How Can I Improve My Concentration And Focus At Work?

Lately, I've been struggling with focus. It isn't new for me. Ever since middle school, I've had trouble staying focused. It got to the point that my teachers insisted I had ADD and suggested I get tested.

So every Sunday for three weeks, I went to some doctor's office and completed different puzzles and matching games. On the final Sunday, the doctor told my parents the result:

"He doesn't have a learning disability. He has a lack of motivation."

A doctor told my parents that I was an unmotivated 8th grader - isn't that crazy?

I went to school, did homework, played video games and soccer. I was 13. And only did well in school because I was an audio learner, and if the teacher said it, I remembered it, even if I was concentrating on drawing on the desks or seeing how many pencils we can stick in the ceiling while the teacher had her back turned.

My issue was not motivation. The issue was concentration and focus.

As a 30-year-old, I'm sufficiently motivated to make money. The consequences of not doing so are untenable. In addition, I can articulate my thoughts and desires, state what needs to be done to achieve them and why I want to accomplish those things.

Yet, I still struggle to focus and complete all of the tasks that need to get done. It is the action that is the hard part. The little daily tasks that move you closer to your goals.

I've improved quite a bit since I was 13. I'm not as focused or disciplined as I would like to be, but I have some tried and true methods for getting shit done. These are just things that work for me and might work for you as well.

1. Schedule things

Probably the most valuable app on my phone is google calendar. I would get nothing done if I didn't utilize my calendar.

For a long time, I had an alarm for bedtime because I couldn't get to bed at a reasonable hour. It helped me start putting myself in bed on weeknights at 10 pm. No later.

2. No excuses

Are you physically hurt?

Are you in mental anguish?

Own whatever it is your doing. You are in control of your life. If you decided to stop working early for happy hour, you aren't doing anything terrible. You are living your life. You can choose to work and when not to work. It may have consequences, but it is your choice.

The task I struggle with the most is writing these blog posts. Writing is something I enjoy, but the task of writing something worth publishing isn't always as enjoyable.

I know it is something I should do weekly, and yet I constantly make excuses. In addition, the pressure to write something "good" often causes me to write less. Or at least much slower.

So what I decided is that my goal is to write 1500 words a week. If I publish an article that week, it is a win, but if I write, then at least I've honed a craft that my one-day yield benefits.

3. Focus on the long-term

Another blog example, I look at my search traffic on google, probably more than is healthy. If you look at the default settings for clicks and impressions, it paints a pretty depressing picture.

It is a chart that looks like a heart rate monitor going up and down, and the beginning and the end of the graph look pretty similar. However, if you change the view to 16 months, the chart is much more reassuring. There is consistent growth. It is slow as hell, but it is consistent.

Big goals don't always come with daily victories.

4. Breathe

I have always been worried about not having enough money, time, or whatever else to do the things I want to do and live the life I'd like to lead.

Stick to your schedule and take a breathing break. I've tried to become someone who meditates so many times, I did it for three months straight, and it didn't stick.

So now, I only breathe consciously when I'm stressed. And I usually do it while moving, stretching, walking, lying on the floor.

When you need time to calm your mind, take it and then go back to handling your business.

5. Regular cardiovascular exercise

I had a wrestling coach who made us run 3 miles in every preseason practice because "it builds mental toughness."

As a career trainer/coach, I would have focused on 2-minute interval runs and slowly lowered the rest period because it more closely relates to how wrestling matches are won, but that is neither here nor there.

He was right about the mental toughness. Running sucks; it's somehow difficult and boring at the same time. I rarely do it. But if you can run three miles without stopping, you can focus on anything for half an hour.

A half-hour of focus is all you can expect. After 30 minutes of focusing intensely on something, your attention tends to wander. The average adult's attention span is around 20 minutes and has been getting shorter in the age of the smartphone.

After your thirty minutes of intense focus, the best thing you can do is walk, and you don't have to stop working. It is, after all, the age of the smartphone walk and talk.

In reality, none of these tips alone will drastically improve your focus, but every little bit helps. These things have helped me stay on task; hopefully, they can help you too.