How to Concentrate in 4 Magic Steps
Everyone has been there. You sit staring at your laptop, phone, or tablet and can't pull your thoughts together no matter how hard you try. It's maddening! I have some good news for you: there actually is a way to get more focused and productive with just four steps.
You'll learn the magic formula in this post, which involves overcoming procrastination and breaking up long tasks into manageable chunks. The method involves taking advantage of people's natural tendency to try to block out distractions. Here's how it works:
1. Define the task first.
You can't get more focused than when you know exactly what your goal is. As this article explains, if your goal is to write an email, you won't be able to concentrate on anything else until you have completed the task of writing that email. On a grander scale, I suggest framing your goal in terms of a more comprehensive vision and strategy (like building relationships with supporters) rather than just one task at a time. Once you achieve the larger goal, then the smaller tasks will fall in line naturally.
2. Break up long tasks into manageable chunks .
If you have a lot to do, it's tempting to think about the entire project at once. That's why long-term goals, even if they seem obvious, are so hard for many people to achieve.
However, if you break up long-term goals into tiny tasks, it suddenly becomes easy to stay focused and accomplish what you need to do. You don't have to worry about the big picture one step at a time. By focusing on one "bite size" task at a time (like emailing one supporter), you can get a lot done over time.
3. Set a timer for your "bite size" task .
Staying focused is very difficult when a project requires more than one brain cycle. The problem with long-term goals is that they tend to focus your mind on the future, even if you are not doing anything at that moment. Take the long view and find something you can do right now to break up your long-term goal into tiny bite size tasks.
For example, in this post I suggest writing out the "why" behind each of your goals and deadlines for meetings and follow-up calls so that you have something to look forward to during the day. When it's time for your meeting, you can remind yourself of why you created it by quoting a favorite passage or saying "this meeting is important.
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