I know we’ve talked about productivity and the like on BTD before – and y’all seem to love the subject as much as me. When I’m truly working on my focus/productivity and am prioritizing it, it’s pretty amazing how better my life can be. From self care, to work, to development, to chores and so on, having a focused mindset really can go far! But today I want to talk about the combo of focus and work, k?! Because if you’re anything like me, getting back into the swing of things after the holidays and NYE is DANG HARD. Here are a handful of tricks I’ve found to be helpful while trying to focus with work (aka something I’m always trying to do better at because #BrightonBrain).
Single-task
Amen for single-tasking, y’all! Seriously though. Ever since I learned more about it and have started it, it’s blown my freakin’ mind! I went years and years trying to do all the things at the same time and my brain was constantly hurting. Now that I’m single tasking more, I’ve been able to lessen that noise in my head and get more done at the same time. Man it feels good! It’s especially helpful at work, too. Instead of trying to respond to emails, write a blog post, and scroll Instagram, I’m trying to do one thing at a time. Which brings me to…
Batch tasks
This is kinda like single tasking but it takes it a step further. Batch tasking is something y’all can do in any area of your life, but since we’re talking about work today, I’m going to focus on that (see that single-tasking in action?!). Everyone’s job is different so you’ll have to find your own things to batch, but basically you focus on certain tasks in chunks of time. Cool right?!
So for example, maybe you only check emails in 3 batches a day – morning, after lunch, and before signing off. Or like in my case, you shoot a bunch of content at once (so you only have to do makeup and all that once). You can also try to batch conference calls, creative work, reporting, and so on on certain days!
Work from a clean space
This was something I put off for year and YEARS, and TBH, I’m still not perfect at it (probably won’t ever be, but that’s OK!). Simply put, when your space is clear, your brain can be clear – and that leads to more focus at work. Since I work from home, this means keeping my office and even my bedroom as clean as possible. When I’m being “good” I spend 10 minutes at the end of each day cleaning up my desk, taking my coffee cups back downstairs, clearing random clutter, and all that. I also wake up and make my bed so that it kinda starts from the second I wake up. Try it!
Find your noise
K so if you’re anything like me, you like to have a little background noise going on when working. Studies actually show that music can help improve focus and I definitely agree! But I will say you have to find what works for you. Maybe you’re someone who can work with the TV On during certain brainless tasks, but for me, TV and podcasts are usually pretty distracting during work hours. Instead, I listen to something like classical, jazz or this app which is SO cool y’all!
Pomodoro Technique
I feel like I’ve mentioned this on the blog 28394 times so if you’ve read about it through me before, apologies for the repeat. It’s just so good, especially if you suffer from focus issues like me. Basically you choose a time variable (I like 30:5), then you get to focused work. You work for 30 minutes without your phone, emails, or any distractions. Then you take a 5 minute break to go to the bathroom, grab coffee, whatevs. You do this over and over until you’re done with your day and it’s really really great if you have one big task you’re working on, too.
OK I have some other tips but honestly I think it’s smart to start with a few at once – so I’m going to stop there! I’d love to hear what y’all do when you need to improve focus at work. Lord knows I can use all the help I can get, but those 5 things really do help!
