Reclaim Your Focus

I learned a valuable lesson last week. Wednesday started well enough. I woke up, went walking, meditated, and then I made the mistake of opening the wrong app on my phone. Fast forward 8 hours and dazed and confused, I realized I had spent the entire day playing Bubble Pop on my phone. WHAT??? You might wonder why, since I alone am responsible for the success of my business. Well, it's simple. When I went down the rabbit hole to figure out what happened, I realized I was feeling very overwhelmed by all of the tasks on my plate and was also questioning whether or not I have the right business strategy in place. That overwhelm led to struggling to stay focused.

Now, I know I'm not the only one out there who has moments where focus goes a bit haywire. In today's busy world, it can be difficult to stay on task. But I came up with 8 ways to reclaim my focus. The very next day, I'd already put some of these in place and I continue to implement different tactics. I am also comforted by the fact that I have a roadmap for the next time I feel I'm at risk of losing focus.

Let's explore what these tactics are.

Identify Why You Lost Focus In The First Place

If you find yourself losing focus, you can start getting it back by taking a step back and assessing the situation. Are you feeling stressed? Is there something on your mind that's causing your distraction? Or do you realize you're stressed BECAUSE you got distracted? Chicken or the egg, right? Which one came first? Once you identify the source of your lack of focus, you can take steps to address it.

If you're feeling stressed, you'll want to get to the root cause so you can develop a plan to address it. You might also want to engage in activities that help you manage the stress.

Some of the things that work great for me and are a bit out of the standard recommendations of meditation and exercise (which work exquisitely) are knitting, doing puzzles, or playing sudoku. And on the flip side, sometimes, I recognize I'm stressed because I allow my distractions to take over. That's what happened to me last week and I knew I had to take the app off my phone altogether. I didn't trust myself to not go down the rabbit hole again and having figured out why I was stressed, I didn't need it anymore!

Remember, this is where it gets tricky. Distractions can be good to momentarily relieve the stress, but be careful not to let them get out of control and take over your life in a different way.

Set Some Structure For Yourself

When it comes to regaining focus, having structure is key. I live by my Google Calendar. Staying on track starts at the end of the week as I prep for the following week. Every Sunday I review and map out the upcoming week's agenda. I look at my appointments and make any changes I need to make. I also review my task list and bring over any unfinished tasks. Sometimes, I also put some tasks back on my master task list because either things have changed and no longer have the urgency they had, priorities have shifted or other things have come in demanding a higher priority. By the end of the day Sunday, I have a great view of what to expect for the week.

I also review the next day the night before, so I have a fresh view of what's coming when I get back to it in the morning. Not only does it give me visibility, but it also is an opportunity to further fine-tune my agenda and my task list, since I tend to overestimate what I can accomplish in one day.

Some people think structure is restrictive and I can see how one would think that. But the key is to have a basic map, while not being a slave to it. Having tried operating both with and without structure, I appreciate being organized because it frees up a lot of time in your day since you're not constantly thinking about what you want or need to do next.

Know Your Rhythm & Dedicate Your Most Productive Time To The Most Important Things

Are you a night owl or an early bird?

I'm an early bird. You might ask, so what? Well... I use it to my advantage. I work on my most important or challenging tasks in the morning when I have all my wits about me. That's when I feel freshest and best able to think through creative tasks or the complex problems that require my attention. If I were to do those in the latter part of the day, I would not be as productive, nor would I be able to express my thoughts and ideas in the way that I want to.

On the flip side, my boyfriend is a night owl and does his best creative work later in the day. I used to joke that I was living with a vampire because he was able to work well into the night when I was barely coherent by 9 pm!

So, find your rhythm.

Manage Your Energy

There are different types of energy, two of which are mental and physical energy. Most people know how to manage their physical energy, but what about their mental energy?

Mental energy is just as important, if not more important than physical energy. And the two are interconnected. When you're physically tired, your mental energy suffers. When you're mentally drained, your physical energy plummets.

I remember my days in corporate. I often would arrive, take my seat at my desk, and not move for hours..... I even found it hard to get up for bio breaks! No wonder I felt drained at the end of the day and I had a hard time focusing as the day progressed.

Here are what I found to work best to manage my energy during the day:

• Getting 7-9 hours of sleep - a good day starts the night before!
• Avoiding energy-depleting foods - that means no fast food, bread, pasta, and the like. They cause brain fog due to inflammation.
• Chunking your time, then recharging - work in blocks of 50-75 minutes, set a timer if you have to, then get up and move your body. You can stretch, go for a short walk, have some water, talk to a friend, whatever works for you to replenish your energy so you can focus again.
• Move, move, move! - It's not just about moving during the day but also about adding more movement in the form of exercise. Boxing anyone?
• Finding a morning routine that works for you - there are many diverging ideas for what to include in a morning routine. But there is one thing everyone agrees on. HAVE ONE! Get some time in the morning for yourself, even if that means getting up at 5:00. Your psyche will thank you for it.
• Not checking emails before your morning routine - This is a simple PSA. Looking at your email before your feet even hit the ground sets you up for chaos. So, do yourself a favor and don't do it! The work will still be there when you get in...
• Staying hydrated - Begin dehydrated leads to brain fog and a general sense of tiredness, which leads to a lack of focus. Aim for 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water per day.

Delegate Where Possible

Your job is to focus on what is in your wheelhouse. Sometimes we lose focus because we're working on something we don't enjoy, or something urgent, but not particularly important or rewarding.

If you're in a position to do so, find someone who enjoys the work you're trudging through. They'll be happy to do you a solid and to work on something they enjoy. In turn, you'll be ecstatic to not have to do it!

So get clear about what you're really good at and try to stay within your zone of genius.

Be Organized

I talked about being organized with your time by having a structure.

It's equally important to keep your work area clean and make sure everything has a place. An organized space leads to an organized mind. If your work area is cluttered, it will be harder for you to focus on the task at hand. Conversely, if your space is neat and tidy, you'll feel calmer and more in control, which will lead to greater focus. I know when my desk is messy, my mind is messy. It's like the clutter magically extends from the desk into my mind!

Find a system that works for you and stick to it. Maybe you'd want different lists on your desktop: Important, In Process, Do Later, and Done! Watching that "Done" list increase as the week goes on can be incredibly rewarding and motivating! I also remember one of my bosses saying to me "if you're keeping a stapler on your desk, then you're not focusing on the right things". From that day on, the stapler was hidden away in a drawer as a reminder to focus on the needle movers and not the administrative tasks.

Get An Accountability Buddy

A great way to stay on track with anything is to have someone to help you stay accountable.

This could be a colleague, your boss, or even a friend. Just make sure it's someone who will understand and respect your need for focus and will give you tough love when necessary!

Celebrate Your Accomplishments and Reward Yourself

You've made it through another day with your focus intact! Woohoo!

Now it's time to celebrate! Give yourself a pat on the back, do a happy dance, jump for joy, whatever feels good to you. And don't forget to reward yourself! Maybe you can have that yummy but energy-depleting treat you avoided earlier or buy yourself a new book! You deserve it!

Conclusion

Focus is a muscle that needs to be exercised regularly. The more you work on it, the easier it becomes. And like with any skill, there will be times when you lose focus. But don't worry, just get back on the horse and keep going! You got this!

And if you're tired of going at it on your own, get in touch with me. I can support you and cheer you on while helping you explore what's getting in your way and giving you the space to come up with the right solutions for yourself.