How do you hold onto it when you have worked so hard to develop the focus you crave? Here are two ways to stay laser-focus:. Open book with text on both sides and a pen in the middle.

To stay laser-focused, you need to be clear about your life vision. What drives you in life? What is your passion? What is your end goal? What keeps you striving while others are asleep?

What keeps you happy in life? You need to understand what it is you want from life and let it be in your mind that it is about you and not about what others want from you. New Mindset; New Results. You now understand what you want from life. The next thing for you to do is to establish a plan to accomplish it.

Make research, read good books, and follow people who have been there before you. Learn different strategies on how you can accomplish your life vision. Read also: 7 Tips on How to Stop Procrastinating and Achieve Your Goals Daily. You can develop a better level of focus. All you need to know is to understand what works for you and drives your productivity.

Once you can arrange your schedules to bring success, you will start to see the difference. With the tips above, you can learn how to overcome procrastination and let go of distractions. Alimot Akinsanya is an experienced content writer.

She creates high-quality, compelling, engaging, relatable, and research-backed long-form content for individuals and businesses. She believes in the power of words to communicate effectively with audiences. She is a devoted lover of personal development, mental health, self-awareness, and social inclusion.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. by Alimot Akinsanya August 11, Table of Contents Toggle What is Laser Focus? About Author. Latest entries Business Insights September 5, Managing Business Risks in Nigeria: Strategies for Sustainability Business Insights July 10, Business Case Study And Why You Should Care Business Insights May 31, How To Write Prospecting Emails That Get Replies Business Insights March 29, A Comprehensive Guide to Inbound Marketing for Nigerian Businesses.

Alimot Akinsanya Alimot Akinsanya is an experienced content writer. previous post. What You Should Know About Real Estate Investment in Nigeria. Are you unstoppable? Take the FREE quiz now to find out!

only available for a limited time And be sure to grab a copy of Ben's award-winning book, Unstoppable , which has been read by more than 70, people worldwide. Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join. Restructure your morning with a few simple steps that may help to amplify your energy.

To boost focus in the face of distractions, you need a new approach to success. Entrepreneur burnout can land you in the emergency ward. Learn how to spot the signs now before it's too late. In the cut-throat business world, self-doubt can be the difference between success and failure, costing you everything.

Sina Omosowon, founder of TV-mounting business Shine, turned down job offers post-graduation to be his own boss. If you want to invest in a startup, look closely at the people behind the curtain. Their personality, skills and innovative prowess will drive a successful business.

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in The second spot featured actor Michael Cera with a play on his last name.

Even though my first acquisition went to the grave, these ten lessons prepared me for my next venture. It might seem counterintuitive, but taking breaks can actually help you stay more focused.

When you work for long periods without taking a break, your attention can start to wander, and you become less productive. Something you can try is to set a timer for 25 minutes and work on a task without any interruptions or distractions.

When the timer goes off, take a 5 minute break to stretch, walk around, or do something relaxing. Try to stay off your phone, computer or other electronics that will likely prompt you with notifications to engage with it.

Taking these short breaks will help you recharge your brain and stay focused when you return to work. Keeping track of your tasks and responsibilities can help you stay organized and focused.

Use a task list or planner to keep track of what you need to do. For example, at the beginning of each day, create a list of tasks you need to complete. Prioritize those tasks based on their importance, and then work through them one by one.

As you complete each task, cross it off your list. This helps with staying focused and allows you to avoid getting overwhelmed by everything you need to do. Although it may seem like multitasking can help you get more done, research has shown that it can actually decrease productivity and increase errors.

Instead, focus on one task at a time. For example, if you need to respond to emails and work on a project, set aside specific times for each task. Time blocking is an effective strategy to assist with breaking up your day and the tasks you need to accomplish. Time-blocking is a method of scheduling your day in advance, where you allocate specific amounts of time for different tasks or activities.

Before you begin doing the activities of your day, simply create an outlined schedule for your day. Block out specific times for work, exercise, meals, and leisure activities.

Set realistic time limits for each activity, and try to stick to your schedule as much as possible. If the time is scheduled too tight and rigid, you may miss a few start and end times, and that may cause unnecessary stress or anxiety. You know yourself best, so schedule your day according to how you operate.

The two-minute rule is a productivity technique that involves tackling small tasks that can be done in two minutes or less immediately. This can help with staying focused by avoiding procrastination. For example, if you receive an email that can be responded to in two minutes or less, respond to it immediately instead of letting it sit in your inbox.

This can help you stay on top of your tasks and avoid getting overwhelmed. The Pomodoro technique is a time management method, a template if you will, that involves working for a set period of time usually 25 minutes and then taking a 5 minute break.

