Use These Habits to Increase Your Focus in an Increasingly Distracting World

The world is a very distracting place even on a good day. When times are tough, it gets all that much more frenetic. We start buzzing from all the stress, anxiety and worry of everything going on.

We don't sleep well. We drop our healthy habits. We unlock our phones an average of 80 times a day.  

We lose focus.

This last year in particular has highlighted the fact that if we want to keep on with our dreams and goals, we need solid habits that help us maintain focus and productivity. 

We need to get used to protecting our time and headspace like a ferocious little bulldog. 

Like a muscle-bound club bouncer. 

Like a scrupulous C-Suite gatekeeper. 

Whatever image works best for you.

Also, it bears repeating, don't put off working on your own dreams because you think it's selfish, and that somehow it's less selfish to worry about the state of the disastrous world all day long.

This is so common. We all do it. But it’s something important to watch out for. 

👉🏽 DO stay informed, pay attention, learn and engage on the issues most important to you. 

👉🏽 DO feel what you need to feel and take time to process what’s going on. 

But DON’T let it keep you from taking consistent action on what’s most important to you personally, professionally, creatively, and in your community. 

The only way we can really change the world for the better is to do something for it, not to spend hours on end thinking about how terrible it is.

It’s so important to have habits that support you to tune out all the noise so that you can do what you most want to and need to do.

So, how can you create a sanctuary for yourself, a place where you can FOCUS given everything going on?

How can you be your own gatekeeper and protect that space from interruptions?

There are lots of ways to do this.

What you first have to understand is what are your specific areas of struggle. Start with one and begin testing out a few new habits that support you in finding more focus in this area.

From my observations in my own life and in those of my clients, here are some typical areas where improved habits can really make a difference, especially now in the pandemic: 

• Mobile phone

• Social media

• Physical environment

• Remote working productivity

If you dedicated a bit of time this week to building better habits for focus, which area would you address first?

Which might have the biggest impact for you? 

Here are some of habits that I can recommend for each of these areas: 

Mobile phone 

Don’t sleep with or check your phone first thing in the morning. 

Wait 1-2 hours after getting up in the morning to check your phone. (Wait even longer on the weekends … even until noon to see how it changes your morning.)

Put the phone in airplane mode an hour before bed

Put your phone in a drawer or another room when working or with other people (like your spouse or kids). Simply having your phone visually present has been shown to decrease cognitive capacity. 

Social media and news

Clean up your follow list.  Evaluate who shows up in your feed with this question: Are they adding value or adding discontent/distress to your life?

Choose a couple of high-quality news sources and follow them regularly instead of dipping into media all over the place. 

Check the news and social once or twice a day at the same time and for a limited amount of time. 

Take time out to process what’s happening in the world if needed. By writing or talking with others. Even, schedule time to worry. 

Allow yourself moments to fully escape to rest and recharge, with the intention that you're doing it so you can show up a more engaged, effective global citizen when you're back "online."

Physical environment

Create a calming physical space that renews your energy. Maybe it’s your bedroom, the bathtub, a balcony, or an outdoor space. Give it some love so it feels more relaxing.

Close your door -- this can mean literally or figuratively. Close your door when you want to work, and close the door on your work. Basically, find ways to signal to yourself when you’re “on” and when you’re “off.” 

Declutter Marie Kondo-style and make space for what you really want. 

Get out in nature, dance, breathe and find other ways to be in your body and out of your head.

Remote working productivity

Schedule regular time to work on your most important goals at your most productive, focused time of day. Most people are most productive during the morning, peak at midday, have a low around 3PM, and then recover their energy again in the evening. Find your most effective time. Get good at ending your work at a place where you can pick it up again. Break it down into do-able chunks. 

Join an online co-working space or get an accountability partner or group to keep you going. I continue to use Caveday as my online co-working space to help with focus and to enjoy my workday more with this kind community! (If you want to try it, click here for a free trial code.)

Fresh air breaks. I find that spending even just a few minutes to enjoy nature (as simple as feeling the warmth of the sun or listening to the birds) helps me reground and refocus. 

Which one of these practices should you start with right now?

Whichever speaks to you the most.

Follow that intuition. As I’ve said before -- learning to listen to yourself is vital to keeping on with your dreams and picking up the trail again when you feel like you've lost it.

Now over to you … What’s your experience with keeping distractions at bay? What’s helping you stay focused right now? Leave me a comment below.