It’s amazing what we can do when we are focused. The problem is that sometimes it feels like such a strain to be able to focus on just one thing. So many things need to be done…different things in different areas of our lives. It feels like we’re being pulled in a hundred different directions during our day. Sometimes lack of focus is not as simple as it may seem. If you’re having trouble focusing, why is that?
What are some underlying reasons behind your lack of focus?
It might be that focus is subconsciously associated in your mind with something that is stressful or bad. For example you might have gone through traumatic events that forced you to go into “focus mode” to solve emergency problems. Having gone through that, now you associate focus with trauma. Or maybe one of your parents was constantly pushing you to focus on your studies for too many hours when you were little and now you associate focus with the awful feeling you had as a kid. Whatever it may be, it’s important to get to the root of what your mind associates focus with so that you can undo this wrong notion.
Don’t let trauma guide your life.
This may be a foreign notion to you, but all the things that we have gone through influence our minds and our reactions to other events in life. For example, when my kids were little I suffered a traumatic experience at a supermarket. For years I didn’t want to go back to that supermarket and would do everything that I could to avoid it. After I caught myself doing that, I decided that I wasn’t going to let that one event determine the way I went about my daily life. Now I have absolutely no problem going there.
Redirect your thoughts.
In the same way that I caught my wrong thinking pattern about the supermarket, you can change the wrong thinking pattern about focus too. Instead of looking at it as a forced and contrived thing we should look at it as the most productive hours of our day. We should see it as the best of our day and not the most painful. There’s a quote by Brian Tracy that goes like this:
“The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire not things we fear.”
When we put our mind to good and positive things, our ability to be productive multiplies. In order to be focused we must have goals that we want to achieve or else we end up wandering. You can read more about why setting goals is important here.
The power of association.
Another thing that really helps is to create an environment of wonderful things at the time that we are focused. For example; have wonderful smells, images and sounds around you when you are focused. Light some scented candles and put calm relaxing music on with no lyrics. These things can create a great environment of joy and your brain will start to associate the focused hours with positive and enjoyable things.
Don’t try to do too much at once.
Trying to think of all of the things that need to get done might get you into a paralysis mode. And that will be a big hurdle as you won’t even know where to begin. If you can determine what you will be doing for the next 2 hours instead of the entire day your mind won’t be as scattered. If 2 hours still seems overwhelming then decide just for the next 30 minutes what you will be doing. You will be able to accomplish a lot more if you do things in bite sized pieces.
Eren Mckay is a work at home mom to 3 boys. She loves to share baby shower themes ideas with others. She has created resources like these princess and the frog baby shower decorations to help others when party planning.
{ 58 comments… read them below or add one }
Some great advice, i always find writing everything down into a long list in the morning, arrange it by priority and then just churn though it all is the best way to go about being focused and productive.
Isn’t this basically what Yoda tried to tell Luke..what Mr.Miagi tried to tell Wil Smiths son?
It is seldom the lack of goals that causes failure, it is more often the lack of connection between your values and the operations in business or in life or whatever your intentions are. Between these dimensions your motivation is floating around to and fro,and maybe you are surprised that you are not reaching a higher degree of motivation to be continued. You shouldn’t! When your pattern goes: Values-Operations-Motivation-Focus- Goals-Progression-Results=Success. Then, You Should be surprised!
Hey those are some great piece of advice. When you are fully focused upon something, it means that only the idea upon which you are focusing exists in your awareness at such time to the exclusion of everything else. When you are fully focused upon an idea, that idea is your entire universe, that idea is the only thing that exists for you, the only thing that is real for you, while you are focusing upon it.
Having a list of things to do definitely helps us become more productive.. completely agree with that tip.
@Sam- I see your point about lack of values being also a reason for failure but I have also seen a lot of people not have goals to achieve and kind of sail through life and end up not achieving anything.
There’s a saying that goes:” If you aim at nothing you will hit it every time.” I loved the point that you made that the values are the core basis of our actions. I completely agree with you on that one. Once we have the right values behind what we are doing it will inspire us to move forward with strength because we believe in something. Great comment.
Blessings,
Eren
What drives me to focus more is a healthy competition. I also more motivated if a work with a core group where you can combine your ideas and work together to finish a goal.
When you find that something inspires or motivates you in particular it’s best to incorporate that into your daily life and you will find that you get a lot more done. For example, competition doesn’t move me one bit , but if it inspires you then you should try using it to move you into more action.
