Staying focused can be a struggle for anyone with anything that they are trying to do. Which is why it’s so important to learn the right skills to help you learn to stay focused. So that when you need to use these tools you already have learned them and are able to pull from your skills to stay focused and productive. These 12 productivity hacks to help you stay focused can serve as those tools for you!
Learning to stay focused and productive can be life changing. It can help you stay on track so you can work towards achieving your goals. To become the best possible version of yourself and make your dreams come true! Which is why I can’t state enough times that it is so important to learn how to stay focused and be productive when you want to be.
But real quick- I want to remind everyone that is okay to have chill and lazy days! There is nothing wrong with having relaxing days. But if you are wanting/needing to get some productive tasks done to get you in the right mindset to get things done. Or just looking for a little motivation! Then keep reading for these productivity hacks to help you stay focused!
So that all being said, let’s get into these productivity hacks so you can use them to help you start staying focused. And then you can start using that focus and productivity to really work towards your best self and achieving your dreams.
*** This article may contain affiliate links that I receive a small commission off of. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I always appreciate any support to keep this site running! Thank you!***
12 Productivity Hacks To Help You Stay Focused
Tips to help you stay focused and productive:
Hack 1: Take strategic short breaks throughout the day.
This seems like the opposite of productivity but it’s not actually!
I have a whole guide on taking breaks here but in a nutshell when you take strategically timed and planned for breaks throughout your day you actually can help yourself be refreshed and recharged. Which ultimately leads to improved productivity each day.
It also helps you avoid feelings of burn out and declining mental wellness. Which you don’t want for a lot of reasons of course including that if you get to feeling burnt out you won’t be productive and working towards your dreams. Balance is important in your life and taking strategic breaks is an amazing way to ensure you have balance while still helping with improving your productivity.
Also, make sure you are using your break minutes to truly disconnect. No sneaking a look at your work devices or checking for a message from your boss.
Hack 2: Complete one simple task to start your productivity streak.
Completing a simple task to cross it off your to do list and get you moving and thinking can be so helpful.
Sometimes all you really need is to rip the bandaid off and get your day going. So completing a generally simple and easy task can accomplish that.
This is one of my favorite productivity hacks in general because it can really get your whole day started to just do one simple task.
Hack 3: Do a time log when you are feeling unproductive.
This is my ultimate favorite one of the unique productivity tips!
A time log is just a list of what you do every hour or half hour. In order to be more productive you need to have a good idea of what you do with your time in the day.
If you don’t know where your time is going in the day then you can’t make your days (and your life) more productive. So commit to doing a time log on your next working/studying day and figure out what your time wasters are so you can eliminate them. Which will seriously help to boost your productivity.
Hack 4: Stop multitasking (this trick is one of the best productivity hacks!).
Okay this might not be one you haven’t heard before but it’s one so many people get tricked by.
Multitasking makes you less productive!
You think that you are getting a lot done at once but really your brain is just rapidly switching between tasks. Which means you are losing time in-between while you switch between tasks.
And you are not truly focusing on each individual task. Which means in the long run it will actually take you longer to get each thing done.
Hack 5: Be careful about phone notifications that cause distractions.
The next way to be more productive and stay focused is to make sure you are being aware and cautious with your phone notifications.
If you really need to focus for an hour or so I recommend putting your phone on Do Not Disturb to really stop all notifications.
But in general I recommend going through your notifications settings in your phone and turning off any notifications that you don’t actually want so they aren’t distracting you.
Chances are you get lots of notifications. And chances are you don’t actually want to see most of them. Like those from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, ect. But every time they ding on your phone they are distracting you. And that is an interruption you don’t need when you are trying to stay focused. So monitoring and limiting your phone notifications can help you have fewer distractions so you can stay on task and stay productive.
Hack 6: Make automating tasks a top priority.
Technology is your friend!
In any situation where you can use technology to help make tasks quicker, easier, and automated that is better.