This technique can help you build up momentum for a task you really do not want to do by knocking it out in short intervals.

It has built-in breaks that force you to walk away from your task and stretch, walk around, go to the bathroom or get some water.

If confidence is the number one psychological characteristic of elite performers , understanding how to develop laser sharp focus is a close second. Tiger Woods took the time to develop his golf mental game practice even as a young golfer and received golf psychology coaching from an important man in his life.

But why should any golfer take the time to learn how to improve their mental golf game and how can they develop laser sharp focus? Even outside of sports performance, the ability to sort through the billions of bits of sensory information that our nervous systems are constantly being bombarded with is critical to our survival.

We need to sift the relevant from the irrelevant and focus our attention on those things that matter most in any given situation. This type of attention is called selective attention. Yet, if someone were to mention your name from across the room, your attention would be instantly grabbed given the personal meaning of the message.

Not only has this skill allowed humans to survive for thousands of years, but it also separates the extraordinary from the ordinary athlete. The best athletes in the world are able to focus on those things that enhance performance and disregard those things that interfere with it. In golf, this is particularly challenging given the solitary nature of the sport, which allows for more time to be distracted by both external and internal stimuli.

When it came to nurturing the skill of selective attention, Earl had Tiger do something very interesting; he had him practice reading while watching television. Having witnessed the amount of attention Tiger received every time he teed it up, it was clear to Earl that Tiger would benefit from learning how to ignore all of the distractions and pressure that goes along with playing in front of thousands of hypercritical eyes.

By having Tiger read a book while watching television, he essentially trained Tiger to ignore the background noise while focusing on a single task at hand. So, should you practice reading while watching television? One study found that listening to classical music while working improved focus by triggering a part of the brain used for paying attention and focusing.

Rose is a writer and artist living in New York City. She writes for magazines, startups and websites, including Entrepreneur Magazine, Frontrunner Magazine, Homepolish and more. Categories Business Tips Productivity Calendar Time Management Meetings Schedule Startup Freelancer Marketing Sales.

Home Productivity Center How to Develop Laser Focus. How to Develop Laser Focus. Rose Leadem Productivity , Time Management Tuesday, February 19th, Tags: focus , productivity , time management.

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According to research, people who work in a room set to around 77 degrees are more successful and focused than people in colder work spaces. There are plenty of things you can do to boost your ability to focus.

To learn more, here are 13 ways to develop laser-like focus. Here's a no-brainer: sleep has a direct link to cognitive functions such as the ability to focus and perform. According to the National Sleep Foundation , quality sleep, which is between seven to nine hours, helps us think clearly, remember more and make decisions.

A lack of sleep can result in an inability to pay attention and focus, lower productivity, slower reaction times and forgetfulness. According to Harvard Business Review , our brains are constantly distracted by "internal and external environments," meaning thoughts, sounds or interruptions.

One way to prevent distractions is the ABC method. As HBR explains, ABC stands for: aware, breathe and choose. To start, become aware of your options by choosing whether to pay attention to distractions.

Next, breathe and relax while you choose to focus or get distracted. Related: 10 Things Successful People Tell Themselves Every Day. From stress to anxiety, meditation has long been known as an incredible tool in managing emotions.

Another advantage of meditation is its ability to help people focus. Researchers found that after three months at a meditation retreat, people came out with an incredible ability to focus and an overall improvement in cognitive functions. The saying, "Dress to impress," stands true.

When people dress up in order to prep for a particular project or task, their ability to focus goes up. According to a study , students who wore white lab coats while conducting experiments made half the amount of errors as the students who were dressed regularly. While multitasking might sound like the more productive thing to do, it actually has a negative effect on your ability to focus.

According to the American Psychological Association , multitasking and constantly switching between tasks will actually take away from focus because you're not allowing yourself time to adjust to one thing.

According to research, a warmer workplace will help you focus better and be more productive. In fact, one study found that a group of workers in a room set to 68 degrees made nearly 44 percent more errors and were half as productive than employees in a 77 degree room.

Plants around the office have long been known to have a positive effect on employee morale, focus and productivity. However, it turns out you don't necessarily need actual plants for this.

In a study , a group of researchers found that by taking a second break and simply looking at a computerized image of a green roof, employees' focus on a particular task improved. Related: 3 Powerful Ways to Stay Positive. Whether it's the color of your bedroom walls or the background image on your computer screen, color has a major effect on us psychologically.

A study published in Science found that when people saw the color red while they were focusing on certain tasks, their performance, memory and attention to detail improved.