Lack of focus leads to procrastination and lots of anxiety. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to stop analyzing everything and just get something done. Just do one little thing.
If you can get yourself focused on a goal and actually stay focused on it, then the sky is the limit. I truly believe that.
I agree Kathy sometimes I worry about all the different things I need to get done instead of beginning and focusing on one thing at a time. Thanks for stopping by!
I agree. As Danny said, we should just focus on doing one thing at a time instead of wasting our time worrying. Anxiety is such a huge waste of time and energy. Like the saying goes:
“Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere.” ~Glenn Turner
So when those kinds of thoughts come in I fight them off and start getting productive. Another thing that really helps is not looking at the huge mountain that we need to climb but only looking at the next few steps that we need to take.
All the best,
Eren
I am guilty of trying to do too many things at once. I really need to take your advice and focus on completing tasks within a certain time frame and then moving on to the next project. Great article Eren
Hey Danny,yeah we all are. I find that the best thing to do is to write a small list of things to do that day that are priority. Also give yourself time to rest and do something enjoyable in between more difficult tasks. Write down what you will do to rest and enjoy yourself so it’s not all work work work. that way you were productive and had fun at the same time.
All the best,
Eren
Very good advice of limiting our goals to limited time. I actually do something similar – I set only two goals maximum for one day. Only once I’ve accomplished them, I’m setting myself for next goals. That helped me a lot to stay focused -more than anything else.
Exactly. the amount of goals for each day will depend on many factors. So I like to create this list on the actual day. I might make a list that I can refer to later on but the day list is made on that day. If I try t plan too far in advance life always gets in the way and “ruins” my plans and that gets me frustrated. So I agree with you on that.
I would tend to agree. I have to start my day every day with a list. I will usually even make that list the night before so it is all fresh in my mind. I will then prioritize the list. Every day i try to not leave work until my list is complete, of course this is not always possible but it keeps me on track and more focused.
Sounds like you’re very productive… awesome !
So true! Sometimes the answers in every problems and in the things that you are looking for is already in front of you. Unluckily, We don’t have focus in whatever we do so that’s the reason why we fail and we think that some of the problems don’t have any solutions. Every success that we had achieved has been done through determination and accompanied by the presence of our minds. In this way we could really produced quality works and gained lots of achievements!
Yes focus is about aligning our wills with our minds and then producing action. Not allowing distracting and unmotivating thoughts to come in and get us off track.
Focus has a big factor in our life it can change everything if we focus in one thing. Glad to know your blog
The first step is to find that inner fire.. the inspiration… the motivation. Once that is high inside of us we can do many things.
Yes, it’s amazing if what can we do if we focus. Distractions are everywhere, and that makes it hard to focus. Your tips are great! “Don’t try to do too much at once.” I think that would be very helpful for me because sometimes if I do a lot of things at the same time I end up nothing but just halfway of everything..
We’re all guilty of trying to do more than we can. If we set simple, achievable goals we can grow one step at a time. I know many people who talk great and big things but can’t get the simplest things done. They want the “grandiose” things so much that they live with their head in the clouds and end up not accomplishing much. Setting achievable goal will give us self confidence and boost us to do more.
Blessings,
Eren
The tips are great. The more focused your mind is on the goal you desire to achieve, the faster you can have it. The more you practice using your mind in a focused way, able to completely focus and concentrate upon the desired change as if it is real for you now – the greater skill and power will you develop.
And another great thing to do is to find joyful things to do while working towards our goals. It’s been proven that happiness helps the brain develop and be productive while sadness produces chemicals in the brain that makes the person unproductive. Knowing this gives us a reason to not allow sad things around us. This also helps a lot in our productivity.
All the best,
Eren
Thanks for sharing this educative post, focus is essential to success, it easier to build a successful business if you focus on one thing at a time. Focus on your projects, focus on your product, focus on your market. If don’t do many things at the same time, you will have a better chance at success.
I totally agree and also ask for help when you can’t do it all. Outsourcing the help that we need is a great time saver and allows us to focus on the most important parts of our business.
Our sub-conscious mind is much bigger than that of our conscious mind. I remember an illustration back from the university; our conscious mind can be like the tip of the iceberg and the remaining part which is submerged in the water is our subconscious. I think to improve our focus, we should get deeper with our sub-conscious and fix whatever there is.
Eka,
I do a “to do” list and put it in my diary so I have it there next to my laptop. At the end of the day I can see if I have taken notice of it or not!
