6 Tips for Staying On-Task at Work

Bombarded with never-ending to-do lists and big projects? Not sure how to focus long enough to get it all done? Don’t worry. You’re not alone. Many other business professionals are struggling with the same thing. 

With recent trends in technology, our minds are used to being constantly bombarded with information (emails, advertisements, social media notifications, instant messaging, etc.) and have naturally developed the ability to multi-task and process all of the information at once, which sounds great! Massive amounts of information all at once? We are basically superheroes!

The catch is that even though we are drilled with more information in a day than ever before, our brains still have the same capacity they always have. So, although it sounds great that our minds have developed the ability to multi-task, we aren’t able to process all of the information at once and end up only processing bits and pieces of what we are exposed to. That isn't multitasking at all. It's selective processing. And although a lot of us claim to be great multi-taskers, it is proven that it negatively impacts productivity. Multi-tasking means that you aren’t giving your full attention to any particular task, and in turn, end up retaining far less information than if we were to focus on one thing at a time.

Is it possible to re-train our brain to focus? Of course, it is. 

Our brains are a muscle that need to be re-trained. The more we practice staying focused and being disciplined, the more natural it will become. To help you succeed in your professional career and discipline yourself, I put together 6 proven tips to stay on task at work. These 6 tips are proven to help you stay on task, no matter your business profession.

6 TIPS TO HELP YOU STAY ON TASK AT WORK:

1.    Set Deadlines/Goals.

It is easy to lose focus when you don’t have deadlines or goals that you’re held accountable for achieving. The next time that you feel yourself struggling to focus, try this: set a timer for 30 minutes and in those 30 minutes, focus on giving your full attention to your work or try to accomplish one of the tasks on your to-do list in that time. Then, when the timer goes off, take a 2-3 minute break and repeat. Not only will this help you check items off of your to-do list, but it’ll also keep you focused and help the day fly by.

2.    Remove all distractions.

Although we often don’t realize it, we have become accustomed to multitasking and giving tasks only part of our attention. In the digital age with social media notifications, emails, instant messaging, etc. we are quick to drop the task at hand, to offer quick responses to unimportant conversations that could often be done later. 

To minimize the distractions, you encounter in a day, turn your phone on “Do Not Disturb” mode, silence email notifications and fight the urge to instantly respond to every notification that you receive. Instead, allocate a time, perhaps before or after your lunch break, that is solely dedicated to replying to emails or texts. 

3.    Keep just one tab open.

This goes along with the previous tip of limiting distractions and notifications- keep only one tab open on your computer. Just like a clean desk, with a clean browser, it’ll be easier to focus on the task at hand. Despite all of the so-called digital “noise”, we are susceptible to in today’s technologically ridden society, our brain isn’t able to process any more information than before. We get overwhelmed and are unable to focus with too much digital “noise”. So instead, focus on limiting that noise by turning off the devices and notifications that aren’t necessary, closing out of your social media accounts, since we know those aren’t necessary in-the-moment, and focusing will be a breeze. 

4.    Self-care Matters!

We are all guilty of getting caught up in our work and forgetting to take care of ourselves. Yet, it is crazy what a world of a difference it can make when you are focusing on self-care outside of work. Practice self-care by making sure you’re getting adequate sleep at night, staying hydrated, watching what you eat, AND exercising. That’s asking too much, right? Well, just like any other project, take it one step at a time and come up with personal goals outside of work. Maybe start with trying to exercise 3 times a week or drinking “x” bottles of water.  You can be your best at work when you aren’t outside of work!

5.    Outline tasks/to-dos the night before AND prioritize them.

Some professionals recommend creating a to-do list the morning of, but I recommend doing it the night before so that you can start the day fresh and with a set plan for the day already drawn out. Take just 5 minutes of your time before you leave your desk at the end of the day to lay out all of your tasks for the following day AND rank them of importance or highlight the crucial ones. Doing this before even leaving work, allows you to sleep a little bit more sound at night and come in ready to check things off of your list first thing in the morning. Plus, it gives you a few extra minutes at the beginning of your day to get to enjoy your coffee and mentally prepare yourself for the day ahead! I call that a win.

6.    Get big tasks done first!

I’m sure we have all been told before to start small and work our way up to the bigger tasks at hand, but contrary to popular belief, its more efficient to get the big tasks done before moving onto the smaller ones. As we move through our day and our brains naturally get more tired, we become less productive and our ability to focus worsens. We are at our peak productivity first thing in the morning and it is at this point when we should be allocating time to knock out our biggest or most challenging tasks. Also, keep in mind that big tasks often require short breaks. Allocate time to take mental breaks throughout and give your eyes a rest from your computer screen to maximize your productivity.