7 Lifehacks For More Focus

The dawn of the information age has brought its own problems with it and one of the major problems is the ability to focus. The ping of a What's app message, the need to constantly check the number of likes we got for our Facebook posts, so much so that even when we are driving 70 mph on a highway we can't resist the temptation to text, instead of focusing on driving and end up playing with our own lives as well as the lives of others on the highway.

 

Let's take a look at 7 lifehacks for more focus in our lives.

 

1. Switch off Multi-tasking

 

Multi-tasking, the word itself has become fashionable these days. The root cause of losing focus can be this very thing, instead of doing something that we enjoy and taking pleasure in what we are doing, we end up doing a lot of different things while enjoying none of it.

 

2. Get Away from Distractions

 

The world DID function when there weren't any cell phones. So for God's sake put your phones in silent mode and resist the temptation to constantly check for social media updates when you're watching a movie, at friend's dinner party etc. Cell phones are just one example, the same applies to tablets, computers, the ubiquitous TV etc, all of which vie for our attention and can distract us in a jiffy.

 

3. Set Clear Goals

 

Being clear about what you set out to do gets half the job done, even before you start it. By meandering about the job and not able to clearly define what you are going to do, you lose focus midway and may be leave the job half done. For example if you want to clean your house, set a date and say to yourself that you will clean the house and finish the job by 5:00 PM on a Sunday.

 

4. Time Slot Method

 

Research has shown that you are most productive at certain time of days, like early morning or late at night. Delegate tasks that are toughest and need most of your attention to these time slots.

 

5. Prioritize Work

 

In your to-do list, set the work that is most important on top and work towards it. If some tasks can wait, let them wait, don't lose focus on your current job by worrying about less important things.

 

6. Take Breaks

 

If you are not making headway in your current task, walking away from it and coming back to it after sometime can get things done. Instead of just breaking your head against a wall, take a break and come back to it with a fresh new perspective.

 

7. Exercise

 

Make exercise a part of your daily routine. It increases the blood flow to your brain, sets you in a positive mood and helps you stay focused for the day ahead.

10 Quick Tips to Gain More Focus For Your Business

If you have ever been trying to get a little more focus for your business efforts then you should think about a few sensible ideas for making your business work a little more effective. Here are a few tips that you can easily benefit from.

 

1. Start by keeping everything as organized as possible. It is much easier to keep your business work under control and easier to manage if you are organized quite well. You will easily understand whatever it is that you are trying to do with your work if you are organized as well as possible.

 

2. Take a closer look at the goals that you are trying to set. See what your progress is for all of your goals and figure out solutions that you know will be easy to manage.

 

3. See if there are any times where you can work on your business efforts without any interruptions.If you know of times when others are not going to be in your way then you should have a relatively easy time with getting your business efforts in check.

 

4. Think about one goal for each day. If you focus on just one goal each day then it will become easier for you to finish up everything that you want to do.

 

5. Understand when your clients are important and when certain people you are working for aren't clients. Think about who's going to be more likely to pay you for what you do.

 

6. If there's a way how you can automate certain functions then feel free to do this. It can help you to figure out what's right in your workplace.

 

7. Think about what you enjoy doing the most and try working on that at the start. The things that are easier to do should be the first ones that you can finish off so you'll have time for other stuff in your life.

 

8. Keep all notifications at work off for a bit. If you keep any program or item that notifies you of certain things off then you'll easily stay focused on what you really want to do.

 

9. Time yourself properly based on when you should be working and when you need to get stuff done by. This should really keep you motivated and in check.

 

10. Plan your work out ahead of time. Think about when you are going to do your work and consider the timing for how everything is to be done and it should be easier for you to manage whatever you have to do.

 

How To Cut Distractions So You Can Focus More

If you want to boost your productivity, you should learn how to concentrate and avoid distractions. Distractions may not seem harmful at first, but in the end, they really affect the quality of the work you are doing and if you are studying you may end up not learning anything. 

 

How To Cut Distractions So You Can Focus More

 

1. Structure Your Environment

 

The place where you work or study can have a great impact on your ability to concentrate. Try to locate yourself away from any potential distractions such as windows, doors or phones. You should also ensure that your study or work space is free of clutter. If you are working online close all the other browsers on your computer apart from the one you are working on.

 

2. Clarify Your Objectives

 

By setting clear objectives of what you hope to accomplish, you will be able to concentrate more. If you are not sure of what the end result will be, the uncertainty will make it impossible to focus and you will easily be distracted.

 

3. Take Regular Breaks

 

Ensure that you take regular breaks. Regular breaks can help improve your alertness and concentration levels. Long studying or working hours not only affect your performance and mental capacity but your physical health too. Taking regular breaks when studying or working is also good for your physical health, such as your preventing tense muscles and eye health.

