Effective Ways To Regain Your Focus

Even with a strong determination to focus, your mind will wander. The brain adapted to scan its surroundings as a defense mechanism. For most of human history, threatening sights and sounds would grab your attention. Today, digital distractions are the more likely culprit.

But lost focus isn’t necessarily gone forever. These tips can help you harness your attention and regain your focus faster and more effectively:

• Return to the process.
• Build a suitable work environment.
• Practice focusing.
• Take breaks.

Return to the process

It’s easy to focus on the end goal rather than the process. But thinking about the future can reduce your ability to finish your current tasks.

Whenever you start thinking about an outcome, return your attention to the necessary steps to achieve it. Let’s use an email to your customers as an example. As you draft your email, you may get distracted by the various creative elements, how customers will respond, what you’ll say in return, the sales you’ll generate and so on.

When this happens, focus on the steps needed to craft the email. Make a list. This particular task may include creating:

• A catchy subject line
• An attention-grabbing introduction
• Action items
• Customer incentives
• A personalized conclusion

Writing down clear steps returns you to the process of accomplishing your work. Following them refocuses your attention and increases the odds of achieving your desired outcomes.

Build a suitable work environment

Your work environment influences your ability to concentrate. The trick is that there isn’t one environment that works for everybody. Inc. magazine recommends trying different environments and noting what works best and what makes your mind wander. Pay attention to lighting, sound, temperature and the presence of others.

If your goal is to maintain and regain focus, you’ll likely want an environment with fewer distractions. Personal steps include silencing your phone and turning off email and social media notifications. External factors may include working from home, a private area in a co-working space or a quiet spot in the office.

Physical clutter can also reduce your ability to focus. Long to-do lists or lots of sticky notes can drain your ability to concentrate on a single task.

Instead, set one goal at a time. And put everything away other than what’s needed for the task at hand. Multitasking breaks concentration and makes each action take longer.

The International Journal of Information Management reports that the average person takes 64 seconds to refocus on work after checking email. And the typical person checks email every five minutes. If you follow a similar pattern, you’re losing an hour and 42 minutes of productive time over the course of an eight-hour workday.

And that’s just email. Similar focus disruptions could occur from texts, phone calls, social media alerts and coworker conversations.

When finding your best work environment, consider physical, social and digital factors.

Practice focusing

Spending time on enjoyable activities can build and strengthen your ability to focus. Notice how it feels to immerse yourself in a task. But also pay attention to disruptions. You can transfer these lessons to your work and other responsibilities.

Practice by engaging in a pursuit you enjoy. Examples include jigsaw puzzles, knitting, musical instruments, photography, bird-watching, cooking, gardening, sports and any activity that requires concentration. Being absorbed in an activity strengthens your ability to focus.

One way to relate these activities to your workday is to choose a primary goal for each day. This goal becomes your priority. You can still work on other responsibilities that arise. But noting and returning to your top goal will help you resume your focus more quickly. “Atomic Habits” author James Clear calls this an anchor task. It provides an anchor to organize your day and return your attention.

Take breaks

No matter how hard you try, your brain can’t always focus. Brain drain is real, and your mind needs to replenish its energy.

Setting times to step away can increase your concentration and make you more productive over the long term. Schedule breaks on your calendar to help you stick to them. But whenever possible, don’t restrict yourself to set times. If you notice your focus consistently faltering, it’s likely a signal that your brain needs a break.

Taking breaks can also help you understand when your focus is naturally at its best. You may find it easier to concentrate on certain responsibilities in the morning, afternoon or evening. Use this information to schedule tasks accordingly.

If you’re a morning person, you may schedule creative pursuits or long-term planning earlier in the day, and administrative tasks in the afternoon. If you’re a night owl, you might perform less demanding tasks early in the day and high-energy goals in the evening.

Understanding the natural rhythms of your day can help you regain focus more quickly when your mind wanders.

Finding your focus

Even with the best intentions, your attention can wane. But trying these strategies can help you regain your focus and work toward your most important goals.