No matter who you are, everyone can find it difficult to focus at work at some point during the day. This might be a quick little drop in focus where you check your social media, or it might be something that sucks you into a wormhole and, suddenly, you’ve lost an hour of your day with nothing to show for it. This could mean you miss deadlines and fall behind on your work. Not to worry, though, as here are some ways you can get back on task and stay productive throughout the day.
Take a Break
It sounds counterproductive to take a break to stay focused, but the science behind it is there. The longer you stare at your computer, the more your creativity and productivity drop. This makes you almost as useless as the paperweight on your desk (do people still have those?) as humans are not supposed to work all day long, give yourself time to take breaks every hour. Get up, stretch your legs, take a walk around the office, or even get outside for some fresh air if possible. Once you’ve taken yourself away from your desk, you’ll be able to get back to work and back on task.
Upgrade Your Office Space
If you’re working from home, you might be using a makeshift office. Most people sit on the sofa, or they use the dining room table as a home office. While these give you somewhere to work, at least, they aren’t entirely suitable. Look at dedicated Home Office Furniture to redesign your space and give you an actual area for you to work. If you have a spare room, install the furniture there. If not, find a cozy corner of the house that isn’t where you chill, eat, or sleep.
Remove Distractions
Our smartphones, tablets, and social media are all distraction magnets, and it’s easy to spend a little too long scrolling through a news feed. If you use these as an anchor to distract yourself when you can’t focus, remove them from your eyesight. Put your phone in a drawer and block commonly visited websites to keep you away from everything. Other distractions, such as messy desks or unwashed dishes, are also things you must deal with to stay focused.
Set a Goal
Everyone thinks that you have more time than you do in the day, and this can cause you to procrastinate, wasting time, and falling behind. If you set yourself a goal to complete a project by a specific time, you can vastly improve your time management skills and stay on track throughout the day. It’s much easier to stay productive when you separate the day into chunks, so think about how much time you have to finish something, as this will help you stay focused.
Focus
Nobody expects you to work for eight hours straight every day, not in the modern world, anyway. Still, you can’t take advantage of this; you need to finish all your duties, after all. If you feel like you’re struggling to focus, consider any of these tips to get you back on track so you’re not rushing before it’s time to go home.
