How can you regain focus? These are some practices that will make a huge difference in your ability to concentrate.
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Someone talks to you about something, and while your mind wanders to a thousand places. You write a note and at the same time answer emails and calls. You hurriedly complete your tasks while finishing your breakfast. Does it sound familiar to you? With a life this hectic, it is impossible not to have a scattered mind.
This, in addition to negatively influencing your productivity and the quality of work, affects your physical and psychological well-being: it produces stress and prevents you from making the most of every moment.
How can you regain focus? Here are some simple techniques that will make a huge difference in your ability to concentrate.
1. Do one thing at a time. Forget about multitasking . Multitasking is overrated. Doing several things at the same time does not make you a more efficient and productive person; on the contrary, it scatters your mind, stresses you out, and prevents you from doing your best in every task. Make a list of things to do for the day; start with the most difficult and end with the simplest. Make it a point not to start one until you’ve completed the previous one.
2. Stay away from excess stimuli. Many times – especially if you work in a noisy environment, such as an advertising or digital media agency – isolating yourself from the environment can be very helpful. When you need to focus, put down your cell phone, put on some headphones and listen to some relaxing music (save the podcasts or the latest Muse album for another time). Also, avoid having a television nearby. The less sensory input you have, the better.
3. Take breaks. We know that you are very busy, but taking frequent breaks is not a whim or a pretext to stop working: it is, on the contrary, a way to ensure concentration and the flow of creativity . Every hour, get up from your place, do stretches, walk, have a coffee, talk… You will resume your tasks more charged with energy.
4. Meditate. As a result of our busy lives, our minds are scattered in a thousand and one directions. By meditating we learn to control the flow of energy in our body and we can focus it to achieve our goals . Find a quiet space and sit cross-legged. Close your eyes and relax your breath. One technique to concentrate is to imagine yourself as if you were looking in a mirror, and do it from all possible angles: try to recreate each of your characteristics.
5. Do the most important thing at the beginning. Leaving the most important tasks for last is a terrible habit: at the end of the day you are tired, you feel less creative and you have time on top. Try to start your work day doing creative work, or solving tasks that require a high load of concentration.