5 tips to improve work focus
“I just need time to think.”
How many times have you heard co-workers utter those words, or even said it yourself?
Perhaps you don't have time to think because you don't have time to catch up. And you don't have time to catch up because you're tethered to electronic devices.
You can make a conscious effort to not respond, but it can feel futile. When you hear that ding, beep, or when your phone does the vibration tango on your desk, recent research has shown it triggers a neurological impulse that demands a response. And you feel the urge to read and respond while your hopes for a productive day at work slip away.
Meetings are another culprit. In our executive coaching practice, clients reluctantly, and sometimes with much embarrassment, begin to explain their double and triple-booked calendars. What might be most helpful for your overall well-being and productivity is to build your capacity to FOCUS. Turning that word into an acronym, here are five tips to get you started:
1. Focus on important and complex things early in the day. When we're rested and fresh, those big, hairy tasks usually don't feel as ominous as they do at 4:30 in the afternoon. Clear the calendar for 40 minutes, turn off everything, select one task, and dedicate your energy to just one thing.
2. Opt out of as many meetings as possible for two weeks and see what happens. We hear the same comment from many of our coaching clients: “I don't know why I was invited to that meeting.” Ask a colleague who's attending to provide you with an email update of the top three issues, decisions and actions that came out of the meeting and consider whether you should attend next time.
3. Create an energy shift every 90 minutes. The folks from TheEnergyProject.com have plenty of research that indicates that our bodies need a break every 90 minutes to refuel and recharge. Keep it short, simple and physical, like a three-minute walk to the cafeteria, a quick climb on the stairway or stretching in an empty conference room.
4. Unplug from the screens and gadgets at least one hour before bedtime. Research shows that quality of sleep really matters and that being in bed but still awake, or in a light sleep, reduces daytime alertness significantly. All that stimuli will impact your ability to slip into the all-important REM sleep cycle.
5. Make a stop-doing list. Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, advocates such a list, which forces him to allocate the most precious resource of all: time. If you take the same approach, you'll find out how this important reflective process will help you find the time to think about what really matters to you.
What might your life be like if you were more focused, had more energy, and more personal job satisfaction? Perhaps a boost in productivity and well-being, rather than thinking you have to trade off one for the other.
Sue Williamson is an executive coach and co-founder of 3D Leadership Group in Wellesley. For more information, visit www.3dleadershipgroup.com.
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