When you want to work hard and excel at every job you do, it is essential that you maintain your focus and drive throughout the workday, but this is a task much easier said than done. It doesn’t matter the type of work you do; there are always proactive steps you can take to improve your performance and start climbing the career ladder sooner rather than later. To help combat the distractions and mental blocks that will inevitably affect you when working full time, this mini-guide will provide you with several ways you can beat this all-too-common obstacle and progress with your professional life by improving your focus.
Take a break
The first thing you need to know about retaining focus at work is that it is not only okay to take a break, but it is actually very beneficial. Some of the manifold benefits of taking breaks include refreshing your ability to concentrate and limiting the likelihood of you making any mistakes on the job. Working yourself into the ground and not allowing yourself to have a breather once in a while during the day will only leave you feeling tired and burnt out as it is hard to find new ideas or enthusiasm when all you want is to fall asleep at your desk!
Staying alert
Sometimes, of course, as is to be expected in a busy office environment, you won’t have the time to take a break and will need to power on through until a task is finished, and a deadline met. Many people swear by coffee, and the positive effects of caffeine can be incredibly useful when you need that extra boost to meet the challenge of the day. By having your manager install an exceptional Office Coffee machine, everyone on the team can enjoy the benefits of a hot beverage when trying to get going in the morning or pushing towards to end of a project. The added benefit of having a machine is that it cuts down on how much time you need to spend making the drink so that you don’t have to waste time.
Forming a strategy
Another idea to help foster your focus is to form a meaningful strategy to your workload by giving yourself time limits based on your attention span. Allow yourself one minute to check your social media and time it. When the minute is up, turn your phone onto silent and close any distracting tabs on your computer. After doing so, you can set another timer for fifteen minutes, at the end of which you can check social media again. This method will allow you to work in manageable chunks.
Walk to work
A final and simple idea for maintaining your focus is to get in some gentle exercise before you begin each day to get your brain engaged and the endorphins pumping. This doesn’t mean you have to splash out on an expensive gym membership but can be as simple as walking to work every day. If you can’t walk to work, why not use your lunch break to take a turn outside to get in some fresh air to feel revitalized when you get back to your desk?
