How to Develop Exceptional Focus & Will Power?

 

Oftentimes I hear people complaining that they’re not able to focus well because of distractions, cell phones and the internet being one of the greatest sources!

My friends often ask me ‘How do you resist checking your phone even when it beeps in between a task that you’re doing’. Well, my answer to that is I just don’t feel like checking it. I know it would give me some instant gratification and a dose of dopamine releases but I don’t want any of it at the cost of my task at hand.

The guilt and regret that you feel by leaving it incomplete or unsolved feels way worst. No one likes losing. If you fail to achieve your targets on a particular day, you won’t want to start any task the next day for the fear of failure and not living up to your expectations. This is exactly what procrastination is. We become a victim of it without even realizing.

When we work on a particular task with compassion and focus, it initially feels tiring and monotonous but if we’re able to complete it on time, it gives us a sense of achievement – slow release of dopamine is what I like to call it and it is way healthier than instant gratification.

Remember, the older generation loved to cycle, swim, do gardening and read books during their leisure hours. How many kids do you see nowadays doing these things? They don’t feel the need to do them because they’re getting their doses of instant dopamine from their smartphones. It makes people irritated and leads to lack of patience. We’d rather watch Netflix than read a book.

However, even if it might seem difficult but it is not impossible to achieve laser focus. With little bit of practice and consistency, you will be able to focus well on your tasks and be more productive. It’s all about building a habit.

Developing focus is mostly all about will power. No matter how many solutions I list here, they won’t work unless you exercise your will power muscles and make them strong. So, before we move on to working on our focus, I’d like to help you to make your will power stronger.

How to increase Will power? 

 Will power is a muscle that needs exercise. With practice, you can really have an incredibly strong will power and be able to control your mind and make it do whatever you want it to do rather than the other way round.

Will power can be developed with practice. It can be as little as pushing yourself to do a particular task for 5 minutes extra.

 You can practice will power in every area of your life. For example: If you’re a student, make it a habit to study 5 minutes more than your regular study hours. When you workout, push yourself to do an extra set of workout than what you usually do.

 Keep smaller goals to avoid procrastination. When you keep practicing, you’ll see that slowly you’ll be able to resist distractions and focus your mind on the task ahead. If you feel like checking your phone, check it 5 minutes later. Practice this power of resistance to develop mental strength.

Okay, now that we’ve understood how to work on our will power, let’s move on to the main topic.

 How to develop focus?

1.  Know your Reason

 To achieve anything big in life, we must figure out the reason for doing it and it has got to be a strong one. If you do something just for the sake of it, you will never have the zeal to perform well. 

No matter what it is, there will definitely be a reason and spend some time alone to figure it out. Once you find out your reason, write it on a piece of paper and paste it in your room so that you see it everyday and are reminded of why you’re doing what you’re doing.

 

2. Make a time table and set deadlines

 It is very difficult to achieve something if we don’t know the goal and the deadline. Until and unless you make a proper routine, you’ll end up procrastinating only to realize in the end that you’ve wasted days without doing anything productive! 

Time is the greatest gift and you can get a lot done if you use it constructively. Make an achievable time table with specific goals and deadlines. This will push you to work everyday. With each completed target, you’ll feel more energized and happy to complete the next one.  

 

   3. Keep Distractions away

 Distractions will be everywhere. However, if you can limit some of them, you’ll save a lot of time. 

For example: If your phone distracts you, keeping it far away from your work desk will help you to stay focused. When you keep it far away, you won’t check it as many times as you would if you kept it within reach. If you’re at office, you may keep it inside your bag than placing it on your table.  

 

    4. Visualization

 When we fail to get things done, we only start visualizing the worst. We think thoughts like ‘Oh, I’m not good’, ‘I can’t complete my targets’ and so on. This will only aggravate your problems.

  Instead, wake up in the morning and visualize the best. Imagine yourself working well throughout the day. Tell yourself ‘Today’s going to be a great day and I will achieve all my pending tasks on time’.

 

Visualization works wonders. We don’t realize that we create our own problems with our thoughts. Just have positive, energizing thoughts in your mind and see how you progress.

 

     5. Meditate

 Our mind is like a monkey. In order to keep it focused and balanced, meditation is the key. If you run short of time, even 5 minutes a day will serve your purpose.

  Make it a habit to meditate regularly if you feel you’re a distracted person. It will bring about a big change.

After you wake up, you may enjoy your cup of tea/coffee, do a 20 minute workout and a quick 5 -10 min meditation before you start your day. This will get you physically and mentally prepared and you will feel fresh and productive throughout the day.

 

    6.Reward Yourself

 It is important to reward yourself for your achievements. I would call it a part of self- love. After completing a major task, reward yourself to your favourite ice-cream or to a nice outing. This will motivate you to continue working hard.

 

      7. Positive Affirmations

 

You won’t feel energized if your thoughts are improper. If you feel you’re a pessimistic person or you tend to see the bad in everything, don’t worry, it can be changed with a small practice.

Positive affirmations are nothing but positive sentences. You’ll find a lot of positive affirmation videos on Youtube. One of my favorites is Fresh Affirmations.  What you need to do is find one which you really like and play it thrice a day while you’re doing household chores or any unproductive work.

 Let it ingrain into your subconscious mind. If possible, repeat the affirmations out loud with a smile and feel every word. You will see that this instantly makes you feel happier. Good thoughts will always make you feel good and bad thoughts will make you feel tired and gloomy. This practice is very useful in rewiring your mind towards positivity.

 

     8. Good sleep

Now, this is something that we often take for granted. If you’re someone who scrolls through the phone endlessly before falling asleep, I highly suggest you to develop a habit of keeping your phone aside when you sleep.

Your sleep is precious if you want to achieve maximum productivity and success in life. Never carry your phone to your bed if you want to have a healthy sleep routine. 

6 – 8 hours of sleep is considered normal however it depends from person to person. 

Oversleeping makes you feel groggy and under sleeping makes you feel irritated. So you’ve got to strike the right balance and figure out what suits you best. A good night’s sleep will ensure productivity and a healthy mind.

 

Conclusion

Friends, developing focus is no rocket science. I agree it’s difficult but it’s not impossible. It’s just a matter of routine and practice. In fact, once you get engrossed into your work routine, it’ll feel harder to be a distracted person. I say this from experience. These small tips have helped me to be a more productive person and I hope that they help you too.

 And always remember – “Where focus goes, energy flows”.

 Please feel free to use the comment section below if you have more tips to share. If you find this article useful, do share it with friends and family. Sharing is caring. 💗