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Have you ever tried to focus on a task while sitting in your office and just couldn’t stop being distracted? As a small business owner, staying focused on the task at hand is not easy. We wear many hats, and it can be overwhelming when it’s just you doing the work day in and day out. I truly believe that it is possible to be effective in your day-to-day tasks. Here are tips on how to stay focused to help you successfully manage your small business.
How to stay focused at work
Eat a healthy meal with protein for breakfast and lunch. Eating food that gives you energy will keep your blood sugar balanced and minimize fog brain.
Do creative and more time-consuming projects first thing in the morning. This way, you will be sharpest while doing the task, and when you are tired, you can work on mundane routine tasks.
Find a quiet place and remove distractions, like a TV or talking in the background. This could even be going out of the home to work at a nearby coffee shop. I like to use earbuds to keep the distractions to a minimum.
For certain tasks, assign a time of day to work on them. For example, if you need to get your paperwork in for a client on a particular day, assign time to do that task. Add a recurring appointment to remind you that that task needs to be done.
Minimize notifications
Minimize notifications: Schedule your smartphone to do its email updates at exact times throughout the day when it won’t distract you, like 9:00 am, 12:00 noon, and 3:00 PM. Also, check out Ways To Minimize Social Media Notifications post to reduce those distractions as well.
Consciously remind yourself not to get distracted. Taking breaks and doing some deep breathing exercises helps redirect your energy and focus and you can get started again.
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Read out loud to stay focused
Can’t understand a concept? Read the content out loud. It helps to understand something when you use additional senses. I learned this when I was in college and it really helped grasp the topic easier and more quickly.
Have at least one day off from work each week. I like to make Saturdays my day off. I don’t even go into the office on that day. Instead, I run errands, take a walk, clean the house, and relax.
Start your week on Sunday evening. Review your calendar for the upcoming week and assign different tasks for different times throughout the week that will help you get everything done more effectively. Mark all the absolutely “needs to be done” tasks in a different-colored pen so they stand out.
Also, on Sunday, write the big picture goals for the week, then assign each task. Determine what the steps are and “see” them completed in your mind. This will give you direction on which way to approach the task at hand. And, as a result, you will finish faster.
Below is a video that gives tips on staying focused on others.
Creative Ways to Deal with Distractions, like kids, dogs, and cats in your home office
Get your free copy of Creative Ways to Deal with Distractions, like kids, dogs, and cats in your home office
Well, there you have it. Making time to stay focused on the task at hand will help you be more in control of your small business. Now, it’s your turn. What are your favorite tips to help you stay focused? Is there something that I didn’t add here? Please leave a comment below.
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It’s also important not to over-schedule yourself. Small business owners tend to get overwhelmed by. all the tasks that face them. Take a big project and separate the activities that have to be done and then attack each one in its priority order.
Very true, Jeannette. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Life as a business owner can get overwhelming so it really helps to have a few strategies to rely on when your day doesn’t go as planned or when your focus is pulled in million directions. I love #8! Confession: still working on doing this consistently. =)
My favorite tips are to stay out of your inbox. Check in 3x a day, and the first time should never be first thing in the morning (unless you KNOW there something urgent and important that has to be dealt with immediately). Another great tip: Turn off all your notifications. Yes. All of them.
I’m most guilty of now planning out the week and not taking a day off to do nothing. This is really making me re-think how I’m allocating my time. Thanks for also including the video Sabrina. It’s nice to get information from different sources.
Great tips! Reading out loud is so effective, it feeds your subconscious. Thanks Sabrina
I think we were along the same lines of thinking this week. 🙂 Getting our business in focus. These are all great tips to help us stay focused.
Awesome tips to stay focused Sabrina! I really needed to remind myself of each one 🙂 Thank you for sharing what we, as small business owners, must do to ensure that we focus on what we need to do . Working from home can be so distracting and cutting out all of those “noises” can really help!
Great post and reminder!!
Great tips in this post, Sabrina! Yes, I do many of them, yet often, by getting a bit distracted I am led to the most fascinating new ideas and pieces of info that somehow are the perfect thing for me in that moment in time. I definitely read all of my articles out loud before I finish editing them too!
These are such awesome pointers. I do a few already, and really like the Sunday night tip. Thanks!
Thanks for the tip on reading the content out loud. I will use this! I need to be more diligent about taking breaks too
Oh lordy…I thought that I was the only person who read content aloud to understand it better LOL. I don’t even know where I got that technique from.
Great tips, though I think it depends from person to person, I prefer to not work in complete silence as it gives me less inspiration and I do not miss out on focus because of that. And for me it is better to do the creative or hard tasks in the afternoon, in the morning I might as well avoid that. As far as possible I try to not work on weekends, unless strictly necessary. Good points though. 🙂
I agree. There are many options for people to stay focused. Every one of them may not work for everyone.
These are all great tips Sabrina. I especially like the idea of setting the big picture goal at the start of the week. I always try to get the most difficult jobs or the ones I’m dreading, out of the way first.
The Sunday big picture goal is a great idea. I love that. Thank you so much.
These are all excellent tips – I think I do most of them, most of the time, but seeing it all spelled out was great food for thought.
Great tips, Sabrina! It took me forever to commit to # 8–have at least one day off per week. I used to work all 7, but finally acquiesced to a day off. Funny thing–it made me much more productive!
I’ve found that setting the timer on my phone for every hour helps me focus. It’s a reminder each hour to look at what I’m doing and decide if I need to continue or do something else. It also reminds me to take a stretch break.
Breakfast is a must for me. So is Sunday planning. These are great tips.