There are plenty of things waiting to distract you from reaching your goals. Here are a few tips to help you keep your focus:
Learn to say no: I had the tendency to always say “yes” when someone asked me for help or advice. But I realized that I was doing myself — and my goals — a disservice by putting others first. There is nothing wrong with being a bit egocentric in your life. You can’t keep putting your own life on hold for others. To achieve your goals, you must learn to say no.
Find a goal buddy: Goal buddies are people who share similar goals. They help remind you of the goal you’ve set and motivate you when you need it. Your goal buddy keeps you on track and can provide you with fresh insight on how to accomplish your goal. Goal buddies can be friends or people you meet in interest groups.
Leave your phone in another room: In the twenty-first century, the biggest concentration killer is the mobile phone. With WhatsApp and social media, our phones keep buzzing all day long. Even though you manage to hold off on sending a reply to a friend, you can’t keep yourself from looking at the message. It kills your concentration, and the time you spend getting back in the zone is a lot more than the time you spend looking at the message — not worth it if you want to make progress.
Work in full screen mode: Working in full-screen mode is a way of forcing yourself to focus only on the task at hand. When you work on a split screen or on two screens at once, you lose focus. Even though you’re only active on one screen, the other screen distracts you. Put whatever task you want to complete first in full-screen mode on your device — and only change it when you’ve completed the task.