5 Steps to Increase Your Focus

Focus is similar to flow except in one you tune out the outside world and just become completely absorb yourself in the material in front of you. Oh wait, actually they're about the same. Here are some steps to achieve a good sense of flow in your life.

1. Meditate before you begin working

• As much as we probably don't enjoy clearing our mind when we wake up, it is actually very important. Everything our eyes see the moment we open our eyes has an effect on the way the rest of our day turns out and ultimately affects our sense of focus as we have even more tasks at the back of our head running in the background. The solution is to plan your schedule the night before, then clearing your head before beginning on your main task before an inevitable distraction such as an email or text message floods your notifications. Keep a clear mind and your focus will be more fluid allowing you to engage in your work for a longer period of time.

2. Break the big task down into small easily achievable actions that don't need to take more than 30 minutes to finish.

• Breaking down tasks is like eating dinner. You wouldn't eat that whole piece of steak in one gulp. Of course not, you would use a knife and remove chunks to eat it piece by piece. A difficult task is less threatening or requires less resistance to complete once broken down into simple achievable parts.

3. Go to your local library. Environment is key and with the quietness and lighting of the library you will easily be able to come up with bright ideas.

• Personally, I start off every morning in the library as much as possible or even outside the library if there are tables outside. I find the environment very stimulating with people around me working on different tasks and the large variety of books filled with knowledge present. The peace and calmness of it all gets me into a very focused state of mind. If you have not tried it before I would highly recommend it!

4.  Take breaks after studying for a long period of time. This is one of the most important steps because if you fully choose to make the most out of your break it will be easier for you to regain energy to continue working for a longer period of time.

• You can spend this time either going to the gym, playing a video game, socializing with a friend. Anything that will get your mind off of your school work for a few minutes to recalibrate your brain for another push through study session. Consistently working will cause you to lose more focus and increase chances of burnout. It is also possible to do something productive with your breaks such as cleaning your environment or eating a snack you enjoy!

5. Plan your work schedule the day before.

• Planning ahead will increase your chances for success and will help with re-evaluating your current schedule to increase your productivity level. Even if you don't achieve everything on your calendar, you will still be able to continue working on tasks on separate days if needed. As humans, we are not designed to be perfectly efficient with accomplishing every task in one day. It is usually spread out over a period of time to increase chances of success.

I hope you find something helpful here and if you did please consider leaving a comment or subscribing. I update this blog every week with new thoughts and ideas. I also do my best to post on other social media platforms such as Youtube and Twitter.