It seems that there's a consensus amongst productivity gurus and highly successful people: the less you do, with greater focus, the more impactful, accomplished and fulfilled you will be.
How to Accomplish More by Doing Less
- Make a to-do list. When you're working a full-time job, mornings and evenings might be the only components of the day under your control.
- Stop multitasking. Multitasking divides your attention.
- Focus, focus, focus.
- and then break it!
- Train your brain. Playing certain types of games can help you get better at concentrating.
- Get your game on. Brain games may not be the only type of game that can help improve concentration.
- Improve sleep.
- Make time for exercise.
- Spend time in nature.
- Give meditation a try.
- Take a break.
- Listen to music.
But, with a few simple hacks, you can quickly take charge of your mind and develop laser-like focus.
- Start Each Morning With Exercise.
- Don't Break Your Fast too Early.
- Get More (Good) Fats in Your Diet.
- Use nootropic herbs.
- Write Out Your Critical Tasks Each Hour.
- Eliminate Pointless Distractions.
- Set Small Daily Goals.
To stay focused means to simply persist with the task at hand. To continue to work towards whatever it is that you need to do and ensure that you stay concentrated on that one activity. It isn't multitasking. It isn't daydreaming. It's focusing in on the task at hand and putting in the work to get it done.
How to stay focused in the workplace
- Eliminate distractions.
- Prioritize your tasks.
- Train your mind.
- Work in a quiet space.
- Try meditation.
- Exercise.
- Take breaks.
- Get a good night's sleep.
If you want to let some things go, here are 10 ideas to do less of this year:
- Over-committing. Only say 'yes' to things that feel right, or that you'll want to follow-through with.
- Putting yourself down.
- Feeling guilty.
- Binge drinking.
- Ignoring anxiety.
- Comparison.
- Excessive sugar.
- Mindless spending.
It takes our brain a little bit of time to ramp up and zone in on the material we are reading. This can cause a number of reading related inefficiencies. Most importantly, it can lower our ability to focus on the information we are trying to retain.
The hallmark condition associated with difficulty concentrating is attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a condition that has been increasingly diagnosed in both children an adults in recent years.
Here are 10 focus exercises you can do to improve your concentration abilities in the workplace and at home:
- Meditate for five minutes.
- Read a long book.
- Exercise your body.
- Practice active listening.
- Try a counting game.
- Memorize patterns.
- Complete a crossword puzzle.
- Visualize an object.
This may occur due to factors such as stress, ADHD, or fatigue. If you have trouble focusing when reading, meet with your healthcare provider for a proper diagnosis and treatment. Imbalances in certain hormones—including testosterone, estrogen, and thyroid hormones—can contribute to trouble focusing.
Brain fog can be a symptom of a nutrient deficiency , sleep disorder, bacterial overgrowth from overconsumption of sugar , depression, or even a thyroid condition. Other common brain fog causes include eating too much and too often, inactivity, not getting enough sleep , chronic stress, and a poor diet.
Other common symptoms of depression are that you begin to feel hopeless and lose interest in activities you once loved. In other words, depression itself makes it harder to concentrate because you simply don't see the point. Then the more you lose focus due to depression, the harder and more pointless it all seems.
Try these tips for working with ADD/ADHD:
- Avoid Multitasking. Staying focused and on task is necessary in order to get work completed.
- Manageable Chunks.
- Use a Timer.
- Use Visual Reminders.
- Connect With Positive Coworkers.
- Paraphrase Instructions.
- Limit Distractions.
- Planners.
Concentration means control of attention. It is the ability to focus the mind on one subject, object, or thought, and at the same time exclude from the mind every other unrelated thought, ideas, feelings, and sensations.
Any relationship is full of give and take. During some parts of the relationship, one person will require more attention, whereas at other times they may need to give it to help their significant other out. You'll each go through highs and lows and get and give advice.
Working less multiplies health benefitsThere are lots of studies done on how your health, work-life balance improve and overall how your own productivity is boosted, when you work less. One study shows that being able to pursue a hobby, sport or other interest can actually boost creativity.
11 Ways to be Happier, Healthier, and More Productive
- Smile more.
- Exercise for seven minutes.
- Sleep more.
- Spend more time with friends and family.
- Go outside more often.
- Help other people.
- Plan a trip (even if you don't ever take it).
- Meditate.
Despite pressure to get more done, doing less helps our work by preventing, mitigating, and helping us to recover from burnout. As author Alex Pang describes in his wonderful book, Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less, doing less at work can give us a boost in our productivity over time and our creative edge.
Here are five steps I took to do less in my life:
- Decide what's important in your life. Sit down with yourself and unearth your personal values.
- Cancel the rest.
- Delegate.
- Deactivate Facebook.
- Delete other social media apps from your phone.
Breathe. Enjoy the new space. Savor the beauty of doing less.
Creating a Day of Less
- Take a breath. Take a moment to pause in your busy day, and breathe.
- Now consider your day. What have you done already today?
- Learn to know the essential.
- Reduce distractions.
There are several reasons for this: Productivity gives you purpose. Having purpose in your life gives you a reason to get up every morning, and when you reach a goal your self-esteem rockets. Striving towards something gives you energy, focus and conviction; people who lack this direction are rarely happy.
As mentioned above, having less means that you have more room for meaningful things in your life. By having more space, you get to differentiate between what's truly important and what isn't. If you notice, no matter how many things you hoard, you'll never feel truly content.
Here are some ideas:
- Work in bursts. Divide yourself between complete rest and complete focus.
- Kill projects. Don't spread tasks that only take a few hours over several days.
- Rest, health and fun matter. Enslaving yourself to your work can actually accomplish less.
