Concentrate…part 5

In this final article on ways to improve your concentration, we look at a mixed bag of tips and techniques that might help you.

• Prioritise – having too much to do can be distracting, and this often leads to procrastination. Do you jump quickly from task to task, creating an illusion of work but in reality, not achieving much? Try starting your day (or ending the day before) with 10 or 15 minutes to prioritise your to-do list. There are many articles you can read on ways of overcoming procrastination – see if you can find one that suits you.
• Take on your hardest tasks when you are most alert and fresh – this will help you maximise your concentration. For most of us this will be first thing in the morning but everyone is different and you will know what time of day you are at your best, so use it wisely.
• If you have a headset for your phone, consider using it for a few hours each day. If colleagues think that you are on the phone, they will be less likely to interrupt you.
• Promise yourself a reward – this can be great if you work alone or for yourself and don’t have the support of a team to help keep you motivated. For example, I promise myself a trip to the local florist which is also a great coffee shop. Small self-rewards can be great motivators.
• Turn off email notifications or better still have email down-time. It can be very distracting to have emails pinging into your inbox every few minutes – you’re tempted to stop what you’re doing and answer them. In Outlook to turn off the email notification, select File > Options > Mail and under the Message arrival banner un-check the “Play a sound” option. Better yet, turn off your email altogether and jot your notes into Word and copy and paste them into Outlook when you are online next.

Many of the suggestions covered in this five-part series on improving concentration and focus may be obvious and some you probably already know. But when you are absorbed in problems and trying to get focussed, it can be all too easy not to consider what you already know, so hopefully these reminders will be useful. If you just try one or two of the techniques you might find you get enough of a boost to your concentration to try more!

Concentrate…part 4

This week we will consider your mindset and how it affects your productivity and ability to concentrate on what you have to do. Most of us have so much on our minds it is easy to be distracted from what we should be doing. Try some of these techniques:

• Set aside time to deal with worries – if you are constantly worrying about other things, you won’t be able to focus on the task in hand. Maybe you have an approaching deadline for a project you haven’t started, a new colleague causing problems, or just too much work on your plate. If you find yourself distracted by worries, note them down (for example, in Evernote) so that you can let them go, then schedule time to deal with them properly.
• Focus on finishing one task at a time – 15 to 30 seconds can be all it takes to answer an email, send a text or take a quick phone call, but it disrupts your focus. Some researchers say it can take up to 15 minutes to regain complete focus after even the smallest disruption.
• Limit distractions – close your email and any chat programs, put your mobile phone on flight mode and let your voice mail do its job. If your office allows it, close your door or put up a “Do Not Disturb” sign to let colleagues know you need to focus. If you’re a manager and you want to operate an open door policy, then consider working from home or in another room. If you work from home, set boundaries with family and friends to set aside particular time slots for undisturbed work.
• Switch between high- and low-attention tasks – this can give your brain a rest after heavy concentration. For instance, if you spend two hours working on your budget, you’ll probably feel tired afterward. Recharge your energy by working on a low-attention task, like filing, for 15 minutes before going back to your budget.