What Is Focus And Why Should You Care?

When you are able to focus at will on anything that you want you will have the power to transform your life and get anything that you want. You need a good level of focus to achieve anything worthwhile in your life.

 

Having the ability to focus on something for as long as you need will improve your productivity considerably. You will be able to get far more done than you could before. Being able to focus on the important things will enable you to accomplish anything that you want.

 

Focus Defined

 

In simple terms, focus is a thinking skill which enables you to get started with any task without any procrastination. With a good level of focus, you will be able to concentrate fully on a task until you have completed it.

 

Once you develop a high level of focus it will be a lot easier for you to pay attention to a task in spite of distractions and any setbacks that you may encounter. You will have the energy required to focus and re-focus as necessary and ensure that the task gets done.

 

Every Time you Think you Focus

 

It is not possible to think about something without focusing on it. Focus is required to provide perception, make decisions, solve problems, recall things from your memory and more. If you cannot focus then you will not be able to do any of these things.

 

Of course, we all have some power of focus, but many people have a wandering mind which causes them problems. You need to increase your focus to overcome your wandering mind so that you can be more productive and achieve more each day.

 

Attention comes in Three States

 

There are three different attention states that you can be in when you are trying to focus on something. These are:

 

1.    Selective attention

2.    Divided attention

3.    Sustained attention

 

Each of these has a part to play with your focus. It is usually not necessary for you to focus too much when you are driving a car for example. This is especially true if you have been driving for some time. You use divided attention here as you can drive almost on autopilot.

 

As people age it is possible for their divided attention to diminish. By using proven methods to increase your focus you can prevent this from happening. Divided attention is important to have as it enables you to process several different sources of information at the same time.

 

Selective attention is where you can shut everything else out to concentrate on one thing. The ideal state to master is sustained attention which will enable you to concentrate on something for a long period of time.

 

When it comes to sustained attention, your brain will use a process called “sensitivity enhancement”. This will ensure that all sensory information is intensified such as sounds and lights to make sure that you can process things in the correct way.

 

Efficient Selection

 

Your brain is amazing and it will use the efficient selection process to filter information that you receive and determine if it is important or not. If the efficient selection process deems something to be important then this gets moved up your priority list. The same process will suppress interruptions and distractions and move these to the bottom of your priority list.

 

The Reasons For A Lack Of Focus

If you are suffering from a lack of focus then there can be several different reasons for this. In this article, we will look at some of the major reasons why people experience a lack of focus when they are trying to get something done.

 

The Task is not Interesting

 

If you are not interested in a task that you need to complete then you are going to struggle to focus on it and get started. Even when you do get started, it will be hard for you to maintain your focus because you have no interest in what you are doing.

 

Anyone that has a daily task list is likely to have things on the list that they are really interested in and some that they have very little interest in. All of these tasks need to be completed so you need to find a way around being focused for the uninteresting tasks.

 

When a task has no interest for you then it is very easy to hesitate starting it and you may even procrastinate and put it off altogether. You will feel stuck at this point because you know that you have to complete the task but you are not interested in it. Your desire to complete all of your tasks is likely to be the only inspiration for you to focus on the uninteresting tasks.

 

A Wandering Mind

 

A number of people have a wandering mind. They begin to focus on something that they need to complete and then they experience other thoughts that are not related to the task in hand. This results in them losing their focus on the task and they have to work hard to regain their focus again.

 

Having a wandering mind can go back as far as childhood. Some children are told by teachers that they have a wandering mind. This may not mean much when you are a child but it can hold you back when you are an adult. Fortunately, you can increase your focus and minimize your wandering mind.

 

Procrastination

 

If you have a procrastination habit then you are going to find it difficult to focus to get started on a task. Procrastination is really the enemy of focus. All of us procrastinate now and again and it is not really possible never to procrastinate.

 

But if you have a chronic procrastination problem and are always putting things off, this is definitely going to affect your ability to focus. You can overcome your procrastination using a number of different methods.

 

Distractions can Break Focus

 

You can lose focus at any time if you experience certain distractions. Something like a loud noise or a set of flashing lights can generate neural activity in your brain which will result in you losing your current focus and paying all of your attention to these things.

 

Sometimes it is a good thing that a distraction can cause you to lose focus. Maybe you are driving and there is an accident up ahead. You do not want to crash your car so the flashing lights warn you.

