Sometimes it seems like every time you're sitting down to work, there's always something bothering you, from the phone notifying you of a new email to the roommate interrupting you because who knows what disaster has happened. Busy people often have to endure a lot of distractions, and juggling them can become a challenge. But it doesn't have to be that way. You can learn to prioritize what you need to do and understand the things that need your attention, then organize yourself to get the most important and urgent tasks done, minimizing distractions.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Prioritizing Tasks
Step 1. Write down everything you need to do
If you are feeling down, stressed, and out of focus, making a list is the quickest and easiest way to simplify and plan an attack. To know what you need to focus on right now and how to overshadow everything else, make a list of the things that crowd your mind.
- Tasks that need to be done in the short term should be the most urgent. What needs to be done today or by the weekend? You decide the timing, but try to get the job done as soon as possible.
- Long-term goals are important, but only if you turn them into a short-term list of specific things to do. If "becoming a doctor" is on your long-term goal list and is stressing you out, that's not something you'll be able to finish before lunch. However, you can begin to find your way around medical schools.
Step 2. Sort the list
How you choose to assign importance to tasks, prioritizing them, will depend on you and your list, but there are several ways to approach all of this and to make your job easier. Don't waste too much time arranging the list. Follow your gut and put things in order so you can get started.
- Organized by importance. Identify the most important tasks on the list and put them at the top, ranking them according to their importance. So, if you have to write an essay today, put away the laundry and return the DVDs they lent you, since priorities must probably follow this order.
- Organize by difficulty. For some people, putting the more difficult tasks ahead of them, getting them done, is the best way to manage a to-do list, while others prefer to start small and progressively work towards the more serious ones. In fact, it might be easier to focus on reading a history chapter if you've gotten rid of your math homework first.
- Organize by urgency. If you have a task to do within a couple of hours, you should focus your attention on other things that aren't that urgent. Put the most compelling things at the top of the list.
Step 3. Calculate how long it will take to accomplish each task
Perhaps next to each item it would be useful to make a rough calculation of the time required to complete the related work. Again, don't waste too much time quantifying precisely how long it takes or stressing yourself out on this detail. There is no need for an actual calculation, just mark each entry with the "short" or "long" warning, so you know when it's time for everything.
If you know that you won't be able to complete all the history searches in ten minutes, which can help you start something, you can put them aside and take care of something else at that juncture. Load and run the washing machine or write a thank you note for someone you plan to connect with. Here's how you can use your time wisely
Step 4. Choose the first thing to do
After taking into account the timing and importance of the tasks, you will need to place a task at the top of the list. Decide what needs your attention right now and put it at the top of the list. It may be the most important or the most urgent thing, but in any case it is a job that you will have to start and that will keep you busy until it is completely finished or finished within the limits of your goals.
Step 5. Put the list aside
Have the confidence and security of knowing that you've made a to-do list and that you can put it aside, ignore it for a while. Once you know which task you will have to complete, the looming thought of things to complete will only be distracting and will keep you out of focus. Then, put the list away in a drawer or hide it somewhere else. Nothing else matters right now, other than the work that appears at the top of your list.
Post-its on computer desktops are great little tools for many people that stress memory, but hide them when you're focused on something. Don't stress about the party you have yet to organize if you are writing an essay. Take the worry out of what's left to do by taking the list out of sight
Part 2 of 3: Eliminate Distractions
Step 1. Find a quiet place to work
Working somewhere where you aren't distracted by TV, conversation and chatting is absolutely essential to learning to focus. Sometimes, it is tempting to think that sitting in the living room with roommates or family is the best and least stressful way to work, but you risk wasting twice as much time, while the work remains halfway through. If you have to do something that requires attention, go to a quiet corner of your room or to the library.
If you don't have the option to work in a quiet place, consider buying a pair of noise-reducing headphones so that you no longer hear the buzz of chatter and stay focused on what you are doing, whatever it is. If you think headphones are a superfluous item, check out the internet for white noise generators. These are online applications that cover the annoying voices of small talk with ambient music or static background sounds
Step 2. Turn off your phone and put it away
It is no longer just about phone calls and text messages, because today the focus is also on social network updates, received e-mails and instant messaging application alerts that pop up on the phone every five seconds. No distraction is more powerful than a cell phone. Turn it off and set it aside when you need to focus.
- Setting your phone to silent is not enough, because you have the comfort of checking it whenever you want. It is better to physically put it away somewhere, so that it is more complicated to use it. If you are working in your own room, recharge the battery in another room.
- If the phone is very annoying, consider deleting some applications that are taking up your precious time. In fact, you don't need to have Facebook and Twitter on your mobile.
Step 3. Establish a certain amount of time to devote to a task
When you are about to start, look at the clock. How long do you have to apply for? How long do you need to complete the project? How much time can you set aside for that job today? Decide how long you will have to work on a certain task and get to work.
