Mental Focus is Crucial for Success

Why Mental Focus Is Crucial For Success 

Mental focus is the most important skill when it comes to success in any area of your life. It, more than talent or skill, will help move you forward and help you reach your goals, no matter what they are. To focus means to concentrate on a particular task or problem for a period of time. It’s something you can get better at with practice. For now, let’s look at exactly why mental focus is crucial for success and how it can help you get things done.  

Focus Keeps Distractions At Bay  

Distractions are all around us. You sit down at your desk and end up checking email, browsing through Facebook, or getting lost on YouTube watching video after video. We get distracted by new projects, things that need taken care of around the house or the office, and of course by family members and coworkers. With all these distractions it’s a wonder we get anything done. There’s always something else that demands our attention, or a fun new project we’d rather be working on.  

This is where focus can make a huge difference and help you get things done. Focus is like a pair of blinders. It helps you concentrate on the task at hand until it is done, and helps you with finding your true self.  

Focus Keeps You From Making Mistakes  

Because you are not constantly distracted and you’re giving your full attention to whatever it is you are working on at the moment, you’re less likely to make mistakes. Mistakes happen when your attention is divided and you’re not fully engaged and immersed in the task you are working on.  

Being focused, on the other hand, helps you concentrate on your work. It allows you to make less mistakes to begin with and when you do make them, if you’re not distracted, you’re that much more likely to catch them and fix them. The end result is a better quality product, no matter what you’re working on.  

Focus Helps You Get More Done Faster  

Have you ever worked on a tight deadline? Let’s say you have to finish a report or write a blog post before you can head out to lunch to meet a friend. If you’re highly focused (thanks to that looming deadline), a task that would usually take you half a day is suddenly accomplished in 30 minutes. Best of all, the end result is often better than you’re usual work because you’re highly focused and are getting into the flow where everything just comes together almost effortlessly.

Mental Focus In Business  

Mental focus is the ability to concentrate on a single task or project without getting distracted. Learning to focus better and for longer periods of time on any business tasks, will help you get more done in less time, do higher quality work, and become more successful overall.  

In today’s economy, being self-motivated and focused is becoming more and more important. It doesn’t matter what field you’re in, if you’re working for someone else, or if you’re in business for yourself. You have to be able to focus and show results without strict supervision or a detailed assignment that spells out each stop of your task.  

When you’re working independently, particularly from home or in your own office, it’s easy to get distracted. Most of us work on from our computers where sites like Facebook and YouTube to name a few are a constant source of temptation and distraction. Being able to focus on the things you need to get done will help you get your work done in a timely fashion and it gives you a leg up on your competition who may not be as focused as you are.  

Here are a few tips to help you get more mental focus while you’re working. Use them in your own business, in your job, or even when you’re studying. They will help you concentrate and be more productive for longer stretches of time. That means you can get your work or assignment done and move on to something more fun.  

Tip #1 – Cut Out Distractions  

Shut the office door, take the phone off the hook, stick your cell phone in a drawer and don’t even think about opening your email program or anything else on your computer that could distract you. Instead, keep only the programs and files you need for the project you’re currently working on open and get to work.  

Tip #2 – Practice And Workout Your “Focus Muscles”  

Being able to focus for long periods of time is a required skill. Think of it as a muscle that you’re working out. Start with making yourself focus 100% on a task for 10 to 15 minutes at a time. As this gets easier and easier, keep increasing the time until you can easily focus fully for 30 to 45 minutes at time throughout your workday.  

Tip #3 – Take Breaks And Give Your Brain A Rest  

No one can give it 100% all of the time. Just as important as working on increased focus is taking regular breaks. Give it your all for 15 minutes, then get up and take a break. Get a glass of water, make a phone call, attend a meeting or check your email, then get right back to another 15 to 45 minute interval of focused work. Setting a timer can help with this in the beginning.  

Give these tips a try and experience for yourself how much more you can get done when you increase your mental focus at work. 

Mental Focus In Your Personal Life  

Our lives are busy. We’re juggling families, households, jobs, and various social obligations, while constantly being distracted by media in one form or another. When it comes to our personal life, we have two options. We can let our surroundings take over and “go with the flow”, or we can work on mental focus for our personal life and do the things we really want to do.  

Yes, it takes time and energy to come up with personal goals and then figure out how to go about reaching them. Some days it’s much easier to come up, plop down on the couch and start binging our favorite Netflix series. While there is certainly a time and place for this, I’m sure you don’t want to wake up one day and realize that you’ve missed out on life for the past few years.  

Working on mental focus outside of work and business, helps you prioritize and make time for the people and things that are important to you. It helps you figure out a way to make it to your child’s soccer game or play performance, enjoy your favorite hobbies, spend quality time with your spouse and close friends, while still having enough time to relax and watch a movie and get a good night’s sleep.  