 

Self-Induced Distractions

 

Another classic reason for a lack of focus is self-induced distractions. These are distractions that come from within such as a negative thought that is so powerful it breaks your focus. If you are overwhelmed by a self-induced distraction then it can be extremely difficult to regain your focus again. 

 

Digital Marketing Lifestyle Resource Sheet

Want to be a digital marketer and lead the lifestyle that you’ve always dreamed of? Then you need to change the way you approach it. It’s time to stop thinking about making money fast and instead, time to think about having fun making money. And also enjoying the money when you have it.

 

There are several resources that can help you to achieve that, so to continue your education, seek out these books!

 

The E-Myth Revisited

Book

 

The problem with many entrepreneurs is that they start their businesses with a completely false notion of what life will be like once they do. They set out thinking they will live the ‘American Dream’ and start making lots of money from a single idea.

Reality doesn’t quite work that way. And if you really want to be successful, then you need to realize this going in. This book will help you to understand rules that apply to any small business.

 

The Four Hour Workweek

Book

 

This book by Tim Ferriss is one of the absolute classics when it comes to working online and managing your work-life balance. This is one of the books I recommend to anyone starting out online and it’s an incredible wake-up call for many who have ended up stuck in jobs they don’t love. It’s about lifestyle design: about working to live and not living to work. It also contains tons of practical tips.

 

The Personal MBA

Book

 

This book by Josh Kaufman aims to teach an entire MBA course in a single volume. Okay, so that’s a pretty ambitious concept but the end result is undoubtedly impressive and it’s something that everyone should take a look at.

 

How to Save An Hour Every Day

Book

 

This book was written with a single goal: to help entrepreneurs and other folk to save more time. Saving time is crucial for a digital marketer as it will give you more time to work toward your goals and more time to enjoy outside of work.

 

Smart Passive Income

https://www.smartpassiveincome.com/

 

Smart Passive Income is a website from Pat Flynn that tells people how to make businesses that will be self-sustaining and provide passive income. Pat is a very friendly and likeable guy and the site provides real-world tips and candid insights into his own business. Highly recommended.

 

Headspace

App

 

If you’re someone who struggles with stress and managing your work/life balance, then getting an app like Headspace is highly recommended. This is a meditation app that will teach you the basics of mindfulness and help you to find moments of calm and to practice mental discipline. It’s game changing.

 

Warrior Forum

www.warriorforum.com

 

This is a forum for digital marketers to discuss their business. It’s a great place to find business partners, writing and web design services and more. What’s more is that it’s a great place to just chat with likeminded individuals and make genuine connections.

 

Nomadlist

https://nomadlist.com/chat/all_channels

For those that work on the move Nomad List is a fantastic place to meet people and find business partners. 

 

How to Create a Home Office That Will Promote Health While You Work at the Computer

It's not exactly news that office jobs aren't good for us. This is something we've known now for a long time and more and more evidence is only supporting this view. Perhaps most damning are the recent studies on the negative effects of sitting at work. These show us that sitting for long stretches at a desk can take years off our life, and undo all the good work we've put in at the gym. 

 

The problem is that most people don't have much choice – they work in an office to make a living and as such they don't get to make the rules regarding how long they're sitting. 

 

That's where creating a home office makes all the difference. If you're fortunate enough to be able to work from home at least some or all of the time, then you can make the rules yourself. Here are some of the things you can do to design that office to promote better health. 

 

Standing Desk 

 

One of the first things you can use to improve your health when you're working in the office is to invest in a standing desk. Now you're not going to want to use this all the time, as it's hard to concentrate and get real work done when you're standing up. Nevertheless, for short bursts while you check e-mails etc., standing up could be a very useful way to feel healthier and even to burn some calories. 

 

Multiple Seats 

 

One of the things that makes working in an office so bad is simply how long we're remaining in the same position for. The position isn't great, but staying in any pose for this duration would be bad for you. 

 

So a solution to this issue is to work on a laptop or a 'hybrid slate' computer, and to then have multiple seats around the office that you can move to. 

 

One of these seats could be a 'kneeling chair'. These encourage you to take up a somewhat kneeling position, which while still not perfect will at least straighten out your back allowing you to breathe more naturally and reducing the shortness of your hip flexors (which is one of the things that contributes to lower back pain). 

 

The Desk 

 

Of course, your regular desk should also be at the right height for these chairs – make sure that your head is able to stay upright and still see the monitor well. 

