Having Trouble Staying Focused?

Are you having trouble staying focused? A lot of women find they suddenly can’t focus. If they’re a writer they develop writer’s block, if they’re a cook they start burning dinner, if they’re normally into anything it suddenly just isn’t important any longer or they find themselves unable to stay focused on a goal at all.

This is actually something almost every single human being will experience at least once in their lifetime, but usually if you’re having trouble staying focused the problem can be traced to a few things that are easy to fix, such as lack of a proper diet or good organization.

Here are ten things you can do now to help you stay focused:

Improve Your Diet

If your diet is lacking in certain nutrients such as vitamin D, or believe it or not, glucose, then it’s no wonder you can’t focus. Your brain runs on pure glucose, and if your body is not getting enough, you’ll be cloudy, easily distracted, and you’ll find it near impossible to focus. Some foods that can help are bananas, berries, a big mixed salad, and lean proteins such as chicken or fish. Also, don’t forget to stay hydrated!

Change Something

Consider whether it’s possible that your lack of focus stems from needing a change. If you feel stuck in a rut, you may need to simply change what you’re doing. If you’re no longer inspired to do that thing, whatever it is, take a break from it and consider whether or not you ever need to do it again. Just because something was great at one time doesn’t mean it always will be.

Get Some Exercise

I know, you’ve heard it said before, but getting up and moving on a regular basis is essential for good health. Lack of exercise can cause you to generally feel tired, unmotivated, and well, just gross. Exercise doesn’t have to be hard, it can be a simple, 20 minute walk, fast housework, dancing, bowling or gardening. If it’s something you enjoy doing, all the better. Get up, get moving, and get your focus back.

Eliminate Distractions

Guess what, the idea of multi-tasking has gotten completely out of control and it’s not good for you. Turn off the TV, cell phones, social media, email and eliminate anything else that can interrupt what you’re doing. Now that people think they have to do everything at once, and the idea of multitasking has become the norm in job descriptions, we’re missing out on a wonderful human experience which is called, flow. Flow is where you’re most creative in what you’re doing, and an hour feels like five minutes, and you’re deeply involved and engrossed in what you’re doing. If you don’t set aside at least 90 minutes of time in which no one can interrupt you to do certain tasks, you’ll never enter flow.

Create a Vision Board

If you’re having issues with focusing, try creating a vision board of “what if I ______” to see what your day or life would be like if you could focus better.  Sometimes just seeing how life could be “if only” can make “if only” come true.

Get a Life Coach

If you’re really having issues with getting focused try finding a life coach that specializes in your issues. A coach is singularly qualified to help you because they are trained to help you actually solve problems rather than find problems. For instance, you can go to a life coach to address your issue of focus, or weight loss, or life balance, or anything else you need perspective on. A life coach will devote themselves to helping you address that one issue before moving on to a new issue.

Meditate or Pray

It’s scientifically proven that prayer and meditation can improve focus. Taking just ten minutes out of your day to sit silently, or pray, or do a formal meditation will improve your life in a drastic way. Ten minutes may not seem like a long time to do something like this, but give it a try and you’ll soon see that ten minutes is long enough to teach your mind to focus on one thing at a time.

Set a Timer

If you’re having trouble focusing on a particularly dreadful task that you must do, set a timer, work on it until the timer goes off, then move on to something else. You’ll find that if you give yourself an end time that is clearly defined the dreaded task won’t be as bad.

Do One Thing

If you’re having trouble focusing in general, on anything, write a list and then just do one thing. By just doing one thing on your list you’ll feel accomplished and probably motivated to do the next thing on the list.

What’s your favorite trick for recovering when you’re having trouble staying focused? I love doing just one thing and creating visuals. Let me know what works for you!