Staying focused can be stressful! Opportunities to interrupt tasks lurk everywhere. No, you are not alone in your struggle to stay focused. This is a worldwide problem. The demand for distraction solutions has spearheaded a burgeoning field of academic study and research called interruption science. This interdisciplinary scientific study is concerned with how interruptions affect human performance. The following are four tips identified to help those who are hard-wired with a busy mind to stay focused.
1-Own It
Creatives and those with busy minds can easily lose focus by being distracted by innovative thoughts. Stop beating yourself about this problem. Just own it! This decision to embrace your problem will give you permission to recognize and adopt new strategies to complete your tasks. Why continue to waste your time feeling bad about being distracted? Negative thinking only reduces your self-confidence.
The ability to stay focused may not be your strength, but you have other assets. By “owning it” you will be more willing to adopt strategies to strengthen this weakness. Why overthink your mindset? Initiating a change in personal habits requires the acceptance that your distractions and interruptions are a problem. There is no need to change good habits that are effective and stress-free.
2-Rethinking Strategies
Staying focused often requires that you devise a new action plan. If you have an innovative and busy mind, it’s just too easy to get distracted by your creative thoughts! The use of a mental image of your problem may help you to anchor. Seeing a visual image of the problem throughout your day can serve as a powerful reminder.
Place a picture of the problematic image on your cell phone, descriptive words on post-it notes on your laptop and index cards on the wall that describe the problem. These will be constant reminders of your new action plan. These visual pictures of your problem can help you combat your tendency to easily be distracted by the next idea that comes to mind.
3-Manage Lists
The “to-do list” has been referred to as the most powerful tool for completing tasks. Those struggling with distractions and interruptions will benefit by using this tool strategically. The barrage of instant messaging from colleagues, telephone calls, and email interruptions can make the “to-do list” more challenging for those with an active mind.
Find the appropriate time to complete a to-do list. Being overstimulated with thoughts is not the best time to create the list. Take extra steps to seek quietness in order to slow down active thoughts and increase your focus and task efficiency. Late evening has been a popular time cited to edit and review the next day agenda.
Conventional wisdom from traditional time management theories would suggest including every task to be done on your list. Directives are given to get all tasks out of your head and onto paper. Meanwhile, busy minds that are confronted with a long list of required tasks can easily be derailed by another task with visual overstimulation. Active minds just have to address their tasks differently, so list making has to be decisive, with an appointment time for each action.
4-Limit Multitasking
Humans are ineffective at multitasking, which relies on the brain’s ability to switch cognitive tasks. Researchers refer to multitasking as “task switching.” Busy minds that struggle with task switching can increase their difficulties when attempting to multitask. A study by UC Irvine sheds light on the impact of interruptions on productivity. The lead investigator, Gloria Mack, shared her findings on Fast Company, “We found about 82 percent of all interrupted work is resumed on the same day. But here’s the bad news — it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the task.”
Staying Focused Plan
Staying focused requires a constant awareness of your decision to manage the numerous opportunities for distractions and interruptions. Acceptance of your challenge to stay focused and the desire to improve starts your change journey. Creative types with busy minds require self-management strategies that incorporate their unique requirements.