 

Make it Light 

 

Natural light is highly important for promoting health. Not only does natural light naturally improve our mood and stimulate the production of vitamin D, but our body uses it in order to gauge its sleep-wake cycle. The more natural light in your office then, the better you are going to sleep come bed time. 

 

Natural Décor 

 

Something else that helps you to naturally reduce stress is to keep a natural looking décor. Having plants in a room has been shown to help reduce our heart rates for instance, while using stone flooring, fountains and other more natural items can all have a similar effect. 

 

The Technology 

 

You should also aim to avoid letting the tech itself negatively affect your health. For instance, using software that reduces the brightness and wavelength of your monitor can help you to avoid messing up your internal body clock. Likewise, you should look into software that encourages you to take regular breaks from your computer. 

 

Regular Breaks 

 

Oh, and take regular breaks. This is crucial not just for your eyes, but also just to keep you moving. Don't work more than an hour without getting up, walking around and looking at something other than the monitor for a while.

 

How to Look and Feel Like a Highly Successful Digital Entrepreneur

There are many reasons that you may have been attracted to the idea of working online. For many, the allure of being completely free to work when and how they please will be enough. For others, it comes down to the feeling of satisfaction that comes from financial independence.

 

But for some, it’s the allure of being highly successful. For some, it’s the appeal of being successful, accomplished, powerful and wealthy – of being able to live that hedonistic lifestyle of travel, partying and womanizing/manizing (?).

 

In other words, some of us just want to be highly successful in the traditional sense and to get the feeling of reward and power that comes from that success. Internet marketing makes this possible because it gives us a way to earn money that isn’t ‘limited’ by conventional career trajectories.

 

You have the prestige that comes from being an entrepreneur, and you have the theoretical ability to learn limitless money. You just need a good idea, a little business savvy and the dedication to put in the work. Do all that and you can quickly become highly successful.

 

You can rub shoulders with bankers, lawyers and other highly successful individuals, enjoying tailored suits and lavish parties – all without putting in the time at the bottom of the heap.

 

The Problem

 

But there’s a problem and that is the fact that many of us don’t know how to live this lifestyle. Many of us want that successful lifestyle but we miss the vital steps. Many of us end up simply working our behinds off at home, not remembering to brush our hair or do our teeth, and then looking completely dishevelled whenever we do leave the house.

 

Working alone is not highly conducive to presenting ourselves will and what many people don’t appreciate is that running a business is a lot of hard work. Without a boss to motivate you, you can end up falling behind quickly. And then you end up making up for it in the evenings, or by diving straight into work without getting ready for the day first. This is especially true if you are so driven by being ‘successful’ or wealthy. Kind of ironic!

 

The Solution

 

The solution is actually to make sure you leave space in your day for looking after yourself and investing in your look. We all know the saying: dress for the job you want. This is just as true when you work for yourself because dressing well will make you feel more successful and effective. 

 

But knowing that and actually acting on it are two very different things. If you want to spend time on yourself, then you need to ensure you give yourself that time – and more importantly that you give yourself that energy. That means clocking off at a set time and dedicating some hours in the day to getting dressed and ready.

 

Develop a morning routine. This will make it easier to ensure you get dressed and ready the same time every day and will ensure you start your day with the right enthusiasm, mood and footing.

 

How Working Online Will Change You

Lots of articles have been written about the kind of person who becomes a blogger or an SEO, and the ways that you can make yourself better at blogging or running a website. What is less often discussed however, is how working online can actually change who you are as a person and influence your personal development. There are many ways that this can happen and a number of common effects that blogging can have on your personality and your attitudes. Read on to meet the person you might become... 

 

How Jobs Impact On Us 

 

I used to proudly claim that I hadn't changed, because I became a blogger and never bowed down to the man. I have no colleagues as a blogger meaning that there was no one for me to become ‘more alike’, but this in itself can have an effect on you. And likewise, working from home and earning passive income has probably had some impact on me too. Blogging/optimizing changes you just like any other job, only it changes you differently. Once I was self-aware enough to recognize this, I set about finding out what had changed about me. Here's what I came up with... 

 

Care Free 

 

I would say that compared to my other friends, I am more carefree and less restricted. While my friends have to work 9-5 jobs and get very stressed if they stay out too late one night, I can remain flexible and free to work when I choose and where I choose. If I'm honest, this has also led me to somewhat resent those people who aren't free to hang out because they have work the next day. I guess it's fair to say that I've become somewhat detached from the 'real world' and regular routine. 

