If you are one of those who find it difficult to focus, don’t panic. By no means in the slightest are you alone? Focusing is often difficult to do, especially in the modern world. Consider the ding sound your phone makes when you receive a text. It’s intended to get your whole attention, so stop what you’re doing and focus on this notification.

The big social networking applications lick their proverbial lips at the chance to consume their product and gather your data as soon as your attention is drawn to the small screen in your palm. We all keep using apps like Twitter and Instagram for a reason. They are made to keep you scrolling forever; just when you think you’ve seen everything there is to know about dogs and psychology, a new hashtag pops up.

It may seem to go on forever. In today’s environment, being able to maintain your focus on a single, crucial work is actually somewhat of a desirable ability. Learning how to eliminate the battle can be essential to achieving more in a time where distraction is simpler to find than focus. The focus will become, well focus, through comprehending how your brain responds to productivity and using the suggestions here. After all, it shouldn’t be a struggle in the first place.

Eliminating Distractions

Distractions are the worst enemy of focus. You cannot hope to have any kind of sustained focus if you succumb to distractions too easily.

The problem is that you can’t always predict what or when a distraction will appear. Preventing something from happening in the first place is the answer. Really, it’s quite easy. Create a focus mode that is personalized for you if you find that your phone’s alerts are annoying. For instance, iPhones provide you the option to choose who and what you want to receive notifications from, removing pointless interruptions from apps that don’t deserve your attention. If all else fails, hide your phone completely. Frequently, the simple allure of your phone is enough to divert attention.

Simply removing the convenience of having your phone nearby, such as placing it in a drawer or another room, makes it harder to become sidetracked. The most visible and frequent source of distraction is probably your phone, but it’s not the only one. Emails, dogs barking, nearby traffic, and just about any other outside noise can steal your attention and distract you from your task at hand. Situational distraction, on the other hand, can make it challenging to stay focused, for example, for persons who work from home. It appears that the atmosphere you establish is the solution. Work at a library or wear some noise-canceling headphones if ambient noise bothers you.

If you’re at home and find it difficult to concentrate on the task at hand, consider doing it somewhere else, like a shared office. It’s likely that you’ll have systems that suit you the best. But everyone who watches this video will agree on one thing: distractions are the number one enemy of focus. Finding out how to prevent focus problems from occurring will go a long way toward eradicating them.

Setting SMART Goals

People naturally consider what they’d like to do differently at the beginning of any new year. New objectives, often known as resolves, are made with the intention of keeping each one. Today, setting goals is no longer sufficient for success. Although broad, overarching objectives are excellent, they can seem unreachable due to their size.

SMART goals can help you focus more easily. According to Smart Sheet, the meaning of everything is as follows: Specific: It’s critical to keep your aim in mind when setting one since, if not, it could seem open-ended. The ‘W’ questions can help you achieve this:

Who: Knowing who those people are will be essential for achieving some goals, which call for their participation.

What: Detail the task at hand so you know what it takes to achieve.

When: It’s difficult to know when you’ll realize a goal, and while it can feel pressurized, setting one helps visualize your timeline.

Where: Might not always be relevant, but placing yourself can be helpful for setting personal goals.

Which: Here, define any hurdles you’ll have to overcome to reach your set goal.

Why: Perhaps the most vital question is knowing why you’re working towards a goal is critical for steering yourself in the right direction.

Measurable Goals: Especially long-term ones, can feel purposeful, to begin with but difficult to track. The further along you get on your journey, the greater the risk of losing your way.

That’s why it’s important to figure out a means of measuring your progress. For example, milestones such as earning your first $1000 or running a 6-minute mile are a good way of measuring your current and projected success.

Achievable Sometimes it’s great to let your mind wander. You’ve likely daydreamt about a particular situation that doesn’t seem attainable, but that doesn’t make it any less exciting to think about.

Attainable: With this element of SMART goals, you’re looking at how critical a goal is to you and whether or not it is attainable. This requires honesty and acceptance. To reach a goal, you must have the means – the tools and skills required to put yourself in the best possible position. Otherwise, you’re heading for disappointment and a loss of motivation.

Relevant: Everything should be in line with the goal you’ve set. Subsequent decisions must be in line with that otherwise you are potentially creating more issues for yourself.

Time-Bound: Setting a deadline for oneself can feel quite stressful, but it’s crucial to be realistic about it. Setting a target date and asking yourself what you can accomplish between now and then can help you feel more stressed and aware of where you stand.

Focusing on Similar Tasks

The significance of keeping on the course is emphasized throughout Cal Newport’s Deep Work.

Consider the situation where you are attempting to write an email. As you don’t consider the activity to be very difficult, you continue to concentrate on other things in the background, perhaps buying Christmas presents. There is a limit even if you could feel in control. The problem is that human brains struggle with multitasking.

Your thoughts are merely hopping from one thing to another. Because you can’t give one thing your complete focus, you’re splitting your time and not giving your best effort. Newport advises completing a task to the end because it is more effective to concentrate on one item rather than several.

If there are numerous tasks, make sure they are similar to the ones you are already performing to keep your brain on track. For instance, if writing an essay is your primary goal for the day, adding in additional activities like reading or listening to relaxing music can help you focus for longer.

Keeping Focus Doesn’t Need to Be a Struggle

the obstacles to concentration don’t have to be startling. It only requires an awareness of your shortcomings. Once you have that, you can determine your best course of action. Don’t worry if you couldn’t pay attention during this video.

Here’s a brief recap on how to remove the struggle of focus:

• Eliminating distractions.

Putting barriers up between you and any distraction – whether a dog barking in the street or your phone’s notifications – puts focus first and places you in charge.

• SMART goals.

It can be not easy to maintain focus if you don’t know what you’re focusing on. SMART goals are a useful way of visualizing your path to goal accomplishment as they require detail.

• Focusing on similar tasks. While it may feel productive to tick off as many items off your to-do list as possible, it’s much better to do one thing well over six half-baked tasks. Put your brain in the right mindset instead of flying from headspace to headspace.