Fixing Your Fractured Focus Fast

Focus is simultaneously becoming more valuable and less common.

I believe focus will soon become the biggest factor separating those who succeed from those who do not.

What we choose to focus on and what we choose to ignore plays in defining the quality of our life.

- Cal Newport, author of Deep Work

Why do we struggle to focus? Because we face a constant barrage of distractions, stimulation, and entertainment... all day, every day. The devices making it easier for us to get things done are simultaneously making it harder to focus on getting anything done.

A lack of focus leads to:

• mental exhaustion
• not getting our work done efficiently
• frustration due to everything taking longer than it should

That's the bad news. The good news is we can retrain our atrophied "focus muscle" so it has more strength and endurance.

If you can maintain your focus all the way through this newsletter, you'll come away with 5 simple science-backed strategies for improving your focus.

Let's get started:

1) Plan Your Work Ahead of Time

A big reason why you can’t focus is not knowing what to focus on when you sit down to work.

I'll share a task and time management method in a future newsletter that'll solve this problem. For now, here's a summary:

? write down all of the tasks, to-dos, and thoughts on your mind

? categorize them in a logical way (business, personal, and other is a good start)

? pick out 3 to 5 priorities (the most urgent and most important things)

? write those priorities on a separate piece of paper

? put time blocks on your calendar throughout the week to work on those priorities

The above framework does a few things for you:

? it clears your mind since you’ve written down the stuff that was clogging it up

? it organizes your to-dos in a way that’s easier to manage than keeping them in your head

? it narrows your focus to a few important things instead of many things of varying importance

2) Deal With Distractions

You’re constantly plagued by distractions that eat away at your focus.

Common external distractions:

? your phone

? an uncomfortable workspace

? the 17 programs and 68 tabs open on your computer

? noisy people (or things) around you

? such as that bird that chirps nonstop for 4 hours EVERY MORNING

Examples of how to reduce external distractions:

? put your phone on silent and in another room

? adjust your desk, chair, and monitor so you’re comfortable

? close unnecessary programs and bookmark + close unnecessary tabs

? use noise-canceling headphones or move to a different area

? ask the bird politely to stop then give up and use headphones anyway

Common internal distractions:

? interesting ideas

? fears, anxieties, worries

? all the other stuff you have to work on

? questions about life, the universe, and everything

? the perfect thing to say to that troll who “actually”-ed you on Twitter earlier

The best way to deal with internal distractions is by using my favorite tool: Brain dumping.

Brain dumping will be the topic of another future newsletter. For now, it's simply taking a few minutes and writing down everything on your mind. Good, bad, neutral - everything.

3) Listen to Music

Music is a great way to shut out distractions and help yourself get into flow. It can also improve your mood, motivation, and memory.

But not all music helps your focus. Music with vocals can distract you. So keep your focused work playlist to instrumental tracks such as:

? low-fi

? classical

? EDM (trance is my favorite, Dan's is dubstep)

? film scores (the Interstellar soundtrack is the best)

? video game soundtracks (they’re written to keep you immersed in the game)

You can also find “deep focus”, “studying”, or “calm” playlists on YouTube or Spotify, or you can sign up for a service like Brain.fm or Focus@will. I’ve found Brain.fm to be well worth the subscription and I use it almost every day (I’m not affiliated with them).

Personally, I put on the Interstellar soundtrack when it’s time for some serious deep focus.

4) Don't Multitask

You probably think you can multitask - productively focus on two things at one time. Confused employers and recruiters even put this as a required skill on job postings.

But you can’t (productively) mutlitask. The brain doesn’t work that way. Want to know why? I'll explain in another future newsletter.

You can probably tell I have a lot to write about over the next few weeks and months...

Focus on one thing at a time. Using the task and time management system from tip #1 helps you narrow your focus down to one task at one time.

Multitasking = poor results. Monotasking = best results.

I promise you - you will get more done if you focus on one thing at a time.

5) Meditate Regularly

Meditation is yet another topic I'll expand on in a future newsletter. fMRI studies have found some fascinating (and incredible) results from consistently taking a few minutes to do nothing.

Long story short - regular meditation causes physical changes in your brain. Those changes make you better at focusing, controlling your impulses, and creating long-term plans.

To start meditating, all you do is:

? sit down somewhere quiet (use headphones or earplugs if you can’t find a quiet place)

? set a timer for 2 to 5 minutes

? close your eyes

? breathe slowly through your nose

? focus on the feeling of your breath passing through your nose

? do this until the timer goes off

Don’t worry if this feels uncomfortable. You’re not alone. Many people do when they first start out.

To make getting into the meditation habit easier, you can find guided meditations on YouTube, or use an app like Headspace, Calm, or Waking Up. Headspace is my favorite because it's the most beginner-friendly.

Thank you for reading! Happy focusing.

Joey Justice

PS: This was a summary of my Laser Focus guide. If you'd like to learn more about each of the above, grab your free copy of the guide here!