 

Opinionated 

 

Writing online regularly has also made me somewhat opinionated. Sure, I'm opinionated in my views on employment (and self-employment), but I've also become very used to expressing myself a lot online and sharing my opinion. This undoubtedly crosses over into my daily life, as I tend to wax lyrical about pretty much any subject that I get the opportunity to talk about. 

 

Independence and Confidence

 

You also get a lot of confidence from working online. Once you’ve made money yourself – completely yourself – you realize you’re capable of anything. This helps you to feel more successful and generally means you get used to ‘being the boss’.

 

And with that comes increased independence too. You don’t rely on anyone, and you have countless projects to pass the time when you are alone.

 

An Unusual View of Money 

 

In some ways, being an online entrepreneur has made me stricter with my money. The money I've earned has been entirely down to my own effort and is a reflection of my success, so I feel more personally affronted when I spend it. On the other hand, though, I also think of money now very much in terms of overheads and profits. Spending a little money on a friend is just another 'overhead' and I can earn it back by working a little extra hard for a while. 

 

These are just some of the ways you change when you become a blogger or a digital marketer. Of course, the precise changes partly depend on who you are to begin with. Either way, expect to grow and change and to get more from the experience than you necessarily bargain for…

 

Loneliness and Working Online

Being a successful blogger, digital marketer or other form of internet entrepreneur is an amazing achievement and in many ways it can improve your life to a huge extent. Not only does becoming a successful marketer/blogger grant you financial independence and the ability to set your own wage, but it also gives you creative freedom and theoretically it allows you to accomplish the kind of work/life basis that many of us are missing. 

 

But of course, like anything there is an element of the ‘double edged sword’ here and there are downsides to that independence too. One of the very biggest ones here, that a lot of us don’t anticipate before going into this business, is loneliness. When you strike out on your own and are able to give up the day job, the commute and the office politics it can feel like a breath of fresh air. But then later when you hear about your friends’ Christmas parties and their office romances, you can start to miss the camaraderie that working with other people provides. 

 

And in fact, as you sit there typing away most days, you can even start to find yourself getting rather bored or going out of your mind for the lack of people to talk to. Here we will look at some ways you can avoid this, and how you can avoid letting your blogging drive you mad... 

 

Go Out 

 

Many people want to blog for a living because they want to ‘work from home’. Do note though, that work from home here is really more of a figure of speech rather than a literal description of where you are going to work – because actually when you’re self-employed you can work anywhere. Why not then go and work in a café in town? This way you will at least get to chat to the staff that work there and maybe some other people sitting in. Or alternatively of course you can sit in a bar or pub, or when it’s sunny relax on the grass in the sun with a glass of juice. This way working for yourself becomes a much more desirable, and at the same time you’ll be likely to encounter more people, have more conversations and possibly even meet attractive members of the opposite sex. Of course, you also need to be open to chatting to people for this to work. 

 

Meet Up With Others 

 

You can also make blogging more sociable by using the opportunity to meet up with people you don’t normally see. For instance, you can meet your friends for lunch on their lunch break, or you can meet them after work if they finish early. You’ve got the time, and you can even do things like design work while you chat. And in fact, this will be a lot more sociable than most people are in the office anyway. Apart from anything else you’ll be chatting to people who are actually your real friends rather than just colleagues. 

 

Network 

 

Networking and interacting with other bloggers, writers and your visitors is very good for your website and a great way to promote your business and make contacts. At the same time, it can make your business less unsociable, so try attending networking events, working face to face with designers and marketers, and responding to your fan mail rather than locking yourself away. It’s good for your site, and it’s even better for your mental health...

 

Power User Tips for Internet Marketers

Being a 'power user' is a term that sounds much cooler than it is. Actually of course this just means being able to 'work even quicker on the computer' which when you think about it isn't something you'd probably have bragged about back in the playground. 

 

Nevertheless, being a power user means that you can get more done, be more efficient and ultimately earn more and create more in a shorter timeframe - which is pretty cool. 

If you’re a digital marketer, then this is especially important. So read on and learn these power user tips that can help you work faster and smarter.

