10 tips how to stay focused

Don't spread yourself too thin

TIP 1

- 1 project from a life category at a time

You might have multiple ideas and willingness to institute all f them. That's a dead end. You'll slow down your progress and get discouraged. If you want to learn a few languages, start with one. Take one business course and read one book. Having many life areas is overwhelming as it is, you don't nee to add juggling.

-TIP 2

NO MULTITASKING!

Being focused by definition means doing one thing at a time. By the way, there is no multitasking, there is only attention shifting. Your brain uploads the data base, so to speak, every time you jump from one thing to another, and this waste precious energy. When you start something, deal with at least a specific chunk of the task before you move to somethings else.

- TIP 3

Don't give yoursef time to think. Decision making is a type of resource that you can run out of!!! If you know something is good and it's the right choice for you don;t let your brain hestite. I love the 3-second rule. It's 9:15 p.m. and I'm bushed/ Should I go running or take an extra rest day? The moment the thought appears in your head, make the step towards the right choice. If you ponder on that decision you'll fail.

-TIP 4

limit interruptions and DISTRACTIONS- and by that I mean not only your family or cell phone, but also bothersome thoughts. When you work on something and a subject/a task/ a project pops up in your head - write that down and go back to it after you finish the current task. Again, spreading yourself too thin never works.

Find your distractions, specifically What distracts you in the specific area of your life? WHat causes you deviate from your initial plan? What makes you NOT go to the gym? What made you stop your diet: was is the high level of stress, the thought that you're being deprived of something, the idea that it's usless and you're always going to have to count calories? What made you stop or postpone your work? There is always some kind of stimulus that triggers the entire habit. Mind you, it's going to take some time and effort to at least limit the number of such factors, but as the number of distractions decreases, your effectiveness increses.

TIP 5

Don't lie to yourself - Saying that you're going to study for two hours and then looking at one page of your coursebook for 20 minutes doesn't help. Which leads us to another tip COUNT THE TIME you're focused - lbut REALLY e.g. you can use an app or software for that -;

- Use StatCounter - it monitors the amount of minutes and hours you spend on your computer.

- Gleeo Time Tracker which helps you log the time

TIP 6

Deceive your brain - it's much more difficult to start the actual work when you tell yourself you're gonna spend 1 hour, two hours, three hours on one task, especially not an appealing one. Tell yourself you will spend 15 minutes on the task and then if you need it, you'll take a break. 90 % of the cases when I do that I keep working.

If you're ready to take things to another level

- work in longer chunks of time _you get into the zone or get a flow after about 20 minutes

TIP 7

Being energized doesn't equal being hyper-active - don't rush through the task!

Concentrating on being focused DOESN'T HELP! Don't concentrate od the pace or time, concentrate ONLY on the task itself. Trying to push yourself too much and quicken the process might lead to the loss of quality.

TIP 8

3-2-1 method

- Diversify the tasks and projects; Sometimes dealing wih a few life categories is unavoidable.

Currently I'm working on my coaching business ans glider pilot's license which means I have to deal with two different kinds of data.

When it becomes really bad and I absolutely cannot force myself to work on, e.g., my bridge job I fall back on something I call 3-2-1 scheme. Assuming that I have 60-minute chunk of time I spend 30 minutes on my job, 20 minutes on coaching and 10 minutes on studying aviation. Might seem like a lot of jumping back and forth but if you keep everything in its place, it won't create chaos.

Such diversity may be very beneficial for students who study for two-three different exams at the same time.

The method releases stress, because it prevents the feeling of falling back with the second or third subject, prevents monotony and provides you with a managable chunk of time. If 60 minutes is too much or too little - simply adjust the length of time.

TIP 9

Have your toys. Sometimes having a system or a specific way of recording your results is enough to keep you motivated. When I strive for a very productive weekend and have difficulties with forcing myself to specific tasks, I write them down in capital letters on a big sheet of paper. You can use apps like Wunderlist or TimeLogger, a whiteboard or a traditional schedule. You might also want to try Habitica, which turn your new habits you want to implement into a game. It's a free-for-all, use all your means :)

- Don't break your techniques - once you break it, you won't trust it again;

TIP 10 Create a one-sheet priority/action-plan. As few points as possible and only the current projects. Be prepared to say no to anything else. Trying to do everything will sadly lead to doing nothing.

And, my bonus piece of advice: choose 1-2 tips and don't even think about trying others until you master these two. It's the practice that makes all the difference, not information overload.

The obvious things, but still need to be mentioned:

-meditate regularly

- work out regularly

- exercise your brain

- eat clean

Hope it helps :)