Focus is a superpower in today’s distracted world

Today, the average person has an 8-second attention span and checks their smartphone a whopping 344 times a day!

Once distracted, it can take up to 23 minutes to regain peak focus — so the majority have 24/7 shattered focus.

Amidst this sea of distracted, low-efficiency workers, a sharp focus is an unfair advantage—that can help you beat even smarter people.

“I don’t care how much power, brilliance or energy you have. If you don’t harness it and focus it on a specific target, you’re never going to accomplish much.”

— Zig Ziglar

I want to share 10 tiny daily habits to sharpen your focus—and also boost other areas of your productivity.

Read also: 10 qualities of smart people ( Highly recommended)

The Cheapest (And Best) Productivity Hack out There

Airplane mode — or DND for my less extreme brethren.

This will knock down your daily phone check-ins from the alarming average of 344 to 34 — then to 3 or 4 times a day.

Thanks to our beeping-phone addiction, a silent phone can initially be nerve-racking. But bear with it — that anxiety will morph into peaceful bliss.

Instagram DMs can wait — your dreams and goals can’t.

At Least 5 Minutes of Sweating It Out

Working out is physically exhausting — but mentally rejuvenating.

Research has proven that exercise boosts your cognitive function and reduces anxiety. By releasing endorphins, it boosts your happiness as well.

The combined result is a healthier, happier, and more productive Homo Sapien.

Exercise needn’t mean killing yourself in the gym — a run with your dog, biking under a green canopy, a quick bodyweight workout, or a brisk park stroll works.

Sit in Mindful Silence for At Least 2 Minutes

Stuck ruminating over the past or obsessing over the future, we’ve forsaken the present — the only thing that is in our control.

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

— Blaise Pascal

Meditation is the key to centering yourself in the present — fMRI brain scans have linked it to tangible changes in the brain! To quote Psycom,

“Studies show that different meditations alter eight specific brain regions. These include areas related to meta-awareness, body awareness, memory processing, and regulation of emotions in personal and social situations.”

Even if it’s a minute or two, START — any meditation is better than no meditation. As you build the habit up, inch up the duration.

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A No-Caffeine Way to Beat that Afternoon Slump

1 in 3 of us suffer from sleep deprivation—the glorification of midnight partying and hustling is to blame.

Deepening your eye bags has disastrous consequences — messed-up hormones, hazy thinking, irritability, heart risk, and weak focus to name a few.

A nap is a potent salve for this. Limit it to 20 minutes though — longer ones can disrupt your nightly sleep cycle.

A 15-minute power nap will also “reset” your motivation, focus, and energy to peak levels.

A 2-Minute Way to Clarify Your Thoughts and Plan Your Day

Focus is like a ray of light — without direction, it’ll keep bouncing off every mirror of distraction.

Channel your focus by planning your day — no quicker way to do it than bullet journaling. As its creator, Ryder Carrol describes it,

“It’s among the perfect ways to help you track the past, organize the present, and plan for the future.”

Since starting the habit, I’ve optimized it so much that my present template takes less than 2 minutes!

Sink Back Into Your Couch and Stare at The Setting Sun

Caught in the “hustling” rat wheel, we’ve forgotten the powerful art of doing nothing.

Be it devouring the delicious setting sun or staring at the ceiling lying in bed, leisure’s proven to rejig motivation, improve focus, and speed up cognition.

Even 5 minutes can be a potent “circuit breaker” — resetting the built-up fatigue and burnout.

Pump Your Brain with That H20

You’re probably dehydrated — 75% of American adults are.

Apart from its general negative health effects, dehydration hits your brain hard — since that knotted mass inside your skull is composed of 73% water!

Get a gallon water bottle and carry it along everywhere — this will also allow you to track your daily water intake.

Arm Yourself with A Feather Brush

A clean, organized, and aesthetic workspace boosts your mood, creativity, and motivation.

But a squalid chaotic one? Kills any existing eagerness to work.

Also, studies show that cleaning calms and declutters your mind — done consistently, it becomes a potent pre-work ritual that primes your mind.

Read also: 6 daily habits that ruin your energy (Highly meaty)

Listen to Music (The Right Way)

Music is a double-edged sword — either it will rejig your mood and ignite your motivation or you’ll end up procrastinating by changing song after song.

Even when you pick the right song, the lyrics and music itself can distract you.

The key is looping a single song—the repetition puts you in a trance-like focus. My go-to is Strobe by Deadmau5 or Opus by Eric Prydz.

Go “Cold-Turkey”

Door-shut solitude. No phone. Internet blocker turned on. Zero distractions. A singular task.

As a McKinsey study found, an hour of such deep work will trump 5 hours of painstakingly burning the midnight oil.

The Pomodoro technique’s perfect for this — start with 15-minute work sessions and gradually build up to hour-long stretches.

Don’t forget to intersperse your work phases with pockets of high-quality leisure — reading light fiction, meditating, strumming your guitar, or a walk among lush greens.

Read also: 3 habits of highly positive people (powerful)

Recap for Your Memory

In the hyper-distracted modern day, developing deep focus is a huge tactical advantage:

Generously use DND and airplane mode.
Exercise for at least 5 minutes every day.
Meditate regularly — even if it’s only a few minutes.
Take 15-minute power naps to recharge your energy and focus
Plan your day with a 2-minute bullet journaling practice.
Get a 1.5 liter or gallon water bottle and carry it along everywhere.
Do nothing — admire the scenery, sink into the couch, and enjoy the present.
Clean and declutter your desk before you sit down to work.
While working, loop a single song on repeat — go for Strobe, Opus, or Polaris.
Have deep zero-distraction work sessions — use the Pomodoro technique.
“If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build, end up building us.”

— Jim Rohn

CONTRIBUTED BY Neeramitra Reddy

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