How to Focus?

The number one thing that I have been struggling with lately is keeping myself focused on one thing for an extended period. I have taken just enough things to work upon and learn if the focus persists. With Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Twitter, it becomes challenging to get that focused beam.

Task Switching

Every time we switch from our current task to some social media and switch back, it takes around 20 minutes to get back our focus. Moreover, the brain consumes a lot of energy in task-switching, which might exhaust you by the end of the day. So, from now on, I will block access to all my social media when I need to truly focus on something.

Multitasking

I used to think that I should be able to do multiple things at once. But the divided focus is not helpful. It imposes the same problem as task switching and even more as we will switch tasks rapidly. So focusing on one thing at a time is a must.

Time Blocking

One of the most important lessons I have learned after going through tons of books and YouTube videos on productivity is to block hours at a time for a single task. When I was ten years old, I started training in chess. It was a fascinating game. It required intense focus to keep track of all the variations which were possible in a given position. To hold all that in mind, it was needed that you did not deviate your mind even slightly for an extended time. When you achieve that kind of focus on anything you do, you are at the peak of your productivity.

This is the reason you must block 2 to 3 hours at a time to focus singularly on a single task so that you can completely wrap your head around what you are trying to achieve.