6 Tips to Help You Stay Focused All Day

By Anna Sharudenko on April 3, 2020

I procrastinate a lot but I also know how to stay focused when I need to. I am also in college and sometimes, sitting and looking at the computer screen typing another essay this week is the last thing I want to do. Sometimes, ironically I google “how to stay focused.” Do you sometimes browse YouTube for hours and watch videos like one-hour TikTok compilations or the newest gossip on who dumped who in the Hollywood world? Or maybe watch a Netflix series that you don’t even like but it’s better than writing an essay or working on logarithmic integrals? If none of these applies to you, this short, sweet, and to the point article, which tackles how to get your life together, is not for you my friend. But if it does, congratulations and welcome to the Club of Procrastinators.

I am a master procrastinator. I will procrastinate for hours avoiding my responsibilities, laundry, and break the Self Control extension (which ironically blocks all of the apps like YouTube, Quora, or Netflix so you can focus) just to watch more ridiculous compilations of cockatoos cursing at people. Do we get the idea that I will do everything to not do anything?

I am in my almost third year of university and soon, I will tackle law school. To put it simply, getting your brain cells, discipline, and focus is important to succeed in life. I truly don’t think that you have to be talented to accomplish your goals.

In his book, Malcolm Gladwell wrote that “ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness.” In other words, what he means is that to become great at something, like learn Spanish or play the guitar, you must practice it for 10,000 hours. 10,000 hours is 416 days. Obviously, you won’t be practicing the said skill for 416 days straight, but if you dedicate four hours of deep concentration every day to learn and master that skill, it will take 6 years (roughly) to become truly good at it. But did you see how I mentioned deep concentration?

In simple words, deep concentration is when you lose that track of time, when you are in another world, when someone pokes you in real life and you get scared because your brain wasn’t there—it was somewhere else. These lines I am currently writing are when I am in my deep concentration state. I compiled some ways to get your brain into this state because it’s one of the secret formulas on how to get ahead in life. Today, I want to share it with you.

1. Tell yourself the reason why you are doing something.

If the person doesn’t have an “award” lined up and has to do something just because with no reason given, it will be emotionally hard to commit to that task. For example, if I will not write my essay and write it well, I will fail my Mythology class and will not transfer to a university. Or if I will not complete the translation of the document, I will be fired from my job. Have a why. Why do you want to learn Spanish? Maybe because you want to reconnect with your culture or finally be able to hold a conversation?—beyond “Hola, Abuelita. ¿Cómo estás hoy?”—with your grandmother who does not speak English. Envision what that acquired skill will give you. Envision the opportunities it would open up.

2. Have a To-Do list and a schedule.

Don’t just wing it. Discipline and commitment are more important than spontaneity and creative genius. If you will be sitting around and waiting for another hit of creative inspiration, you won’t get anywhere in life. For example, writing. Do you know how many people are there who write only when they are inspired? A lot. A lot of people. Writing is a habit. It’s a muscle. It’s something you have to do every day. It’s lifting weights both when you don’t feel like and feel like it. You get good at writing if you do it for a while. A To-Do list is the symbol of discipline. You have to have an agenda and a plan for every day, so you can measure how your day went and how you can make it better tomorrow.

3. At the end of the day, sit down and write down what you did and accomplished today.

Did you watch 10 episodes of a useless show? Or did you finish all the assignments for the next two days and finish the work for today so you will get paid soon? Did you focus on your priorities or short term gratification?

4. Put the phone away (in another room or even better shut it off completely) and download the Self Control Chrome extension.

And don’t play around with that extension. Don’t dedicate hours to break into it. Dedicate your hours to tasks which you will cross off from your To-Do list.

5. Try the Pomodoro technique to focus in the beginning. It trains your deep concentration muscle.

Using this system, “you break your workday into 25-minute chunks separated by five-minute breaks.” Also, try listening to music without lyrics to get it flowing.

6. Find a quiet area and find a study place that works for you.

If being at Starbucks where it’s loud, smells like overpriced coffee, and a lot of people making noise is your thing, be it. If being at a library works better or maybe working with friends, be it. If you want a quiet place but still have some people around who just sit quietly because you are afraid to be alone, that also works. But you have to understand what personally works for you.

I genuinely hope some of these tips will help some of you out there.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format