The key is to pinpoint time wasters and focus on what’s important to you. It may help to keep a time journal for a week or two. Grab a notebook and start jotting down what you do throughout the day. It’s up to you if you want to track what you do at work as well. Make sure you track everything you do during your free time from the time you get up to the time you go to bed. If you’re spending your morning drinking coffee and browsing the internet or watching a morning TV show, and that doesn’t bring you the joy and fulfillment you want in your life, think about how you can spend that time better. Maybe mediation would help you feel less stressed throughout your day. Maybe spending that time working out would give you more time with your loved ones in the early evenings. Or maybe this might be a good time to get around to reading those books on your bucket reading list.  

Keep a journal for a few days or even weeks and review were you’re spending your time. The simple act of having to write it down makes you more aware of what you’re doing. This alone will help you focus on each task. Next, make a list of things you want to change in your personal life, or even just a list of things you want to do more of. Maybe you want to take an hour each evening to play with the kids. Maybe you want to spend more time each year traveling. It doesn’t matter what your goals are. The important part is that you set them and then work on a plan to make sure you can reach them. After that it’s simply a matter of focusing on those tasks one at a time and managing your time wisely. You’ll be pleasantly surprised not only by how

much more you can get done in a given day, but also how much time is left to just relax and enjoy life.  

Find Out What You Need To Focus On  

Before you can focus on a task at work or in your personal life, you have to know what you should be focusing on. After all, working hard on something that doesn’t give you the results you want or need, isn’t very helpful. The key is to make smart decisions, prioritize, and have a good idea of what you need to focus on today.  

Start With The Big Picture  

Before you can start to focus, you need to have a good grasp of the big pictures. Without this all-important first step, it’s too easy to fall into a trap of doing busywork, or continuing to do the same tasks each day without seeing the results you want to get.  

I’m sure you’ve experienced this in your own life. You go through the motions because that’s how you’ve always done it. It’s easier to stick to your habits than it is to sit down and figure out what the big picture is. It doesn’t matter if this is for a work project, or a personal goal. Start by deciding exactly what it is you want to accomplish.  

Make A Plan And Come Up With A Strategy  

Once you have that big picture or big goal in mind, it’s time to make a plan for getting from where you’re at now to where you want to be. In your personal life, that might mean figuring out how you can go from living in an apartment to owning your own home. At work, it could mean going from the position you have now to getting that management promotion, or seeing a larger project through from start to finish.  

It may be helpful to map it out on a piece of paper or with your favorite mind mapping software. Seeing all the pieces in one place and how they interconnect can be very helpful in the next step.  

Turn That Plan Into Action Items  

Last but not least it’s time to turn that strategy into action items. These are simple tasks you can get done one at a time. For example:  with home ownership, this may mean paying off your credit cards, saving for a down payment, and all the little things you can do to come up with that extra money (like cooking at home more, or canceling your cable). For work and business related projects, this means breaking it down into small projects, tasks, or daily to-do lists you can work from.  

Once you have those individual steps it will become much easier to focus on them one at a time and get stuff done.  

3 Simple Focus Boosters To Keep You Sharp  

Getting and staying focused when you know you should be working on a task isn’t always easy. With practice it becomes easier to do, but anyone can benefit from these simple tips that will boost your focus and keep you sharp for longer stretches of time. Give them a try and see if you find them as helpful as I do.  

Write A To-Do List  

When you have a clear objective, broken down into steps you need to do one at a time, it becomes much easier to focus. You know exactly what you need to focus on and when that’s done you don’t waste any time figuring out what comes next. You simply move on to the next item on your list.  

Before you sit down to get your focused work done, spend a few minutes figuring out exactly what it is you need to get accomplished. Even better, do it the afternoon or night before, so you are up and running first thing in the morning. Then before you call it a day, while everything about the project is still fresh on your mind, make out tomorrow’s list.  

Set A Timer  

Nothing helps you focus better than a tight deadline. You can use the Pomodoro technique to work under short deadlines using nothing more than a kitchen timer. You’ll be surprised how much it will help you focus and get more done in less time.  

Grab a kitchen timer, or use an app on your phone. Decide what task you want to work on and set a timer for 25 minutes. Work fast and furious until that timer goes off. Take a 5 minute break and start another 25 minute work sessions. After three to four of these sessions take a longer break, get up, and move around.  

Crank Up Some Tunes  

If you find that your mind keeps wandering, or if you are working in a distracting or noisy environment, consider plugging in some headphones and listening to some music to help you focus. It can drown out the noise around you and help you keep your mind on the job you’re doing.  

There is specific music out there that helps you focus, work, or study. Do a quick search on YouTube and try a few different ones. Classical or instrumental music in general also works well for a lot of people.  

In the end it comes down to personal preference though. Listen to the type of music that gets you going and helps you stay focused.  

Gives these strategies for staying focused a try and find out what works best for you. You want something that motivates you and makes you push harder, concentrate for longer periods of time, and help you produce your best work.

I’m bestselling USA Today and Wall Street Journal author Connie Ragen Green. My goal is to help at least a thousand people to reach six-figures and beyond with an online business for time freedom and passive income and to simplify your life. Come along with me, if you will and let us discover how we may further connect to achieve all of your dreams and goals. This is also why I want you to remember that mental focus is crucial for success and cultivating a wealth mindset and an abundance paradigm as you are growing a profitable online business. Perhaps my “Monthly Mentoring Program” is right for you.