 

4. Routine

 

Set yourself a time frame within which you will study or work and stick to it. You should set a clear starting time and finishing time. If you need time for fitness classes, dog walks, school hours, cleaning your house that is fine, but include them in your daily routine before they become distractions.

 

5. Divide Big Tasks

 

Big tasks usually do not have any clear starting or ending point and as result they destroy focus. If you are working on a large project that requires a lot of work, clearly identify the steps that you will have go through to finish the project. If the sequence of actions is not obvious, it will be hard to focus.

 

6. Keep Refreshments Handy

 

Thirst and hunger can be major distractions while you are working or studying. Have plenty of healthy snacks (such as a fruit, cheese, healthy snack bar or peanut butter) and water and near your study or work space so that you can stay energized and hydrated without being distracted.

 

7. Communicate

 

Tell the members of your family (if you working or studying at home) or your workmates (if you are working in an office) that you will be busy and they should save any interruptions or questions until you are finished. You can also put a note on your door asking not to be disturbed.

 

How To Eliminate Time-Wasting Tasks

In order to completely eliminate bad time management habits and stop wasting precious time today, consider developing a routine that will help you avoid wasting time. Things that we feel like reacting to such as: phone calls, emails, news stories, text, etc. are known as urgent tasks. According to Brett McKay, "Important tasks contribute to our long-term mission, values, and goals." Understanding all the basics of time management is a very valuable lesson because they can be incorporated in all aspects of your life. Below are some remedies to set you on the path to productivity.

 

1) Avoid Multitasking

 

For a lot of us, multitasking is a way to keep up with the flow and feel like we are not getting left behind. But only 2 percent of the population can multitask successfully. It actually reduces our ability to focus, lowers the quality of our work, and can actually cost us time. It is very important to stop multitasking as soon as you realize you are doing it. Instead, try to minimize and manage interruptions, and work on improving concentration by scheduling your day into blocks of time.

 

2) Put an End to Silent Procrastination

 

If you procrastinate a lot, then you must understand the pains and stress that comes with putting things off. Procrastination is always easy to spot, especially when you are scrolling Facebook, playing solitaire, or gazing out the office window. Though it might seem like an innocent waste of time, this can lead to stress due to missing a very important deadline or inability to complete simple tasks. To overcome this, create task reminders by making use of your day planner. If your work requires the use of computer, then make sure you avoid time-wasting websites so you are not tempted. 

 

3) Learn to Say No

 

If you have already planned your schedules, you are working as effectively as you possibly can on important tasks and you have found ways of dealing with things that distract you a lot, but you still don't have enough time? Probably you are trying to do too much. You need to learn to say no. You can't always take care of everyone else. But you can still care and say "No" and look for another way to help without sacrificing your own success. You want to slow down and remain focused on the biggest pay-off activities that'll give you the best results in a time frame you prefer, personally and professionally.

 

4) Continue With What Works for You

 

If your morning ritual is to "warm up" first and ease into each day by grabbing a cup of coffee, answering email and checking in on Facebook, then that may be what you need to do to start your day. Activities that eat up your time can only be referred to as problems if they continue to get in the way of getting things done. However, you have to be honest with yourself about how much time that is being spent on such activities and whether it is really a time waster or a tool. 

 

5) Do the Most Difficult things at Your Peak Time

 

It is always better to handle or tackle the most difficult tasks whenever you are at your peak performance as this will help you schedule your day properly. You don't want to make important decisions when you are not efficient or energetic. If you perform best whenever you are awake first thing in the morning, then tackle those jobs first. Avoid using your peak performance time for easy assignments or for socializing and playing. 

 

In conclusion, being organized and productive in the areas that are very important to you will be rewarding. As discussed above, avoid procrastination, do not multitask, work on your more difficult tasks whenever you are most alert and learn to say no - because most of our time wasters come from a courage problem and not a time problem. Hope this helps. Wish you the best in your efforts to eliminate time-wasting tasks.

 

How To Get More Done In Less Time

Having a good focus, whether in your tasks, your goals or life in general, is one of most people's top keys to achieving success, both in studying and building a career, or simply in their daily routine. Another key for success is efficiency and the ability for doing more things quickly and correctly. Unfortunately, not focus neither efficiency come naturally to a lot of people, so it becomes necessary to find strategies to be more efficient, that is, learning to get more done in less time. Here are some tips you can try. 

 

Stop Multitasking. Multitasking may make you feel like you're doing more, but it will most likely only help you procrastinate and take longer to accomplish each task. Worse yet, it will lower your focus on each task, and most likely increase the probability of making mistakes, causing you to have to go back and re-do thinks, which will set you back.

