Random thoughts can easily preoccupy a mind in this mature season of life. Don’t raise your hand if this happens to you too. It is difficult to be efficient at any certain task when I am preoccupied. Distractions are sometimes a necessary part of life. I want to be as efficient in dealing with daily distractions as I am with being productive. Timothy Keller once stated, “What preoccupies the mind controls the Life.” Middle-age brings pre-occupation on many fronts that can hijack your focus and ruin your plans if you let it. These twelve, very functional tips will help increase the focus in your life so that your plans will have a better chance of succeeding.
A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.
Proverbs 16:9 (KJV)
Start With A Prayer
We must first decide where to focus our thoughts, energy, and time. Life is bustling with many tasks and jobs to complete. Take a moment to say a prayer and ask for wisdom, insight on how to plan, and direction on where to begin. God hears us when we pray and will grant us the wisdom, assistance, and provision to succeed when we acknowledge Him. Prayer is the most important step to consider when we need to increase our focus.
There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.
Proverbs 19:21 (KJV)
Eat Healthy
Eat healthy foods to fuel your body so your mind can focus. Avoid sugary drinks and snacks. Our blood sugar levels drop sharply after indulging in them. Low blood sugar levels affect our ability to think and focus. Instead of sugary snacks eat snacks rich in protein to keep blood sugar levels more stable. Eat healthy foods to fuel a sharp mind that can focus on getting the job done.
Multi-task Less
Multi-tasking is a wonderful tool to utilize to get things done. However, the quality level may go down since the output quantity goes up when you multi-task. The very nature of multi-tasking scatters focus into several arenas. This is a prime opportunity for distractions to bubble up and steal the whole show. When a juggler has several plates in the air, he is eventually going to drop and break one or two or maybe even all of them. Focus on fewer priorities to get them done accurately. Multi-task only when necessary.
Prioritize Needs
Many tasks scream for attention daily. Some tasks have to have an immediate response while others can wait a little. Determining which tasks to prioritize first is absolutely critical to succeed and be productive. It doesn’t matter if you are dealing with finances, your job, your family, or just a to do list. Figure out the most important tasks to prioritize and begin there. If you happen to get everything done then wonderful. If you didn’t then you will at least have dealt with the most important issues of the day.
Slow Down – Be More Mindful
Workloads can easily overwhelm you and make you feel like you are about to drop a ball at any minute. Prioritize the workload first. Then take a deep breath, say a prayer and develop a strategy to accomplish it. Taking time to focus on the details of a prioritized task will save you time correcting errors later. It is time well spent to slow down and be more mindful of each step. Take time to fully think out the critical details before beginning the work.
Schedule Set Times To Do Specific Tasks
Bill paying is a great example of why we should schedule times to do certain tasks. Certain bills like your rent or mortgage and automobile payment come due on a specific date each month. To pay after that date will make you delinquent and incur late fees while ruining your credit score. Schedule set times to sit down and do those specific financial tasks. Another way to set times for specific tasks is to choose either very early in the morning or very late at night when there are fewer distractions. It is quieter to focus. You may be a night owl or an early bird. Choose the best time of day for you.
Improve Strategies
Always look for a way to improve your plan of action in accomplishing what needs to be done. Whether it is at home or in your career, new tools become available. New tools can shorten the amount of time needed to accomplish tasks. People change jobs and family members learn new abilities as they age. Look over your task force to be able to adapt to those changes. Address current strategies to see where you can implement any helpful improvements.
Develop A Team Effort
Divide and conquer with team effort! A team can be your family, coworkers, or friends. Every person on the team has a talent that they can offer up. Utilizing the strength of each player is key. What may take one person days to accomplish might only take a few hours with a team that is focused. Look for the strengths of each team member. Develop a team plan emphasizing your efforts there.
Mainstream Your Efforts
When team effort is mainstreamed towards the same focus productivity happens. Divide and conquer multiple tasks when you assign groups within your team to focus efforts on one main task each. When each group within your team mainstreams their efforts you are developing laser beam focus and efficiency. Your team will function like a well-oiled machine when you mainstream their efforts.
Verify The Plan You Want To Implement
Most important is to verify the plan of action that you want to implement. Have you ever seen a football player run a touchdown all the way to the other team’s goal line? It really bites! The play that was supposed to happen didn’t. Wasted time! Wasted effort! No progress made! Before you take off in the wrong direction VERIFY the plan! Make sure every player knows their position and part to achieve.
Stop Ineffective Motion
If it doesn’t bring results, stop it! Can you combine or move two steps closer together to streamline your efforts? Are there any steps that could be eliminated altogether? Time is a precious commodity to waste. Focus your attention and energy to be free of distraction, streamlined, and effective. Do nothing outside of that objective to put a stop to ineffective motion. Phone calls can wait or the next thing you know you will scanning messages and Instagram photos. Stay on task!
Practice Being Grounded In The Moment
Do not let your mind wander off in other directions until you have a free moment to do so. Keep your whole being and focus in the moment. A drifting mind will lose its focus and purpose delaying or completely canceling progress. Being in the moment takes practice. The more you practice the better you will get at staying grounded. Staying mentally focused and grounded in the moment will keep progress moving forward in any plan.
Final Thoughts
There will still be days that will not go right, emergencies and accidents happen. However, for daily tasks that need to be mastered, we all can do our best to stay mentally focused and on target. These twelve tips are very functional and will work in all areas of your life when applied. Prayerfully choose areas in your life that you would like to overhaul. Next, determine what needs to change and develop a strategy. You might need to form a team to complete it. Finally, use the twelve functional tips listed above to see success! Stay focused and be productive at any age with these twelve tips!
Great tips and ideas.