As an entrepreneur, you will have a lot to think about. Staying focused can be tricky especially when a constant stream of employees, customers, emails, and phone calls demand your full attention.
Amid the noise, understanding your brain’s limitations and working around them can improve your concentration and increase your productivity.
Our brains are in tune with distraction, so with today’s digital environment, focusing becomes especially difficult. Distraction is a sign that something has changed, it is a warning that says: “Direct your attention here and now, this could be dangerous.” The brain’s reaction is automatic and practically unstoppable.
Being a multitasker is an important skill, but it also has its downside. It reduces our intelligence, literally dropping our IQ, we make mistakes, many lose their temper when it is not due, and all because of mistakes that are missed by doing many things at once.
Perhaps many entrepreneurs simply cannot afford not to multitask. Ultimately, the goal is not to maintain constant attention, but to have a short period of time without distractions each day, say, about twenty minutes a day of deep focus to evaluate decisions or aspects of your daily life. Doing this separately can be transformative.
Here are three tips to help you be more focused and productive:
1. Creative work comes first
We regularly do the lightest or mindless work first and leave the most difficult tasks until last. This drains your energy and lowers concentration. This bad habit can make everything take longer, because little by little you have less mental and physical energy than at the beginning. Every decision we make tires the brain.
Instead, identify your daily tasks efficiently and in an orderly way, and accomplish them from difficult to easy. Check off tasks that require creativity or anything that requires concentration, these tasks are best done in the morning, and then gradually move on to easier work like deleting emails, making calls, etc.
2. Make difficult decisions in quiet environments
Some situations require a little more time to analyze and make a decision. Believe it or not, a large percentage of entrepreneurs decide and think their decisions better in the hours outside of work, in their free time.
The best thoughts come outside the office. Take into account where and when you focus best, if a task needs to be analyzed carefully and without any rush, perhaps sitting and relaxing on your couch in your spare time will help you make a better decision.
3. Train your mind like a muscle
When multitasking is the norm, the brain adapts quickly. The ability to focus is lost and distraction becomes a habit. Many people unconsciously train their brain to be out of focus.
Practice concentration by turning off all distractions and focusing your attention on a single task. Start small, maybe five minutes a day, and work your way up to concentrating for longer periods of the day. If you find your mind wandering, just go back to the task at hand. It’s like being in shape, to build muscle you have to focus on what you want to shape.
Other tips and productivity tips:
