How to stay focused

Why it usually falls apart

Most attempts to focus fight distractions with willpower while the phone sits next to the keyboard and ten tabs are open. Every interruption takes time to recover from, so a day of small distractions becomes a day of shallow work. Focus improves fastest when you remove interruptions rather than resisting them.

How to stay focused

1. Phone in another room

   Another room, with the door closed. Research suggests even a phone in view reduces focus for many people.

2. Work in focused blocks

   Set a timer for twenty-five to fifty minutes on one task. Take a short break. Repeat. The timer gives the block an end.

3. One tab, one task

   Close everything that is not needed. Multitasking feels productive and costs focus every time you switch.

4. Decide the task before you start

   Write exactly what you will do in this block. A vague task invites distraction.

5. Batch messages

   Check email and messages at set times rather than as they arrive.

6. Sleep, move, eat

   Focus suffers when you are tired, sedentary or hungry. The basics matter.

What to track

Track the smallest version you would still count on your worst day. A row you can clear when tired is a row you keep:

• Phone out of the room
• Two focus blocks
• Task written before starting
• Messages at set times

Print a tracker with these 4 habits or open them in a spreadsheet.

Your first week

1. Day 1. Put your phone in another room for one hour.
2. Day 2. Do one 25-minute block on one task.
3. Day 3. Close all unnecessary tabs before starting.
4. Day 4. Write the task before each block.
5. Day 5. Set two times for checking messages.
6. Day 6. Do two focus blocks.
7. Day 7. Count this week's focus blocks.