Schedule regular breaks. Usually you work for 50 minutes and then stop for 10 minutes to get up, take a walk, grab a drink and get distracted for a moment. You'll be less tempted to watch a funny YouTube video if you know you can do it in 20 minutes, and don't feel guilty about it
Step 4. Make sure you don't waste your time browsing the Internet
Most people work on computers, which is a tough job for a lot of people. Your term paper is right next to Facebook, wikipedia, and Instagram and that means that no matter how immersed you are in your work, writing, searching, or doing anything else that requires your attention, YouTube's vortex of distraction is just just a click away from you. Learn to recognize habits that only lead to a waste of time and stop them.
- The easiest way to avoid wasting time online is to disconnect from the internet. Stop the WiFi connection so you can't access it and mess it up.
- StayFocused, Anti-Social, LeechBlock, and Cold Turkey are all blockers you can install if you need to use the internet to get the job done. They block specific websites or the whole connection for certain periods of time that you can set yourself. If you are having trouble with this, installing a blocker may be a good idea.
Step 5. Optimize your social media and email filters
Sometimes, even if you have every good intention of getting something done, you suddenly get sucked into social media. We always say to ourselves, "I'll take five minutes, just long enough to have a quick look on Facebook," and an hour later we're still immersed in a friend's six-year-old vacation photos. Incredible!
- Remove the warning or friendship from all your friends on social media who do not enrich you personally. If you end up getting distracted by the lengthy anti-government policy comments your childhood friend wrote on Facebook, don't waste your time reading them. Block them or, better yet, remove friends from all your apparent friends on social networks. Focus on the most important things.
- Set your email address so it doesn't notify you every time something new is coming, and organize your work and personal emails into separate folders or different accounts to keep everything going straight. You don't have to worry about checking your grandmother's email right away while you're working. There is no need to give immediate attention to email.
Step 6. Identify emotional distractions
Not all distractions are related to YouTube. Sometimes, you're so focused on reading a book for Italian literature class when all of a sudden your ex comes to mind. It's over. If you are distracted by anxiety or emotional uncertainties, learn to recognize your habits and stop them.
If you are distracted by a useless thought that causes you to lose the thread, don't try to stop it, but give yourself a break. Saying "Don't think about pink elephants" will impress the thought of a pachyderm in your mind. Indulge in that thought for a minute, get distracted, and then get it out of your mind
Part 3 of 3: Finish the List
Step 1. Do some meditation every day
Taking a few minutes throughout the day to sit in silence and contemplation can lower your stress levels, help you focus, and calm nagging thoughts that may later distract you while you need to work. If you struggle with a useless and recurring thought, meditate every now and then to block it by applying an effective meditation technique.
Meditating does not mean making banal chants and accessing incense. It is far from complicated. Make a cup of coffee or tea and drink it on the terrace or veranda and watch the sun rise every morning. Go for a quiet walk in the park and sit on a bench. Just sit down. Don't use these moments to think about everything you need to do. Use this time just to sit down
Step 2. Work in the same place every day
For some people, having a routine helps them to be productive. If you always go to the same bar or always sit in the same place on the sofa to do your job, you will be more productive, more able to find the right concentration and less distracted by the environment you are in every time you have to do something. Pick a seat and make it yours.
Alternatively, if being locked up in the same old office leads to a feeling of restlessness, go elsewhere. Find a different bar every day and let the white noise of conversations around you and the novelty of tasting pastries never eaten before invigorate you. Diversifying helps some people focus more
Step 3. Wait until you feel a feeling of rejection and then go for a walk
David Carr, a columnist for the New York Times, likes to keep writing, pushing himself hard until he perceives a decline - that is, to the point where the work begins to compromise his attention. Indeed, continuing to work under these conditions would be unproductive.
Instead of hitting your head against the wall, put your work aside for a minute. Get out. Walk the dog. Go aimlessly around the neighborhood for ten minutes. Have a coffee and think about the problem to be faced, but without wasting time. When the break is over, your mind will be fresher
Step 4. Add some physical movement to the rests
Nobody can or should sit at a computer for 10 hours straight. When you have a chance to take a break, it's important to use it to move around a bit. Get some exercise. Get up and go for a walk, even if you don't know where to go.
- It might sound trivial, but keeping a few light dumbbells in the office to use regularly while reading can help imprint what you're reading in your memory. Some studies show that light exercise helps memory.
- Have a snack. A low blood sugar level prevents the mind from operating powerfully and effectively, which means that a handful of nuts or some fruit during the afternoon full immersion will help you stay on track and have the right focus.
Step 5. Celebrate each accomplished task
When you complete something on your list, celebrate for a minute. Even if all you do is give yourself a pat on the back and a chance to permanently cross the item off the list, take a minute to relax before doing something else. You've earned it.
- Have small celebrations for everyday things. When you're done at the end of the day, cross it off the list and pour yourself a glass of wine. Or tear up the list entirely and burn the bits of paper out of it. Are you done!
- Indulge in something greater when you've completed an important job. Go to a nice restaurant when your application for graduate school has finally been accepted, or treat yourself to something when you have completed a tiring long-term project.