Also, focusing onone task at a time is a must; otherwise I can get overwhelmed with all I have to do and not achieve any of it.
Being new to blogging, it’s easy to get distracted so I am trying to have some order in what I need to do rather what I would prefer to do….like visit other people’s blogs, read articles and join in the discussion before doing the hard tasks first.
Great article and I’ll be back for more…..after I’ve done what I should on my blog first of course!
Hi Patricia,
Yeah being a blogger it’s really easy to get distracted. There are so many things that need to get done and different tasks to perform. We are multitaskers as bloggers and it really helps to stop and analyze what the most important tasks are that we should be doing. Having that time to plan every day is essential.
All the best,
Eren
Just be mindful of the fact that your perception of work is something you can control. Since there’s probably nothing you can do about those dismissive things, I advise you to try changing your mindset or just like turning your work into a game. An unfocused mind, is an unchallenged mind. So make things fun! Moreover, always remember, focus… for your main goal. Anyways, thanks for sharing.
Yes it’s important to focus on something and try to see it through. But the problem is that sometimes you end up getting obsessed with that one project and you just end up spinning your wheels and don’t make any headway no matter how hard you try.
That’s why it’s important to also just walk away from your projects from to time, I think. Then you can come back re-energized. And because you’re mentally alert, you can alter your approach a bit and start moving forward again.
Hi Matt,
Obsession is never good. It’s unhealthy and compulsive. Usually when we are obsessed it’s because there’s an underlying emotional issue that hasn’t been dealt with. Many workaholics have this problem. They work like crazy out of fear that something may happen. They cant even enjoy life because they are driven from anxiety. They’re totally out of balance. They “feel” that they are wrong but justify their overload of work with thoughts that keep them on this crazy work wheel. In that case they need to take several days off to look deep inside themselves and overcome this. The best thing to do is be focused, work for a normal amount of time each day and allow time to rest, to play and enjoy your relationships.
All the best,
Eren
Excellent article here. More often than not people are so preoccupied of so many things. The most important thing in life, that is to focus, is always for granted. I do believe that multi-tasking is one of the causes why people loss their focus. thanks for bringing this topic into light. I hope quality discussions follow this post.
If you got your focus on something especially your goals surely you can get it. In focusing you can easily make up things in your mind and when you cram this is not very good, when you cram it will ruin you. Focus is very important indeed.
I’ve been working on thought redirection a lot lately, to try to get some negativity out of my life. Just stop, and figure out what’s true for this moment. What’s true right now.
If you keep on doing what you’ve always done, then you will keep on getting what you’ve always got.
Do you know the number one reason that stops people from getting what they want?
It’s lack of Focus. People who focus on what they want, prosper. Those who don’t, struggle.
Whatever you want in the years ahead, The Power of Focus can help you achieve it.
I’ve always had a mild issue with concentration. I have a habit of getting sidetracked etc. I’d be in class and notice that I was thinking of something totally unrelated to the lecture and mentally shake my head and try to pay attention (to things I was genuinely interested in to begin with). Some minutes later I’d notice I had dazed off and again wasn’t paying attention. This would happen pretty much constantly through my lectures. But because of practicing regular meditation I’m fine now. I even try redirecting my thoughts as you have mentioned. Great article.
I’m a firm believer that the road to success for small companies is through specialization. Promoting a Halloween costumes a hard time competing against those big competition, but if you have unique specialization , you can build a national clientele. It’s tough to get started as Halloween promoter, but if you market dedication and enjoyment, you can stand out.
I appreciate your post a lot because at this moment I’m totally out of focus. I am excited to apply the power of focus in my business. Thank you for paying attention to simple little things that most men neglect makes a few men rich. More power in this site!
This is great. I’ve got the worst ADD when it comes to getting major work done. Thanks!
Alex@Atlanta Video Production´s last [type] ..On the Web – Smashing Magazine
This post shares the best and great joy on how to redirect my thoughts. In some way you help others to know regarding this power. I will follow your advice. Thank you.
Edward @ Weddings Dresses´s last [type] ..Luggage Tags Are Great and Elegant Wedding Favors
It’s amazing how much you can get done when you really put your mind to it. This is coming from someone with a huge lack of focus, as I lose concentration and get distracted far too easily. I’ve read through the tips and hopefully this will make a difference to me, will let you all know though.
Jason @ Secret Shopper´s last [type] ..Classic toys in Christmas wish list
One tip of my own I’d like to add to improve lack of focus is that you need to eliminate absolutely everything you can which may get your attention. Some examples for me personally include people in the same room or background noise, although strangely having the TV on in the background actually seems to give some ambience off. Has anyone tried using white noise for focus?