 

Start now. As soon as you start a task - preferably one at a time - your focus shifts to the task ahead, planning what and how to do it, and especially evaluating any progress and difficulties ahead, causing a sort of obsession, which makes it physically and mentally impossible to stop or drop the task. So the best way to get something done is to start doing it instead of thinking about it.

 

Keep Yourself in Check. The other good way to make yourself do this is to evaluate yourself. Look long and hard at the tasks you realistically need to accomplish and set yourself some goals and deadlines, either general ones, or smaller ones for each task or stage, and each day. Then, make a list of what you actually did at the end of the day and compare both. Trying to make both the lists identical will help keep you focused and determined, and in turn ensure you do more with your time.

 

Relax. You don't need to do everything in one day, especially because you most likely won't be able to, so the best thing you can do is having a balanced schedule. Find out which are your best work hours, and try to compress the heaviest - or more challenging - work into those hours. Then make time for regular breaks and long recreational periods, where you can eat, watch a program or read a book, have some human interaction or go out. This will ensure you have a clear, relaxed mind while you work, and thus keep you focused. Also, it will give you something to look forward at the end of that pile of work to do, so it will keep you motivated to get through it quicker.

 

These are some proven methods which work to help retain focus and accomplish more work in less time. It is good to note, though, that each person is different, and some techniques may work better in each individual then others, and you may find a different strategy will work better on you. But if you're really struggling, these tips may be worth a try, at least as a starting point, to get your focus to where it needs to be.

 

How To Prioritize Your Tasks for More Results

Productivity can be a challenge for anyone, and one of the keys to productivity is preparation. One of the simplest forms of prep-work prior to a busy day is to develop a to-do list, but there are a few tricks to the creation of a task list. Your goal is to have a list that really works for you.

 

Create and Analyze Your To-Do List

 

The best approach to forming your to-do list is to prepare it as a first draft. In this approach, do not limit yourself initially; just get all of your wants on the list. After your list is done, it will be time for the edit. In this stage, you eliminate the items that are unnecessary, which should include unproductive things or items which are to be completed by someone else.

 

Once your list has been pared down, it is time to prioritize items within your list. The best approach here is to determine the most pressing and important issues you have on your list and move them to the top. You may also find that you have some urgent matters that are not necessarily important. They can be moved down on the list. Important items that are in no hurry should be on your list as well, but they may occupy a lower position on your list.

 

What Is First?

 

Once you have identified those urgent, important matters at the top of your list, it is time to focus on those items. Plan your day around accomplishing just those things to start. You may find that the list is short, and includes only a few items so your next step is to allocate the time you will spend on each item. In practice, you will find that you never allocate enough time, so go ahead and double whatever time you allowed for the task. If you finish early your sense of accomplishment will soar, and you might wind up with some free time at the end of the day!

 

Get to Work!

 

Your next step is to start ticking those items off your list. It is very important to stay focused at this stage, and stay on task. Do not allow the items that are lower on your list to interrupt or distract you. If one of those items that you dropped off your list earlier peeks its little head into the room, you will need to ignore that with extreme prejudice and hold the line.

 

Productivity is relative to the expectations we place on ourselves. Stay realistic, stay focused, and use a task list that works for you.

 

The Best Apps For Productivity

Our lives are marked with lots of work. Rarely will you find enough time, especially during the day to complete your work. Well, this can be attributed to the fact that during the day, people have meetings to attend and a lot of issues to address. But, what about the projects that keeps on accumulating in the office? Undeniably, you need an app that will get your stuff done in the office. Here are some apps that will be of great help to you. With these apps, there will be absolutely no need to work overtime and even on weekends.

 

1. Mailtracker

 

Sometimes, people are reluctant to read mails. And when this happens, mailtracker becomes a handy tool. This iOS app will notify you when people read your mail, and the best part? It will give you detailed notifications of where they read it from. When it comes to memo, you can easily ascertain if a person is telling the truth or not.

 

2. Pushbullet

 

So, you want not to forget anything? Well, this app will be your ultimate solution. It synchronizes with your computer and thus will display notifications from your phone to the screen. Not to forget, it lets you exchange files between different devices, which you can instantly download.

 

3. Focus lock

 

Admittedly, our phones are the greatest form of distractions. As a matter of fact, if you are not keen, you may miss important information just because your concentration is on your phone. This app allows you to choose apps that you want to be locked out of. That done, you will still reads your mails and receive phone calls, but you will be locked out of frequent updates such as sports and weather.

