If you are unable to focus for long periods of time,you would be well awareof how difficult it is to be productive. Tasks that should only take a few minutes will end up being much longer simply because you can’t concentrate on what you are doing. Not to mention, it can be difficult to retain information since you can’t seem to pay attention for long enough.
If you have gone through life with a relatively short attention span, you might think you have to endure low productivity in your work. Well, the good news is that this simply isn’t true! For tips to change the way you work, just go through some of the points mentioned in the article below:
Work During Your Optimal Time
Most people tend to classify themselves as either morning larks or night owls. This means that they are most productive respectively during the morning or the night. However, this is an overly restrictive view of looking at the way you work. While you might be more alert during certain times of the day than others, it is not as simple as that.
So, how do you figure out when you do your best work? Well, firstly you can start keeping track of how long you take to complete various tasks. You should do this whenever you are working – whether it is during the daytime or the nighttime. Continue this practice until you have enough data to make a proper judgment. Now, it is simply a matter of figuring out when you were most focused and able to complete tasks more quickly and effectively. Once you have done this, just start working on the less interesting projects at this time and you will find that you are able to focus a lot better.
Plan to Avoid Your Distractions
When you have a short attention span, it might seem that you are even more susceptible to distractions. So, you could waste precious time getting sidetracked by interruptions such as phone calls, text messages, colleagues, and more. This is why you need to take steps to ensure that these aren’t issues anymore.
To start with, put your phone on silent and put it away in a drawer where you can’t see it. Inform friends, family members, and co-workers of this practice and provide them with an alternative to getting in touch with you, such as e-mail. If you simply can’t stop heading to social media sites or similar platforms, then it is time to block these on your computer, at least for short periods of time. If you feel like it is your colleagues that are to blame for these distractions, try working alone in a quiet place. In case this isn’t possible, get a pair of earplugs – of course, tell everyone that you are wearing them first.
Provide Yourself with an Outlet
Let’s face it, regardless of how dedicated you are to your job, there are probably some tasks that are so boring that they could put you to sleep. Nonetheless, these are part of life. Regrettably, when you have a short attention span, a boring task can seem nearly impossible to complete. Fortunately, scientists may have come up with a solution to help you solve this problem – fidgeting.
See, there are a number of experts that believe your body’s way of relieving the boredom of certain tasks is to fidget. This leaves your mind better-equipped to focus on the activity at hand. So, when you are having trouble trying to finish a particular piece of work, perhaps try playing with fidget spinners or some other object. You may just find that you are able to complete the task more easily.
Divide Tasks into Smaller Objectives
When you look at a large task, you can almost feel your attention slipping away. This is because your brain can struggle when you look at such an activity as a whole. Furthermore, just imagining how long such a task will take could be rather overwhelming as well.
This is why you should try to break the larger assignment down into smaller objectives. Try to make sure that each of the smaller tasks won’t take more than 10 to 15 minutes to complete. This way, you will feel like you have achieved something every so often, thus boosting your motivation to keep working.
Take a Break
Last but not least, it can help to take a short break on a regular basis. Even the most focused individual can only effectively concentrate for so long. To prevent burning out, try to give yourself a break every hour or so. All you need to do is to get out of your chair and walk for a few minutes until you feel that you are ready to get back to work again.
As you can see, you don’t need to let a short attention span decrease your productivity in any way. Instead, use the guidelines mentioned above to work at an efficient pace and get your work done faster.