 

Use Google Keep 

 

Google Keep is a web app that Google designed with similar note-taking features to Evernote but a less steep learning curve. The concept is great - allowing you to quickly take a note in your browser then access it from your phone, and in practice it really is very convenient for accessing your ideas and photos from wherever you are in an intuitive, minimal and quick way. 

 

Use Your Bookmarks 

 

If you aren't using your bookmarks properly then you are missing out as they can help you to work a lot more quickly online. Bookmarks can let you navigate instantly to the pages you use regularly, and that can include your work e-mail or the collaborative site you use at work. If you want to prevent yourself from procrastinating so much in the morning, then just make the page you need for work your homepage - that way this will be the first thing you see, and you won't be tempted to browse Facebook before getting down to it. 

 

Better yet, consider using the Google Chrome app ‘join’ which can be used to send tabs, bookmarks and more directly from a phone to a PC and back again.

 

Get a Headset 

 

Having a headset for your computer can liberate your hands while you're talking on the phone or taking notes, and this can be incredibly useful for multitasking. Use a headset and you can chat to clients while answering e-mails, or dictate notes with voice recognition software. 

 

Learn Keyboard Shortcuts 

 

Learning keyboard shortcuts can save you a great deal of time when it comes to getting through large workloads. A few taps of your keys and you can have opened new documents replaced elements and saved and once you get used to doing this it will become almost like breathing. 

 

Have Multiple Monitors 

 

Working with multiple monitors is something that almost every power-user swears by. This way you have more screen real estate for running multiple applications and you won't find your workspace so crowded. If you don't have space for two monitors, then bear in mind you can use a television or even an Android tablet as your second screen (the latter of which will probably also impress colleagues). 

 

Another option is to get an ultrawide monitor, and studies suggest that this can increase your productivity by as much as 30%.

 

Organize Your Folders 

 

If you want to work as quickly and efficiently as possible then it pays to think ahead and to set everything up to be easy. One way to do this is to organize your folders so that everything you need is right at the top and in a logical place where you can find it quickly. 

 

Step by Step Instructions for Becoming a Digital Nomad

A digital nomad is someone who works entirely online in order to be able to travel freely wherever they want. A digital nomad will normally be found wearing just a single backpack with a small laptop or hybrid slate computer slipped in, and will spend their time moving from WiFi-providing café to WiFi-providing café in all kinds of sunny countries. 

 

The idea is that they get to travel and see the world, while being able to easily fund their movements and not have to worry about getting into major debt. Sounds ideal right? 

Well for the right person it is. As long as you can bear to be away from your creature comforts and you don't need the social stimulation that comes from working in an office, then you can use this as a way to live the kind of life that most people only dream of. 

 

But how do you go about making that leap? Going from an office worker to a digital nomad? Here's the process in a simple step-by-step form. 

 

Speak to Your Loved Ones 

 

What stops most people becoming a digital nomad is not their jobs really, but rather their relationships. If you're in a romantic partnership now, then you'll need to talk seriously with your partner about the prospect of you travelling the world. Hopefully they will be supportive and recognize it as something you need to do. If not? Then you'll have to decide what's most important to you. 

 

Speak to Your Employer 

 

Before you give up your job, you should first ask if there's any way you can set up a remote-work arrangement. Explain your ambition and your manager may help you to make it a reality with no career-change necessary. If not, you'll need to try another tact… 

 

Start Earning 

 

The next thing to do is to start earning some cash off of your own back online. Do this by writing articles for webmasters, by creating web designs or even by providing proof reading services. You can advertise these skills on a webmaster forum or a site like ODesk or even Fiverr. The aim is to start generating just a little work so that you can start to gain confidence and 'wean' yourself off of your 'main job'. Once you're earning enough to be confident you can quit – remember you don't need that much money to do this. 

 

Better yet, consider becoming an internet marketer. By selling affiliate products, PLR products or your own digital products, you can earn money even while you sleep. Or how about becoming a travel blogger and that way turning travel into a financial asset rather than a burden?

 

Speak to Your Mum and Dad

 

You will need a lot of money if you want to pay rent and travel the world at the same time, but if you are willing to throw out a lot of your things and get your Mum to look after the rest then you can free yourself of this financial burden. You might have friends who can do this, but Mum is your best bet seeing as it’s a rather big ask. Otherwise consider storage, but make sure you'll have somewhere to stay when you get back. In general, you’re probably going to have to cut back a little on your possessions!