How To Boost Your Focus Level….(1)

Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four-hour in a day ~ Zig Ziglar

It's a common problem in our world today, seeing people lose track of their activity because of the blink of their screen. We have allowed social media and the friends we made, to distract or slow us down from being productive. Most times it's not really our fault nor that of our friends, fatigue could set in and it will also disrupt productive time.

Today, I will be sharing tips that have helped me in my day-to-day activities and have also made me maximise my time and productivity level.  The quote above by zig Ziglar explains the reason why our mates/friends could be more productive than us. It is not due to them having more than 24 hours in a day but the fact that they have stipulated time for each activity in their daily life. 

Successful people also have the notification bar on their phones, their screens also blink but what identifies them from others is their ability to manage their time properly.  Have you ever wondered why social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are addictive?  Or why do you end up spending more time viewing more videos on YouTube than you expected?  The trick is simple: they capture your focus and this will trick your mind to confuse you have a lot of time at hand. About distractions, I am not just basing them on completing tasks, it could also be distractions of making new friends, visiting someone or vocational activities. 

Have been using the cues below to maximise my focus level and I am sure it is useful to you also.

1) Respect What You are Doing: A lot of people get distracted because they don't value what is on their table. If you don't value it, other people won't and you will end up having a lot to battle with. Your friends who are making noise, your social media notifications and the work you were meant to do. Respecting what we are doing is seen through activities such as being serious with your friends, telling them to give you space as you are busy and will get back to them when you are done. I know they will see you as a bad friend who is just too greedy of spending your time with them. The fact remains you are only doing what is necessary to achieve your goals. A successful person is more valued by friends than someone who has no achievements but spends all day with them. If you don't tell your friends to excuse you to focus, they will one day tell you to do so. The same goes with your notifications and screen blinks, you should put your phone on silent mode and turn the screen facing the table. This will help reduce the number of times, you have to glance at your screen. 

2) Listen To Music Without Lyrics:  Music has a way of connecting the mind and this will help increase productivity by remaining focused. Everyone around me knows I am a big fan of Yanni, Enya, Kenny G, and classical and Jazz music and it won't be wrong if I recommend it to you also. The trick behind listening to songs without lyrics helps to anchor the mind and prevents it from wandering. If you are listening to music with lyrics, it will reduce your focus level as you may want to follow the musician to sing the lyrics, which is another means of distracting yourself. 

3) Flight/Hibernate Mode:They are moments when you want to perform an activity and your mind is filled with the time you spent with your friends, how you bought ice cream and had fun while you wanted to study or design a portrait. Or you could just remember a message you didn't reply to on your social media, all this is powered by your mind to distract you from concentrating on the task at hand.

We are familiar with what proceeds after we press the flight/hibernate option on our phone or computer. It blocks signals from entering our device and this helps to conserve energy and increase battery life. Though our device is blocked from receiving signals, they are still On.  This explains why we need to activate such a mode in our mind and body to enable us to focus. As unwanted thoughts will be blocked from our minds. Achieving this goal is the most difficult step but when you train your mind, you could achieve it in a couple of minutes.  Learn to discipline your thoughts and be attentive to what lies at hand.

4) Find Your Rhythm:  I had a friend in college that enjoyed studying in a noisy environment while I was the opposite of her. Trying to adapt to my friend's style of studying could be detrimental to my academic success. What I did was disengage every reading activity with her. We could go to the cinema together, get ice cream, we did all other activities together but when it comes to studying we go our separate ways. I discovered studying with her, increased my anxiety level and kept me under unnecessary pressure. And this could also occur to any of us, rather than try to adapt to methods you know too well are not beneficial to you, find your rhythm. No two persons are meant to be alike in every aspect, find what's beneficial to you and will make you more focused and concentrate. They are people whose concentration levels increase when they carry out activities while taking snacks, which could also be helpful to you. 

5) Be Purpose Driven: A man of purpose is a fulfilled man, I know you are wondering how. If you know your main aim of carrying out an activity either for monetary gain like on this platform were we get rewarded by the @TheRandomRewarder , fame or knowledge, it will help boost your concentration level. Making it easier to achieve your goals. What I do most of the time I to list out my goals and write out the purpose I want to achieve. Let's assume, I want to study. My goal is to study 'Pathology' and the purpose of studying it is to make a good doctor. The purpose is what will make me more focused, rather than concentrate on your goal, be purpose-driven, this will help boost your focus level.

To be continued….

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