My career and life secret: Manage attention

With this blog, I start sharing my personal secrets to own your career. The first secret was: Never stop learning! the second one is: Manage attention! I call this series GLOW UP!

We live in a world where there is no shortage of things requiring our attention. Technology advances have provided people with more ways to connect to the outside world.

Sometimes, though, these conveniences can make it difficult for you to remain focused on your tasks. Therefore, it is especially important to reclaim control over what gets your attention daily. As a mother of two, working full-time in a leadership position next to my coaching offer I have been cultivating attention management to increase my productivity and balance my life.

What Is Attention Management?

Attention management involves keeping your mind focused and limiting distractions to achieve maximum results. It is important to assume a proactive role rather than a passive one. It is about sitting in the driver's seat and making decisions about your desires in life, based on your objectives. By managing your attention, you can focus on the important activities rather than allowing the outside world to direct your attention somewhere else.

Figuring out how to keep a handle on what you focus on is the key. Although paying attention to your work is important, attention management is also about paying attention during conversations and other non-work-related tasks.

According to Maura Thomas, an expert in the area, specific components are necessary to successfully manage your attention in a way that is beneficial to you overall. Developing a practice of focus, concentration, mindfulness, being present, and flow are vital in accomplishing this. Many things can keep us from focusing on the task at hand, some being internal and others external. But if you turn your attention to the things that matter most to you, you can increase your productivity exponentially.

It is important to keep in mind that many studies show that what hurts productivity the most is the practice of multitasking. With so many distractions, the brain has been trained to focus on something else every few minutes, decreasing the ability to pay attention.

Attention management aims to train yourself and your brain to focus on specific tasks for longer periods, thus increasing productivity. Overall, attention management (rather than time management) is the answer to most people's struggle to focus either at work or at home.

Discovering how to manage your attention means developing a practice of behaviors that will allow you to accomplish this goal.

Boosting Focus

With all the distractions surrounding you daily, focusing on a single task can seem daunting. It is important to find ways that will help you to boost your focus, thus increasing your ability to get things done.

Keep in mind that focus is a vital component of attention management and is one of the behaviors you can practice to improve. Once you begin to practice the skill regularly, you will notice a significant improvement in your ability to focus on tasks.

Whether you work at a busy office with constant interruptions, noises, phone calls, and emails vying for attention, or in your home office where the family can become a distraction, finding time to practice focus daily is the only way for you to master the skill.

Here are several ways you can boost your focus:

Take control of your technology

This important step in gaining the focus you need to accomplish your goals includes putting boundaries around your technology. For example, it can mean turning off your phone to focus on a task. It could also mean minimizing the number of windows you have open on your computer to keep you from getting distracted.

Setting boundaries with people

When you set clear boundaries with peers, colleagues, or family, it allows you to focus on what needs to be done without them interrupting. It may mean creating times throughout the day to let people know you mustn´t be disturbed.

Stop multitasking

When you focus on everything, you are not focusing on anything. While your brain can think about several things at once, it needs to have a single purpose for peak productivity. If you want to increase your focus, practice honing your attention to one task at a time until you finish. Only then do you move on to the next task.

Taking the time to practice these skills will help you stay focused and increase your productivity. When you can focus, you get more of what needs to be done in less time than you anticipated.

Better Concentration

Increasing your ability to concentrate is another skill necessary when it comes to managing your attention. It is easy for your mind to go in a million different directions during the day, which is why discovering ways to practice concentration is key.

Concentration is the effort you put into something mentally rather than a specific amount of time. Your ability to concentrate on and then sustain the attention on a certain task all boils down to keeping your mind engaged.

There are many ways that experts suggest you use to achieve better concentration. Some of these methods are simple, but they require daily practice to train your brain.

Brain Games

Engaging in activities and games that require concentration is vital in teaching your brain to focus for long periods. These activities include puzzles, word searches, sudoku, crossword puzzles, and memory games. All of these require your attention and brainpower to complete the activity. Spending time during your day on these games can help better your concentration.

Exercise

Physical activity has many benefits to your overall health, but did you know that exercise is also great for increasing your ability to concentrate? When you participate in physical activity daily, your brain gets the oxygen and nutrients it needs to function when the focus is necessary. Engaging in daily exercise can help increase your ability to concentrate.

Get more sleep

Rest is vital to concentration. When your body is asleep, it can recharge and allow you to focus on important activities fully. Research shows that getting enough sleep is the best way to increase your ability to stay focused.

Increasing your ability to concentrate is a key component of attention management. Being productive requires mental effort, which, fortunately, can be achieved through daily practice. Participating in activities daily to help increase your ability to concentrate will help you pay closer attention when necessary.

Being More Mindful

Mindfulness refers to being more aware of the things you do, the world around you, and the thoughts that come into your mind. Being more mindful helps you focus on the areas where you spend most of your time and energy and make changes if needed.

Becoming aware of your behaviors, actions, and thoughts throughout the day can help you stay true to your priorities. As you hone in and make your priorities, being mindful can help you stay on track.

Many people believe that mindfulness is simply about taking time to meditate once a day, and then that is it. This belief couldn't be farther from the truth. Being truly mindful means that you take this awareness throughout your day and use it to ensure that you are focused on what matters.

There are some simple steps that you can take to become more mindful. Creating a mindfulness practice within your daily routine is vital in attention management.

Here are some ways you can become more mindful:

Incorporate meditation into your daily routine

Creating a meditation practice into your daily routine can help you build the concentration needed to get through the day. Spending just a few minutes in the morning or evening to meditate can help recharge and energize your brain. This practice can help clear your mind to focus on what you need to do.

Get out into nature

Taking a walk outside is a great way to clear the cobwebs from your mind. Being in the fresh air has a magical effect on the brain. Taking a few minutes each day to spend in nature has a way of allowing your brain to become aware and to be present.

Do some stretching or yoga

Studies have shown that yoga and stretching exercises are a great way to increase awareness of your body and its movements. Taking a little time to concentrate on specific movements can help bring more mindfulness to other areas of your life.

Most people have gotten in the habit of going through their day almost by rote by doing the same things every day until it becomes second nature. Doing this for long periods can have a detrimental effect on your ability to focus. When you become more mindful of the steps you take throughout the day, your actions tend to have more meaning.

Getting in the Flow

By creating ways to increase your productivity, you can get into the flow of what you need to do daily.

Developing a practice of behaviors that will set you up to reach a flow state is the key to attention management.

Much of this skill set requires setting up the environment around you to ensure you can concentrate without getting distracted. Again, this is about creating the space and environment that works for you and not others.

You can do many things to boost your chances of getting into the flow. Some of these include:

Use noise-canceling headphones

Sometimes people struggle with getting into the flow of things due to noises around them. Using a good pair of noise-canceling headphones can come in handy. You can get more things done by reducing the number of sound distractions that can distract you from work.

Set up boundaries

Setting specific boundaries is another important step in creating a flow, whether you are working, studying, or doing something that requires concentration. This step may mean setting a timer on your phone for 20-30 minutes or longer as a way to help you focus on it for some time.

Create a productive workspace

The environment around you can make a big difference in your ability to manage your attention. Make sure things like your desk and chair are not only comfortable but in the best position to create productivity. Additionally, proper lighting is vital in reducing the amount of eye strain, especially if your work is mainly on the computer.

Getting in the flow requires you to be focused and mindful of the task at hand. If you take the time to set yourself up for success, you will have a better chance of creating a workflow that focuses on the goals and priorities you have set for yourself.

Conclusion

In conclusion, in today's busy world full of distractions, it is easy to lose yourself and the ability to pay attention to what is important to you. Whether you have trouble concentrating at work or when you are having conversations with other people, attention management can help.

If you are ready to position and reinvent yourself but don't know where to start, let me help you. Here is a link to book a discovery session with me to find out if I am the right coach for you.

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My career and life secret: Never stop learning — Katharina Engelhardt I Career coach for women

Maintain focus under Pressure — Katharina Engelhardt I Career coach for women

Self-care the basis for work-life balance — Katharina Engelhardt I Career coach for women

Knowing your priorities — Katharina Engelhardt I Career coach for women

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