How very interesting! I agree that you have a creative solutions and tips in some underlying reasons behind your lack of focus . Thank you for sharing this article. This is a very great idea to all.
I appreciate your excitement in your blog about everything since you pay attention to simple little things that most men neglect makes a few men rich. More power in your article!
This is great advise. I was looking for a blog to really connect to and this one hit very close to home. I have been struggling with focusing and doing too much at one time especially during the beginning of the school year and reading this helped me put back into persepective what’s the most important and what’s not. I also realized how I am not as focused as I thought I was. I have an underlying focus that has been taking over what I should REALLY be focusing on. This might not be exactly what you we’re trying to get at but this is how it affected me individually.
Lack of focus is one of the curses of depression.
It’s very much a vicious circle – as you get more depressed, your focus goes. As your focus goes, you get more depressed because you are not achieving anything.
These ideas can certainly work. The hard thing for a depressed person is to keep going at it.
Martin@anger depression´s last [type] ..Anger? Depression? Is it Joe Strummer’s fault?
I agree about the depression! The local Tampa Economy is enough to cause a depression that even a Prozac Drip will not fix.
I have to write stuff down, or I will forget about it. I have hundreds of uncompleted projects I start, but seldom finish.
Chris@Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa Florida´s last [type] ..roof stain removal tampa florida
This is a huge problem of mine with kids, homeschooling and other busy things in life.
When you lose focus it is hard to get back on track.
These are great points and I hope I can put your suggestions into practice and stay focused.
Sarah@Total Curve´s last [type] ..Increase Your Beauty To Increase Your Self Confidence
Great points! Just got inspired reading this post. What I try to do after getting up every morning is chalk out a plan for the day – how to go about my business. At times, what happens is I also lose focus due to situational events. Then at the end of the day I feel why I have even bothered about the particular event which should not have affected my focus.
I’m so easily distracted by nature and when working online the internet is just a huge temptation to me. However, I find that if I set myself targets or timelines on what I want to achieve that particular day, I can usually stick to it, then anything else I achieve is a bonus. Somedays are better than others but if I set myself at least one goal that I MUST achieve, it helps the big picture enormously. A little each day goes a long way.
Hi there,
Excellent article I read here, I would like to add my experience about focus in life, as I have to manage many things like kids, home and job as well, so most of time I lost many thing where I should put more focus.
I like your one tip that you should concentrate on your next to working hours what exactly you are going to do rather than thinking about whole day. I think im going to follow this as thinking about whole day is overwhelming.
Roger Jignesh Parekh@Best Rated Juicers´s last [type] ..Breville BJE820XL Dual Disc Juice Processor Review
This was interesting to read, along with some of the comments. I think, for the most part, the main causes for lack of focus & concentration is emotional distractions and mere stress. For some, the “power of focus,” as you say, can only be achieved if a person rids their self of excess stress and/or learns how to manage it better, and if you’re dealing with emotional distractions, you may not find the ability to have keen focus until after you get over whatever it is that is effecting your conscious and subconscious mind.
All of those things are easier said than done; cheers!
Very nice article Eren. I find myself falling prey to the paralysis mode and I’m still trying to find the best way to combat it. I have been reading some of Ekhardt Tolle’s work lately and it has helped me overcome the worry/anxiety issue. He talks about concentrating on your breathing, actually thinking and noticing your breathing, at times when your mind starts to get crowded with the “voice in the head”. Helps me, at least. Again, nice post.
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Focus is something hard to attain if there are distractions in life. Focus is also dependent on time. A person may be able to focus for a certain amount of time during the morning hours or some evening hours.
Being able to focus will get a lot of things done and increases productivity. A lot of people including me get distracted by small things and cannot focus on one thing for more than 1-2 hours. I think it is best to control yourself and be disciplined but also not stress too much about it.
I feel like every single time I get started on something I get distracted and an hour later I still haven’t gotten it done. I am at the point where I need to close my door to to get complete focus.
Jeff @ Myrtle Beach Real Estate´s last [type] ..Up.Up.Up.
Great post, I applaud you!
Especially this part:
“After I caught myself doing that, I decided that I wasn’t going to let that one event determine the way I went about my daily life.”
I’ve suffered with much of that for quite awhile (years, actually) and have recently discovered that most of it is caused by adult ADD. Speaking of my case only, of course.
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