Working 9-to-5 in a windowless room with artificial light is far from motivating and in fact can be downright distracting. A study found that people who work in offices filled with natural light experience substantially less eye strain, headaches and blurred visions, all of which deter focus and performance.

From better sleep to lower stress levels, exercise has many benefits, and that includes improved focus and performance too. In an article published in Harvard Health , researchers found aerobic exercise increases the size of the area in a person's brain called the hippocampus, which in turn results in better memory and thinking skills.

However, this was not the case for exercise such as weight lifting and muscle toning, which had little to no impact on a person's cognitive abilities. According to research , a moderate amount of caffeine -- around one to two cups of coffee a day -- is beneficial to a person's focus, alertness, performance and mood.

However, it's important not to overdo it, which can result in dehydration, anxiety and headaches. Related: You Can Reprogram Yourself to Be a Positive Person and You Should. It might sound ironic, but taking breaks can actually help improve focus.

Research shows that short breaks restore a person's motivation and help them achieve long-term goals. According to an article published in Psychology Today , "Research suggests that, when faced with long tasks such as studying before a final exam or doing your taxes , it is best to impose brief breaks on yourself.

Brief mental breaks will actually help you stay focused on your task. Save your favorite rock or rap album for after work. Researchers from Stanford University discovered that classical music in particular triggers the part of the brain used for paying attention and focusing.

Just like your muscles, your focus levels grow the more you use them. However, you also need periods of rest between focus sessions and the right support and nutrition to keep you on track. No-one achieves anything when the only things keeping them awake are coffee and pure determination.

Studies show that your sleeping patterns directly influence your cognitive abilities. The fewer hours of rest you get, the harder it is for your brain to connect thoughts, consolidate memories, and solve problems. Need an extra brain pick-me-up before a big project? Meditation gives your brain a moment to rest, but it also significantly increases cognitive functioning.

Take a lesson from the Harvard Business Review. They learned that your brain is constantly being distracted by internal and external stimuli. Getting laser focused means learning how to wade through those distractions using the ABC technique.

That means:. In other words, figure out what your options are, relax, and decide on the right path. Give your brain a second to sort through all the different things fighting for its attention. A laser is a light directed through just the right conditions. To give yourself laser-sharp focus, you need to create the right conditions for your brain.

Start with music. Not just any music — though. According to Stanford University , classical music pushes the brain to pay attention. To ensure you can stay laser-focused, stay away from anything with lyrics that might pull your brain out of the moment. Fewer headaches mean fewer issues with concentration.

Plants in the office have a positive impact on productivity and focus. Studies say that taking a second break to look at some greenery could be enough to increase your focus.

Green, not your color? Try red instead. Other research indicates that people who see red when focusing on certain tasks experience improvements in memory and attention to detail. Even the way you dress affects your concentration.

Dress the part. You can only achieve true focus when your body and mind is in excellent condition. Start nurturing your mind by getting more cardio into your routine.

Research found that aerobic exercise training improves the size and performance of the anterior hippocampus.

The result is an increase of spatial memory cognitive skills. Another way to nurture your mind and body is to get more water into it.

When the body is fully and consistently hydrated, the flow of nutrients into your brain is more efficient.

A hydrated brain can be more creative, and benefit from better decision-making skills. You might start your day with good intentions, and a strong focus on what you want to accomplish.

However, as the hours pass by and boredom, exhaustion, and fatigue start to creep in, your focus begins to dwindle. According to the late Steve Jobs , the best strategy is to choose a goal and stick with it. To stay focused, you need an end goal in mind.

That means you start each day with a list of tasks that you want to have accomplished by the time you clock out. What are the most important things that you need to do right now?

Get your priorities in order before you jump into work. Huge tasks split your attention into tons of little pieces. To start being laser-focused again, split bigger tasks up into smaller, more manageable chunks.

The smaller the segments, the easier the project will feel. As you progress through your list of smaller tasks, check them off. Got incoming emails constantly pinging up on the side of your screen? Mute them. Close all other tabs on your computer beyond the ones that you need to have open.

You can even block the apps most likely to grab your attention. The Freedom application blocks distractions from websites and apps. You set up the blocklists for sites you want to avoid, and the service blocks them on all of your devices — including your smartphone. Grab a glass of water, stand up, and walk around the office.

Stretch your legs. Reset your mind. As unproductive as it might feel to simply stop working from time to time, your brain is only capable of so much.

Make sure you take regular breaks to stay on track. Anyone can develop a better level of focus. The trick is learning how to hone your mind into a well-tuned instrument of productivity and problem-solving.