break to get a cup of coffee when you're done. Little "self-rewards" can often be great motivators.
· Schedule email downloads – It can be tremendously distracting to have emails pinging into your inbox every few minutes – you're tempted to stop what you're doing and answer them right away. If you can, schedule your email to download only a few times each day, and deal with all of your emails in one go.
Want to know more about managing your attention and focus? Send me an email at michelle@bakjacconsulting.com to enquire about coaching to build your personal strategies.
Michelle Bakjac is an experienced Psychologist, Organisational Consultant, Coach, Speaker and Facilitator. As Director of Bakjac Consulting, she is a credentialed Coach with the International Coach Federation (ICF) and a member of Mental Toughness Partners and an MTQ48 accredited Mental Toughness practitioner. Michelle assists individuals and organisations to develop their Mental Toughness to improve performance, leadership, behaviour and wellbeing. You can find her at www.bakjacconsulting.com or michelle@bakjacconsulting.com