 

4. ETA

 

If you want to be punctual whenever you have meetings, then ETA is your ultimate app. If you will need to drive to your next destination, this app will tell you how long you will take. Amazing! It also facilitates the process of locating where you need to go.

 

5. Evernote

 

This is a multipurpose app that allows you to write to-do lists, notes and other tasks. This app is ideal for making notes during meetings, and the best part? It has a scanning feature that lets you get business cards.

 

In this world full of ups and downs, there is the need to simplify work. Productivity apps will certainly see how achieve this. So, if you have undone work at the office, you have a reason to smile. Gone are the days where a manager had to forego meetings so as to do work at the office. With these apps, you can rest assured that your work will be greatly simplified.

 

Top 10 Tips For Creating A Better Work Environment

Creating a good environment goes a long way in making certain the company achieves its goals. In addition, the employees as well as team leaders are also able to fulfill their personal goals and desires. The following are some ways of creating a good and conducive work environment:

 

1. Encourage Open Communication

 

Removing communication barriers allows employees to communicate directly and more openly. It also encourages them to support each other and work for the common good of the company.

 

2. Remove Cliques

 

Groups, factions or cliques create barriers in the work place. Employees from one clique will tend to keep it to themselves. This erodes the goal of meaningful interaction.

 

3. Show Appreciation

 

No matter how busy you are it is always good to show appreciation for any good deed. It can be as simple as telling your employees thank you for just staying at work for an extra 30 minutes.

 

4. Develop a Culture of Trust

 

Employees will work better if they feel trusted and appreciated. This can be shown by delegating a task to an employee, or agreeing to go with his idea on a particular matter.

 

5. Give Everyone a Chance

 

As a team leader or manager, it is important to listen to all your employees regardless of their work or social status. Listening to your employee boasts his morale and productivity.

 

6. Get to Know Your Employees

 

A simple "hallo" as you enter the escalator, or finding how their weekend was makes employees feel valuable to the company. You can also invite them for a drink after work.

 

7. Meaningful Dialogue

 

Whether you are at a formal or informal setting it is vital to engage in conversations that add value to the company or employee. An employee feels more appreciated if the conversation focuses around his career or life ambition.

 

8. Have a positive Attitude

 

Attitude is infectious. People around you will take-up your attitude and vice versa. Having a positive attitude, no matter the situation, goes a long way in creating a positive work environment.

 

9. Use Incentives

 

As human beings, we love being gifted. Offering your employees bonuses or salary increment when it's due greatly improves the work environment. You should also remind them that good performance is always rewarded.

 

10. Embrace an Open Door Policy

 

Whether you are a CEO, a director or team leader, you should always create an open-door policy. Any employee should feel comfortable to just walk in your office and talk about anything.

 

If you implement the above strategies at work, you will certainly experience better productivity and efficiency. It does not matter if you are a start-up, a small or large corporate. Creating the ideal environment at work is your best shot at growing and sustaining the company.

 

3 Scientifically Proven Ways to Beat Procrastination and Increase Productivity

One of the biggest obstacles we face when trying to reach our goals is our lack of motivation to even get started. Whether we're putting off scheduling an appointment or just avoiding the tedious project with a looming deadline, procrastination is a significant problem. This may be because we put things off until "someday." Because "someday" doesn't appear on the calendar, our good intentions never turn into action unless we create deadlines. The following strategies can help to increase motivation and decrease the tendency to procrastinate. 

 

Break Goals Into Manageable Chunks

 

When you only focus on the big picture, it can be easy to put things off until later. Wishing you could quit your day job to launch a startup, or hoping you could lose 50 pounds fall into the "someday" category. However, if you break down your goals into smaller, more manageable objectives, then you can move them into the present category and start working on the steps to complete the more modest goals.

 

Start Easy

 

Starting on a task or significant project is hard, but if you can get over that initial hump you'll gain some momentum, and your brain will more likely annoy you to keep working on the task. This is due to what is known as the Zeigarnik effect, a psychological phenomenon that says unfinished tasks are more likely to get stuck in your memory. This phenomenon is also why your to-do list continues to pop into your head until you write it down. 

 

Be Mindful

 

Fear of failure and perfectionism are at the root of some procrastination. To beat this particular type of procrastination, science suggests you start by listening to your inner monologue and flag the thinking that is less than favorable. If you catch yourself saying things like, "This will be a catastrophe," or "I need this project to be perfect, " start taming your anxiety with a deceptively simple sounding intervention. An easy way you can do this is by doubting your doubts. This can be accomplished by shaking your head while you are thinking those thoughts. While it may sound simple, recent studies say that it can help with the chronically uncertain.

 

Procrastination is the number one killer of productivity. To increase your productivity and get more done, try these simple ways to beat procrastination, and see how it can change your life.