Are you struggling to stay focused and productive throughout the day? If so, you’re not alone. Between growing my business, raising my toddler, and navigating the pandemic, I’ve noticed my focus over the last few years has . . . more challenged than ever.
Fortunately, through a lot of research and practice, I’ve found solutions that work for me, my team, and my students. Last year, I started hosting Focus In focused virtual co-working sessions for my 1,200 Grant Writing Made Easy students, and they loved them. Many told me at the end of the sessions that they could not believe how focused they felt and how much work they got done. Here are the exact strategies we implement in those sessions and why they work.
Strategies We Use in our Focused Co-Working Sessions
Grounding & Noticing
At the beginning of each session, we encourage you to physically ground yourself and then notice your body, thoughts, and emotions throughout the session. This mindfulness practice can help you improve your focus by bringing your attention to the present moment and your current physical and mental state.
When you start a focused co-working session by grounding yourself, you pause for a moment and become aware of your surroundings, noticing any physical sensations in your body, sounds you can hear, and other sensory input. This makes it infinitely easier to concentrate on the task at hand.
Noticing your body, thoughts, and emotions throughout the session can help you stay aware of any distractions or unhelpful thoughts that arise, allowing you to redirect your focus back to your work. For example, if you notice that your mind is wandering, you can take a deep breath and refocus your attention on your task. Similarly, if you notice that you’re feeling tense or stressed, you can take a quick break to stretch or relax before returning to work.
Mono-tasking
We help you mono-task or focus on one task or project at a time, without switching back and forth between contexts. This approach is the opposite of multi-tasking, which can reduce productivity, diminish attention, decrease cognitive function, deplete energy, and convolute priorities.
Our brains are not wired to perform multiple tasks at once, and trying to do so can actually reduce productivity and impair cognitive function. When we focus on a single task, we can give it our full attention and work more efficiently and effectively.
Additionally, monotasking helps us avoid task-switching costs. Switching between tasks requires our brains to stop processing one task, shift focus to another task, and then reorient ourselves back to the original task when we switch back to it. This process can take up valuable time and mental energy, leading to decreased productivity and increased stress.
By focusing on one task at a time, we can also more easily enter a state of flow, which is a highly focused and productive mental state where we lose track of time and fully engage with the task at hand. Overall, monotasking helps us maintain focus, reduce distractions, and work more efficiently and effectively.
Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time
When you join us for a Focus In session, we recommend you join us for a time when your brain is already more likely to focus. This concept of managing your energy, not your time, is one that James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, teaches but it’s also one that most people who have chronic illnesses or even just women who have hormonal fluctuations that affect their energy levels intuitively know. This strategy helps you stay focused because it recognizes that your productivity is not solely determined by the amount of time you spend on a task, but also by the energy and focus you bring to it. By scheduling tasks that require your full attention during times of day when you have the most energy, you can optimize your focus and productivity.
For example, if you are a morning person and feel most alert and productive in the early hours, scheduling your most important tasks during that time can help you complete them with more focus and efficiency. Similarly, if you know that you tend to feel sluggish or unfocused in the afternoon, you can schedule less demanding tasks, like responding to emails or organizing your workspace, during that time. Beyond that, if you are experiencing hormone fluctuations associated with a menstrual cycle, you can track those and plan your weeks around those ebbs and flows of energy.
By managing your energy levels and aligning your tasks with your natural rhythms, you can maximize your focus and productivity, and avoid wasting time and effort on tasks that require a level of energy you don’t have. This can help you achieve your goals more effectively and maintain your focus throughout the day.
Benefits to Focused Co-Working
Produce Quality Work
Our focused co-working sessions aren’t here to hack your brain, and we value more than productivity at any cost. Our facilitated focus sessions encourage high-quality work without burnout. By providing a supportive environment and holding you accountable, we help you produce work that meets your standards and exceeds your expectations.
Build Community
Independent, remote work can be lonely. Our facilitators build in time to check in with changemakers and visionaries who are pursuing their passions alongside you. By fostering a sense of community, we create an environment that promotes collaboration and connection, and allows you to learn from others who share similar values and goals.
Nurture Your Power
Proven focus strategies pair timed, intense focus with guided breaktime activities to ensure your focus time refills your cup rather than leaving you drained. We encourage you to take breaks, stretch, and recharge during our sessions, so you can return to your work feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
Honor Your Passion
By setting aside dedicated calendar time, you prioritize what matters most. Committing to your project helps align your values and actions. Our virtual co-working sessions provide a structured environment that supports your passion and helps you stay committed to your goals.
How to Reclaim Your Focus
Participating in virtual co-working sessions can help you unlock your productivity and increase your focus. By using proven strategies like grounding, mono-tasking, choosing an anchor task, and managing your energy, not your time, you can achieve high-quality work, build community, nurture your power, and honor your passion.
Ready to get focused?
