Time to focus is one of the biggest competitive advantages you can give yourself. When you give yourself time to fully immerse yourself in your work, you can boost your creativity, productivity and problem-solving capabilities.
Many of us don’t prioritize focus time, though. Some research shows that workers spend an average of fewer than three hours a day on productive tasks. The rest of their time goes to distractions or neutral activities that don’t really move the needle. What can we do? Carve out time to focus.
In this issue of PromoPro Daily, we share tips from Jocelyn Brown, an author at Hypercontext, on why it’s essential to make more time for focusing and how you can do it.
Why Focus Time Is So Important
1. It can skyrocket your productivity. When you eliminate distractions and focus on a single task, Brown says you can work more efficiently and get more done in less time. Switching tasks requires time and energy. Instead of jumping from one thing to the next, focus on one thing at a time. Move on when your allotted focus time is up or you have completed the task.
2. It can improve your engagement, mood, stress and frustration. Browns points out research that shows how interruptions can have a serious impact in all kinds of ways, including morale, efficiency and productivity. When you and your team are constantly distracted, you’re much more likely to feel stress and frustration.
3. It can help you hit your goals. Want to hit those sales goals? Allow yourself more focus time. According to Brown, when you have a clear and dedicated block of time to work on a specific goal, you can make more progress and achieve more than you would by going back and forth between promo projects.
How To Create More Focus Time
You don’t need any time-management app or tool – you just need to block out time in your calendar for deep work. Instead of letting other people’s priorities and meetings crowd out your time, be intentional about setting time for focus. Block out a period of focus time from one to three hours. Brown recommends setting your focus time for the same time each day.
You may feel like you’re too busy to carve out focus time, but the advantages make it worth it. Not only will you set the stage to achieve flow state – when you’re fully in the zone on your work – but you’ll end up being more efficient and less stressed as a result.
Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Jocelyn Brown is an author at Hypercontext, an app that helps streamline meetings, goals and morale.