Do you feel like you can't focus?
Do you get distracted with something more interesting whenever you sit down to work or study?
Do you lose all sense of focus as soon as you see a notification on your phone?
Well, here are two things you should know about focus
We all struggle with it
It can be fixed (according to experts at Harvard Health)
And in this newsletter, I am going to help you do that.
Here’s everything we’ll cover:
✔️Why can't we focus? - Just a disclaimer, it’s not all your fault
✔️ How to improve your focus: We'll explore different techniques to help you find what works for YOU!
✔️ Actionable tips: We'll end with 3 things you can do TODAY to boost your focus.
Why is it so HARD To Focus These Days?
There are a few reasons:
➡️ Distractions everywhere! - Phones, TVs, social media – you name it, we have it all around us. They're all designed to grab our attention with bright colors, notifications, and quick bursts of dopamine. The best example that comes to my mind is the pop-up notification of e-commerce sales of Nykaa and Myntra. I always got distracted by those.
➡️ Multitasking: Turns out, our brains can't really do two things well at once. Multitasking actually decreases productivity and increases errors. A study published in the American Psychological Association (APA) found that people who multitasked or switched tasks more frequently performed worse on each task compared to those who focused on one task at a time.
➡️ Lack of focus training: We don't get taught how to focus in school, college, or at any other time in our lives! Our brains are like muscles and they also need training to get stronger.
Now, that we know why you can’t focus, let’s learn out how you can.
Just like learning to ride a bike, focus is a skill and skill takes practice to master.
Here are some ways that I have implemented in my life to improve it:
➡️ Removing external distractions: Silence your phone, turn off the TV, and find a quiet space to work. Easier said than done. right? Here is how you implement it.
Put your phone in another room or use an app blocker to prevent yourself from mindlessly scrolling during work. Another way is putting it on do not disturb & greyscale mode. You will lose interest within a few minutes of dull scrolling and no notifications. Cleaning your desk also sometimes triggers our mind to focus better.
The best way which I found, to do all the things above is to create a dedicated area of doing my work. This way I was able to condition my brain to enter the flow state as soon as I entered that area.
➡️ Have a ready-to-resume plan: I learned this concept from one of Ali Abdal’s videos where he says that when you are ready to work, distractions will follow; and for those instances, prepare a plan of action well in advance.
This plan will help you get back to that zone of focus as soon as possible. I do this by doing a mini task in between, or answering emails, or preparing myself a cup of coffee. Once I am back in my state of focus, I switch back to that original task that needed my full concentration.
➡️ Removing internal distraction: Our internal thoughts just like the external ones can mess up big time. That’s why we need to control those simultaneously as well. However, that being said tackling internal distractions is 10x more difficult since we can’t simply command them. So, here is what I do:
Have a quick capture notebook: Whenever random thoughts come, I note these down in that notebook & store them for later, and get back to work. This way, I can come back to these when I have time and segregate them as per their importance.
Another method is to play focus music or lo-fi music while working. Honestly, I prefer complete silence but these music does help when thoughts become bothersome.
➡️ Gaining clarity on what to do: I don’t know about you but I really struggle to work where there is no actual clarity on what am I doing. That’s why before I start a task, I make a to-do list to clear my head. This will help you focus on what's important. Write down the specific steps involved in your project, prioritizing them based on urgency. This will help you stay focused and avoid getting lost in the details. Pick only 2-3 items a day and work on it.
Use this Eisenhower matrix if you are struggling to choose your tasks for the day.

➡️ Understanding your own patterns & shortcomings: Everyone’s focus pattern is different. Yours, mine or any other 3rd person will function differently in the focus phase. In my case, for example, I cannot have 2 high focus days back to back so when I focused on my pattern, I realised, I work a lot better when I alternate between high and low focus days. So, here is what you need to do to find out yours:
Time yourself doing different things, observe when and during what times you are best able to focus, and then create your work schedule accordingly.
➡️ Rest and recovery: To be at your best phase of focus, you need to understand this. Focus is as much physical as it is mental. Burnout will catch up if you are not resting and recovering after a high productivity day. Therefore, priortise sleep and regular breaks as much as you priortise work.
➡️ Train your brain: Meditation and visual attention exercises can help strengthen your focus muscles. Try a 10-minute guided meditation app before starting a demanding task. This can help you clear your mind and improve your focus. There are also online games and apps designed to train your visual attention span by focusing on specific objects or patterns. Google those out and have fun while training your brain muscle.
Lastly, it’s time for some focus-boosting action steps that you can implement TODAY!
✔️ Declutter your workspace
✔️ Remove all the external distractions
✔️ Create a "ready to resume plan" plan (nothing beats a good planning)
Take it slow and comment to let me know if you are trying out the above action steps.
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