5 Tips to Improve Focus and Concentration When Working

Do you struggle to stay focused on the task at hand when working? You only have so much time in a typical workday, so it's important to use that time to its fullest potential. When your attention veers towards other tasks of lesser importance, your productivity levels drop. You can maintain high productivity throughout the workday, however, by improving your concentration and focus in the five following ways.

#1) Create a To-Do List

One of the easiest ways to improve your concentration at work is to create and use a to-do list. Before the workday begins, create a list of all the tasks that you need to complete, prioritizing it based on level of importance. After completing the most important task, you can move on to the second-most important task, followed by the third-most important task.

#2) Get Sleep

Don't underestimate the impact sleep has on your cognitive function and ability to concentrate. According to a Gallup survey, two in five U.S. adults don't get enough sleep at night. Lack of sleep can affect your health in a myriad of ways. Perhaps the most notable effect, however, is closed cognitive function. You'll experience a mental "cloudiness" that prevents you from concentrating at work, thereby lowering your productivity.

#3) Eliminate Distractions

It's important that you eliminate distractions in your workplace. Different workplaces have different distractions. The fact remains, however, that all workplaces have at least some distractions. Maybe it's your computer's email program constantly notifying you of new emails, or perhaps it's noisy coworkers. Regardless, you should identify distractions in your workplace and take the necessary steps to resolve them.

#4) One Task at a Time

Some workers believe that they'll produce more work in less time by multitasking. Rather than focusing on a single task, they attempt a half-dozen or more tasks simultaneously. But research has shown that multitasking actually hurts productivity. When you're juggling multiple task, you'll work more slowly and produce less work. Therefore, it's recommended that you focus on a single task to avoid the hurdles of multitasking.

#5) Drink Coffee

There's a reason more than three-quarters of Americans drink coffee. Aside from the delicious flavor, coffee improves mental clarity and concentration. With its high concentration of caffeine, drinking it before and during work can help you focus on the task at hand, resulting in higher productivity levels.