Tips On Staying Focused

bybrikel

307 followers

5 years ago

If you are like me, you have multiple distractions that plague you when sitting down to write a blog post. For me, I have my computer set up in my bedroom, but that doesn’t stop my boys, the dogs, the cat, or my husband from asking for attention. I also have multiple tabs on my screen I can navigate to, my phone to check, and the window to look out of…plus, it can sometimes be difficult to focus my brain on the blog I am writing. (my mind wanders to what I need to make for dinner, what the kids are fighting about, and if I paid a bill…haha) Since I am looking to be a successful affiliate marketer and blogger, I decided it was time to write about tips on staying focused.

Stay with me…

You Can’t Multi-Task… Really

You’ve heard it before… I can do multiple things at one time. For most people, this is not actually the case. According to studies done in neuroscience, only 2.5% of people have the capability of truly multi-tasking. Dr. Cynthia Kubu, a neuro psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic, and Dr. Andre Machado, the Chairman of the Neurological Institute at the Cleveland Clinic state:

“The neuroscience is clear: We are wired to be mono-taskers. One study found that just 2.5% of people are able to multitask effectively. And when the rest of us attempt to do two complex activities simultaneously, it is simply an illusion.”

I have found this to be true in my household. For example, if I am watching a show on television and my husband decides to give me a dissertation on a random topic of his choice, I CANNOT listen / watch both the T.V. and him. Many times, his dissertations lose out…just kidding.

So, what does this mean for us who want to create amazing content?

It means…focus on your blog, only your blog, and nothing but your blog when you are writing.

This focus will allow you to go deeper into your content, to create a bigger/better picture for your audience, and it will be more meaningful to you and your readers.

Set Aside A Specific Amount of Time

I have to be honest. This is an aspect I struggle with because I am extremely busy with family, work, church, and kids’ school functions. There are not enough hours in the day to set aside time, or so I thought…

Take notice of what takes up most of your time during the day. You will definitely have activities that happen at the same time each day such as taking kids to school at 7:15am, starting your work day at 8am, lunch at 12pm, etc..but have you noticed increments of time that are taken up by scrolling through social media or watching T.V.? If you are honest with yourself, these things take up more time than you first realized.

In this case, set a specific time each day (or a number of hours each week) to where you dedicate that time to writing great content. Be sure to set the time when you know you will be most productive and at your sharpest. It would not be beneficial to set a time right before bed when you want to sleep rather than write. For me, it would be after work between 4-7pm and during the weekends.

Remember, your times can vary and you have the ability to reset. You just need to find a chunk of time that works for you.

Remove All Notifications

“You have mail”

Ahhh…the blessing and curse of a digital world. We have social media applications, cellular phones, tablets, laptops, multiple search engines, and they all send us notifications. ALL THE TIME!

Guess what. Those dings and pings are distracting. I feel like I am in the Pavlovian Dog Study / Classical Conditioning and every time my phone buzzes, I have to check to see what message I received. (No I don’t feel like drooling…haha!) We all have been conditioned to jump when our phones ring, so even amidst an intense blogging session, it is hard not to acknowledge the notification.

To better focus on your content, you need to shut off all bells and whistles. Put your phone on silent or shut it off, turn off email notifications on your computer, and don’t randomly check them during your focused time. Once you are finished with your task, you can then see how many Groupon coupons you are eligible for or how many tweets have been sent out regarding your absence from Twitter for the past hour.

Have A Dedicated WorkSpace

A dedicated work space is crucial to your focus success. Find a spot where you are comfortable, where the temperature is not too high or too low, and where you will have minimal distractions.

For example, I have a computer set up in my bedroom where I can go and shut my door and focus. If I were to grab a laptop and sit at the dining room table, I know I will be bombarded with kids asking questions, dogs trying to get attention, and the T.V. where I could watch whatever ridiculous YouTuber my kids are currently watching (Don’t get me wrong, these people are insanely talented, but I got a blog to create!) At this level, I am more prone to give into my urges to be distracted.

So, think of it like getting to know someone when you are dating… You want to find a place where you can focus on them, get to know who they are…and generally, that is not going to be at a large gathering of people, a movie, or at a circus, right? You are going to look for more of a place with a quieter atmosphere, a nicer ambiance, and with less distraction.

So…pick a good, quiet, comfortable place.

Conclusion

Did you make it through the entire blog without distraction? How many notifications did you get on your phone? Did your kids take your attention away from the message? If the answer is yes, you’re not alone. Even one of my kids decided to come in and brush my hair while I was writing. (kinda soothing, actually…)

Does this mean you failed? Of course not… This is a work in progress. The more you are able to work on focusing on your blog, the better you will get at it.

Tell me, what do you do to remain focus on writing amazing content? Do you have some cool tips and tricks? Drop me a line below and let me know. I would love to hear from you.