For example, if you can create email response templates do that. If you can automate certain emails going to certain folders then do that! Automating tasks and using technology can really help you be more productive. This tip for how to be more productive can also help you waste less time in your day so it’s a win-win.
We don’t tend to see much discussion about automating tasks in the productivity world because they are newer technologies. But learning to automate tasks and making an effort to do it whenever possible can be life changing for your productivity levels!
Hack 7: Figure out how to avoid your time holes during work time and personal time.
The next day of the ultimate productivity challenge is to figure out the places where you are wasting time. AKA your time holes.
Time holes are times in your day that you are being unproductive. For a lot of us the time holes in our days tend to be getting sucked into social media for an hour (or more!).
Once you know what time holes you are guilty of you get a better idea of how to stop them so that you can have more productive days.
Hack 8: Use a planner or calendar to keep track of deadlines and schedule.
Planners are one of if not the most helpful tool for getting and being more productive and staying focused on what you need to get done.
The planner I currently use and totally swear by is the Erin Condren life planner (get it here!).
It truly helps me stay organized which makes me way more productive. So if you want to learn to have productive days then you definitely need to be using a planner!
Hack 9: Always make a daily to-do list
I live by to do lists and find it so insanely helpful to write to do lists for each day, week, and month. This can be in your planner, on a notebook, or on a note on your phone.
I like to make sub to-do lists as well, like I will do a more vague to-do list for the whole day and then do a list for my work, a list for cleaning, a list for my site, etc.
If you want more details on how to write and really follow your daily to do lists then you need to go check out my detailed guide: How to Make an “Every Day Goals” List.
But this hack is so incredible important for learning to have more organized and productive days. Which will lead to an overall more focused life!
Hack 10: Learn to task batch.
Task batching is a skill that can seriously make your days more efficient. Which is beyond helpful for helping you get more things done each and every day. This productivity hack is great for time management especially if you tend to be easily distracted.
The idea of it is that you batch together a lot of things at once. For example, if you are a social media manager this would be batching a whole months worth of Instagram content photos in one day. And then the next day making all the captions. Then the next batching Instagram story graphics.
The reason this skill works so well is you can really get into the grove of a certain task and often you save time by not having to set things up every day. Getting a whole bunch of a similar task done at once can also help give you some “emergency space” so if something comes up in two weeks you have already finished a lot of the more time consuming work.
So an emergency doesn’t totally wreck your day!
Hack 11: Stop procrastination right away in the morning.
Procrastinating is the biggest thing that holds you back from having a productive and efficient day.
If you want to have great time management skills you will have to work towards eliminating any procrastination habits.
It’s essential to start your day on a productive note. So when you start the day by procrastinating you are setting yourself up for a day of not being focused or productive.
This isn’t something that can be accomplished in one day but you can take an hour or so to evaluate what areas you procrastinate in and then follow this guide to start working towards the goal of not procrastinating any more.
Hack 12: Keep long-term goals and short-term goals visible.
This one of the productivity hacks is simple. If you are struggling to stay focused there is a good chance that it is because you are struggling to stay inspired and motivated.
Which is why it is so helpful to keep those goals that are keeping you motivated visible.
So on days that you are struggling you can look at them and remind yourself why you are working so hard! And again, this isn’t just those big long term life goals! This should also include smaller, short term goals as well.
Korra-Shay
Let’s get social!
If you liked this post on productivity hacks to help you stay focused then you probably (hopefully!) will like these posts too:
- How To Minimize Distractions
- Life Changing Productivity Goals To Set To Become Productive
- 25 Day Personal Growth Challenge To Really Challenge Yourself!
- 14 Professional Habits That Will Advance Your Career
- How To Keep Your Workspace Organized Tips
Let’s really connect and stay in touch!
Below is a quick form to subscribe to my weekly roundup! It’s just one email a week! Which includes my 3 newest posts, email exclusive freebies, weekly finds and favorites, and so much more. I would love to stay in touch moving forward!
You must be logged in to post a comment.