In recent posts, I have continued to emphasize ways to reduce personal and workplace stress, the effects of which cost American business hundreds of millions of dollars per year in lost productivity. I have discussed the effects of your thoughts on stress, the beneficial use of progressive muscle relaxation, and the importance of mastering your time. In this post, I will discuss the importance of maintaining focus as it affects your productivity. The correlate is that the lack of focus contributes to increased stress.
In today's fast moving world, maintaining your focus is one of the biggest personal productivity challenges. We lose much mental energy due to mental overwhelm and information overload. This sense of overwhelm and inability to keep up with the daily flow of information, interactions, and distractions is a significant cause of stress and decrease in productivity for many people.
Why is your mental energy not as focused as you would like right now? In working with thousands of patients and clients over four decades, see if any of the following apply to you: easy distractibility; negative thoughts and self-talk; excessive self-criticism; perfectionism; unrealistic multitasking; low self-esteem; information overload; procrastination; poor sleep and diet; lack of exercise?
Imagine how greater focus could increase your energy and productivity and reduce your stress level. Consider some of the following tips to help you maintain more laser focus:
1. Stop multitasking
If you are easily distracted as you try to concentrate on a project, you are not alone. Mental distractions create energy dissipation. Think of all the distractions throughout your typical day: a phone rings, an urgent email pops up, somebody interrupts your train of thought, etc. A common response is to multitask, but multitasking doesn't work. Our brains cannot do parallel processing if it requires conscious awareness. Multitasking is really rapid task switching. The more complex and unfamiliar the tasks are, the longer it is going to take to switch between them. Multitasking causes distractibility and interferes with the completion of either task.
2. Create awareness and use mindfulness.
We can experience more focus if we become aware and give our full attention to the present moment. As we cultivate awareness, we gain a state of clarity. Similarly, when we are truly present and aware, our perception is heightened. We notice things we wouldn't otherwise. We experience more insights. We respond to situations as they arise without stress or worry generated by mental distractions. To experience this mental clarity, consider the use of mindfulness, meditation, or progressive muscle relaxation. Close your eyes, turn off any sound, and be still and quiet for a few moments. Neuroscience research suggests the brain needs about two seconds to deactivate the current circuits and enable an insight to emerge into conscious attention.
3. Identify, write down, and challenge your disruptive and disturbing thoughts.
When you feel hampered by persistent negative thoughts, write them all down and set the time when you will review the list. Writing thoughts down decreases their negative influence on the mind. When your scheduled time comes, review the list and determine which thoughts actually have any truth to them. Globally judgmental statements about yourself such as "I can't do this; I never do things right" deserve to be challenged and changed. See earlier posts for more tips about how to change your thoughts.
4. Break down your projects into achievable pieces.
Decide why you are doing the project or task in the first place. This provides motivation and momentum to move forward. Break your project into well-defined goals that will serve as the milestones for your work. Use SMART goals: Specific; measureable; achievable; realistic; time limited. Make them big enough to really stretch your comfort zone. We often underestimate what we can achieve. Visualize your outcome. The power of visualization often is underestimated in terms of mental focus. See the outcome occurring for you. Identify the cost of your goal. Set deadlines for each goal. Schedule portions of your day when you can accomplish a piece of the overall project and achieve a milestone. I will have more to say about this in future posts. For now, breaking down your goals into achievable pieces helps maintain a focus which reduces stress.
5. Be willing to accept uncertainty.
How comfortable are you with uncertainty? What stops some people from pursuing their dreams and their mission is fear of the unknown. Interestingly, uncertainty can actually add to our motivation. When we take risks, we face uncertainty and unknown likelihood of reward. The anticipation of uncertain rewards has been linked to increased production of the neuromodulator dopamine, which is responsible for a more focused attention and more pleasurable experience. A degree of uncertainty helps keep interest, motivation, and excitement going.
6. Celebrate your victories.
Don't wait for the next holiday to start a celebration. Celebrate victories large and small during your day. If you wait for only a major accomplishment, you may lose motivation, interest, and focus. We all should be able to celebrate something each day. Look for your accomplishment and celebrate it. It helps keep your mindset in a more positive frame by doing so. I'm grateful to trainer Blair Singer for this perspective.
7. Find people who help elevate you.
Sometimes, all we need to do to get energized is to talk to certain people. It often is said that you should try to be around people who are doing what you want to do or are where you want to be. Most likely these will not be people who drain your energy and focus but rather encourage or stimulate you to increase your energy and focus.
As you take more personal responsibility for your energy it likely will have the effect of attracting more people with positive energy into your life. With some practice and conscious choice, you will be that person with the focus and personal energy around whom others want to be.
Think about what one improvement you can make today to maintain your focus and productivity better. For more ideas, visit www.successandmindset.com.