Share via


101 Proven Practices for Focus

“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.” -- Zig Ziglar

Here is my collection of 101 Proven Practices for Focus.   It still needs work to improve it, but I wanted to shared it, as is, because focus is one of the most important skills we can develop for work and life.

Focus is the backbone of personal effectiveness, personal development, productivity, time management, leadership skills, and just about anything that matters.   Focus is a key ingredient to helping us achieve the things we set out to do, and to learn the things we need to learn.

Without focus, we can’t achieve great results.

I have a very healthy respect for the power of focus to amplify impact, to create amazing breakthroughs, and to make things happen.

The Power of Focus

Long ago one of my most impactful mentors said that focus is what separates the best from the rest.  In all of his experience, what exceptional people had, that others did not, was focus.

Here are a few relevant definitions of focus:
A main purpose or interest.
A center of interest or activity.
Close or narrow attention; concentration.

I think of focus simply as  the skill or ability to direct and hold our attention.

Focus is a Skill

Too many people think of focus as something either you are good at, or you are not.  It’s just like delayed gratification.

Focus is a skill you can build.

Focus is actually a skill and you can develop it.   In fact, you can develop it quite a bit.  For example, I helped a colleague get themselves off of their ADD medication by learning some new ways to retrain their brain.   It turned out that the medication only helped so much, the side effects sucked, and in the end, what they really needed was coping mechanisms for their mind, to better direct and hold their attention.

Here’s the surprise, though.  You can actually learn how to direct your attention very quickly.  Simply ask new questions.  You can direct your attention by asking questions.   If you want to change your focus, change the question.

101 Proven Practices at a Glance

Here is a list of the 101 Proven Practices for Focus:

  1. Align your focus and your values
  2. Ask new questions to change your focus
  3. Ask yourself, “What are you rushing through for?”
  4. Beware of random, intermittent rewards
  5. Bite off what you can chew
  6. Breathe
  7. Capture all of your ideas in one place
  8. Capture all of your To-Dos all in one place
  9. Carry the good forward
  10. Change your environment
  11. Change your physiology
  12. Choose one project or one thing to focus on
  13. Choose to do it
  14. Clear away all distractions
  15. Clear away external distractions
  16. Clear away internal distractions
  17. Close your distractions
  18. Consolidate and batch your tasks
  19. Create routines to help you focus
  20. Decide to finish it
  21. Delay gratification
  22. Develop a routine
  23. Develop an effective startup routine
  24. Develop an effective shutdown routine
  25. Develop effective email routines
  26. Develop effective renewal activities
  27. Develop effective social media routines
  28. Direct your attention with skill
  29. Do less, focus more
  30. Do now what you could put off until later
  31. Do things you enjoy focusing on
  32. Do worst things first
  33. Don’t chase every interesting idea
  34. Edit later
  35. Exercise your body
  36. Exercise your mind
  37. Expand your attention span
  38. Find a way to refocus
  39. Find the best time to do your routine tasks
  40. Find your flow
  41. Finish what you started
  42. Focus on what you control
  43. Force yourself to focus
  44. Get clear on what you want
  45. Give it the time and attention it deserves
  46. Have a time and place for things
  47. Hold a clear picture in your mind of what you want to accomplish
  48. Keep it simple
  49. Keep your energy up
  50. Know the tests for success
  51. Know what’s on your plate
  52. Know your limits
  53. Know your personal patterns
  54. Know your priorities
  55. Learn to say no – to yourself and others
  56. Limit your starts and stops
  57. Limit your task switching
  58. Link it to good feelings
  59. Make it easy to pick back up where you left off
  60. Make it relentless
  61. Make it work, then make it right
  62. Master your mindset
  63. Multi-Task with skill
  64. Music everywhere
  65. Narrow your focus
  66. Pair up
  67. Pick up where you left off
  68. Practice meditation
  69. Put the focus on something bigger than yourself
  70. Rate your focus each day
  71. Reduce friction
  72. Reduce open work
  73. Reward yourself along the way
  74. See it, do it
  75. Set a time frame for focus 
  76. Set goals
  77. Set goals with hard deadlines
  78. Set mini-goals
  79. Set quantity limits
  80. Set time limits
  81. Shelve things you aren’t actively working on
  82. Single Task
  83. Spend your attention with skill
  84. Start with WHY
  85. Stop starting new projects
  86. Take breaks
  87. Take care of the basics
  88. Use lists to avoid getting overwhelmed or overloaded
  89. Use metaphors
  90. Use Sprints to scope your focus
  91. Use the Rule of Three
  92. Use verbal cues
  93. Use visual cues
  94. Visualize your performance
  95. Wake up at the same time each day
  96. Wiggle your toes – it’s a fast way to bring yourself back to the present
  97. Write down your goals
  98. Write down your steps
  99. Write down your tasks
  100. Write down your thoughts
  101. Work when you are most comfortable

When you go through the 101 Proven Practices for Focus, don’t expect it to be perfect.  It’s a work in progress.   Some of the practices for focus need to be fleshed out better.   There is also some duplication and overlap, as I re-organize the list and find better ways to group and label ideas.

In the future, I’m going to revamp this collection to have some more precision, better naming, and some links to relevant quotes, and some science where possible.   There is a lot more relevant science that explains why some of these techniques work, and why some work so well.

What’s important is that you find the practices that resonate for you, and the things that you can actually practice.

Getting Started

You might find that from all the practices, only one or two really resonate, or help you change your game.   And, that’s great.   The idea of having a large list to select from is that it’s more to choose from.  The bigger your toolbox, the more you can choose the right tool for the job.  If you only have a hammer, then everything looks like a nail.

If you don’t consider yourself an expert in focus, that’s fine.  Everybody has to start somewhere.  In fact, you might even use one of the practices to help you get better:  Rate your focus each day.

Simply rate yourself, on a scale of 1-10, where 10 is awesome and 1 means you’re a squirrel with a sugar high, dazed and confused, and chasing all the shiny objects that come into site.   And then see if your focus improves over the course of a week.

If you adopt just one practice, try either Align your focus and your values or Ask new questions to change your focus.  

Feel Free to Share It With Friends

At the bottom of the 101 Proven Practices for Focus, you’ll find the standard sharing buttons for social media to make it easier to share.

Share it with friends, family, your world, the world.

The ability to focus is really a challenge for a lot of people.   The answer to improve your attention and focus is through proven practices, techniques, and skill building.  Too many people hope the answer lies in a pill, but pills don’t teach you skills.

Even if you struggle a bit in the beginning, remind yourself that growth feels awkward.   You' will get better with practice.  Practice deliberately.  In fact, the side benefit of focusing on improving your focus, is, well, you guessed it … you’ll improve your focus.

What we focus on expands, and the more we focus our attention, and apply deliberate practice, the deeper our ability to focus will grow.

Grow your focus with skill.

You Might Also Like

The Great Inspirational Quotes Revamped

The Great Happiness Quotes Collection Revamped

The Great Leadership Quotes Collection Revamped

The Great Love Quotes Collection Revamped

The Great Motivational Quotes Revamped

The Great Personal Development Quotes Collection Revamped

The Great Positive Thinking Quotes Collection

The Great Productivity Quotes Collection Revamped