People always say that in order to be productive, a worker should be motivated, compassionate, and understanding. They tend to forget the fact that in order to achieve this attitude, they need to know their focal point first. By knowing it, you get to finish your task at a rapid rate.
Here are the ways that could help you improve your concentration to minimize your unproductivity.
Declutter your mind
If there’s anything you need to keep away from chaos, it should be your mind. Decluttering your mind is not hard. One of the easiest ways to do it is to breathe. It gives you a calming effect that would lead to a more focused way of thinking.
Eliminate the thoughts that don’t even matter. As much as possible, pick a task and make sure to finish it before going to the next one. If you will do lesser than before, it’ll be easier for you to get your tasks done.
Avoid thinking negatively and replace it with enthusiasm. If you have already decluttered your mind but you are pessimistic, your mind would easily get stuffed with not work-related thoughts. You’ll get easily bored and you will end up not enjoying your work anymore.
Block out distractions
This is similar to photography where you will going to use your Zen. It’s a kind of mindset that photographers use to be able to capture meaningful photos. Zen makes you become mindfully aware of the things around you and it makes you set your priorities.
Hide some websites that forbid you to go on with your work. Social networking sites are the best example for this. Uninstall some of the mobile applications that are preventing you to finish your tasks or at least block the notifications. You still have a lot of time for that. After all, working hours are working hours.
Why don’t you take a break from social media? Maybe the contents that you’re seeing on your timeline are what keeps your mind toxic and always gave you an information overload. A one week or a month break won’t hurt.
Be strict with to-do list
This tip will always be on the list since reminding yourself will help you remember the tasks needed to be done. But, what are the ways to make it more effective? Make your list the night before to prevent forgetting your duties the next day. Break your tasks into chunks to make it manageable to do.
There are a lot of to-do list mobile applications in the market but the best way to have it is through handwriting. Psychologists and neuroscientists discovered that handwriting is the most important tool for effective learning. Handwriting has the ability to help you gather innovation and to be more efficient.
Know your primetime
What time do you think you become much productive? If you are able to distinguish this, it will give you the opportunity to finish your tasks on time. Whenever you feel energetic, do the difficult tasks first before you go on to your usual routine.
If you’re giving full attention on your task, you will get more work done. Every person has their own ways of being productive but your biological prime time can be of great help. Determining the time when you could work best could also determine the number of tasks you could finish.
Take note of the time wherein you think you work effectively. If you’re doing this, you get to do your tough tasks before you jump into dealing the easy part of your daily routine.
Cut off caffeine intakes
Coffee is good beverage when it comes to boosting your focus and in keeping you going. Just like other food, it also has negative effects, too. That’s why it is important to keep the caffeine intake in moderation.
Caffeine affects brain chemistry since it sticks to adenosine receptors which are composed of G protein-coupled receptors that arbitrate adenosine’s physiological actions. These are the kind of receptors that help identify adenosine in the brain that trigger drowsiness. If the caffeine will bind to the sense organs, it helps the body to obviate somnolence temporarily.
As mentioned, caffeine should be taken moderately to avoid creating new receptors in your body. If your mind noticed that adenosine increases, you’ll be going to feel tired even more than you need not just one cup of coffee.
Reduce your stress
If you’re stressed out at home, don’t bring the problems that you have at work. It can affect anyone but don’t be the reason why your workmates can’t focus at work anymore. Learn to limit your feeling of vexation and learn to manage it before you’ll not be able to handle it anymore.
Aside from being emotional, stress can also lead to a tension headache and other health problems. These are diabetes, heart disease, asthma, obesity, depression, and anxiety. What are you going to do? Separate yourself from negative people since they tend to be skeptical.
Mindfulness is an effective tool to decrease the stress that you have. Get more enough sleep and manage your time by following your scheduled tasks thoroughly.
Keep yourself healthy
Health is wealth. If you’re always coughing and sneezing, you’re actually losing the few minutes from your to-do list. Not only that, you’ll also disturb your workmates because of the unintended noise you made.
When you are sick, you will get another day of absence from work. If you’re absent at work, it can create a negative effect on the company. It can lessen the productivity of the employee. Since they also have other responsibilities, it might also be difficult for people who will fill in to cover the work you need to do.
Based on World Health Organization, healthy workers are productive. How to start your day at work in a healthier way? Eat your breakfast. Having a meal right before going to work gives you the energy and nutrients that you need for your brain to function.
Notice the things that are happening in your working environment. Ask yourself, do you feel comfortable? If there are things that make you feel uneasy, your attention might shift with the discomfort that you’re having and not on the task. If you feel discomfited at work, it will give you the tendency to be unfocused.
Knowing your focal point gives you the ability to be able to concentrate on your tasks. You can also get to identify if what are the things that serve as your time thieves and to be able to know how to manage your time well.
About the author:
Donna Estrada is an editor for Scoopfed. She’s a twenty-something who promotes optimism and values personal growth. She loves reading books and blogs about motivation and productivity.
