7 Tips for How to FOCUS

Hi, everyone.  This Lara Hammock from the Marble Jar channel and in today's video, I'll share my tips on how to focus.

Okay -- I am mildly ADHD inattentive type.  I have a whole series of videos on the tools that I use to overcome my natural forgetfulness and inattention.  However, even if you are NOT particularly inattentive, there are still so many distractions in today's world, that it can be very difficult to focus when you need to.  So, let me give you my tips.

1 - Block your calendar

We all do better if we give ourselves a chunk of time for deep thinking.  I'm talking about when you need to write, analyze, read, or do any number of things that require more than just superficial concentration.  If you have couple meetings scheduled in the middle of the morning, but nothing in the afternoon -- pick the afternoon as your time to focus and think deeply.  In the morning, you can do all those tasks that require less of you -- like answer emails, organize projects, and follow up on tasks.

2 - Clear your space

I realize that this is not something everyone needs to do.  My daughter is able to concentrate effectively in a room that looks like this.  I, however, am not.  I need things to be orderly before I get started on focused work.  I do a lot of writing in my kitchen, standing at my elevated table.  This is slightly problematic since I feel like I need to clean the entire kitchen before I get started, which can be it's own form of procrastination.  Sometimes, i will clear off the table and face away from the rest of the mess.  You'll notice that I didn't say that you have to tidy your space -- things just need to be out of sight.  So, if you work in an office, maybe just clear off your desk and stick things in a box.  Some people choose work outside the home for this reason.  I used to go to the creepy, dark stacks at the library during college which are totally empty with absolutely no distractions.  But going to a coffee shop works as well if you concentrate better with a little activity around you.  Next,

3 - Turn off electronics

You can certainly turn off your phone while you are doing focused work.  However, I use my iPhone while I'm working (for looking things up or consulting instructions), so that is really not an option for me.  I've tried using sleep mode, but that still allows notifications to come through when I have the screen open.  What I do is turn off wifi and cellular on all my devices.  I can do this easily by swiping down on the screen on my iPad and up on my iPhone.  This prevents emails and texts and other notifications from even being delivered until I'm ready to jump back into life.  Otherwise, I'm tempted to just sneak a peak at what is going on and destroy my concentration.

4 - Play music

Most folks with attention issues need something playing in the background in order to focus.  I've read some articles that talk about how music adjusts your brain waves to an optimal length, but really I just think it takes the part of your brain that is constantly running and thinking a thousand thoughts and occupies it so that the rest of your brain can get to work.  Kind of like getting a babysitter for your toddler so you can do a couple of loads of laundry.  Music with words generally doesn't work for me, nor does super dramatic classical music, but relaxing classical music does the trick.  Some folks find loud, almost head-banging type music to be effective.  You'll have to figure out your own preferences here, but there are some really good tracks on YouTube that are specifically for this purpose (I was listening to one of them as i was writing this script -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvM9AfAzoSo).   Also -- this may be kind of extra, but everyone in my family has earmuffs -- my dad is big on hearing protection and got us all a pair of these for Xmas one year.  Basically, you wear your headphones and then put these on top of them, which blocks out any extra noise.  This is the ghetto version of noise canceling headphones.

5 - Do hard things first

There are a bunch of different philosophies about how to approach tasks, but I tend to think of my ability to focus like a muscle.  My focus is going to be strongest at the beginning and lose strength as I go on.  Therefore, I do the hardest task that requires the most concentration first.  This requires that I just sort of hold my nose and jump in, rather than allowing my brain to procrastinate by thinking of easier tasks to do.  Of course, if I have something that is going to take me four hours, I can't possibly do this all in one stretch, so I break up the task into 30-60 minute blocks and

6 - Take breaks

Again, not to overuse an analogy, but you can't do 500 reps of a strength exercise.  Even if I'm fresh, I can't do 50 push ups at one time.  I have to break those up into manageable pieces, like 15 at a time.  And then I need to take breaks between sets to recharge my muscles.  Your ability to focus also gets depleted over time, so take breaks.  But 2 caveats: they can't be very long and SET A TIMER.  5-10 minute breaks are best.  And ideally you should move your body during breaks -- stretch your back and muscles.  My son shoots baskets during his breaks.  Go for a short walk.  Walking not only recharges your concentration, but it has also been shown to level-up creativity.  So, if you are stuck on a problem, take a walk and you may be able to generate some creative solutions.  Oh, and don't forget to set a timer at the beginning of the break and adhere to it.  And last,

7 - Reward yourself

I'm the master of giving myself little rewards.  If I have some online purchases that have been delivered, I'll make sure I do a couple of blocks of concentrated work before I allow myself to open them.  Or, I'll let myself check Twitter for 5 minutes.   Or make myself a cup of tea.  Basically, anything that I'm looking forward to doing, I reserve until after I've accomplished some focused task.  It helps my motivation if I give myself a little pat on the back afterwards.  

And that's it!  Let me know what you think.  Comments are always appreciated and thanks for watching!