Have you ever heard of anyone wake up, walk to work on a nice, smooth path, only to magically have a golden key with a red, pretty ribbon handed to them by a tall, handsome man who says, “Congratulations! You’re now worth more than Bill Gates”?

Now, that’s something we all dream of happening to us (it’s legal to dream), but the grim reality is that, that’s not how real life works.

People don’t wake up with flawless hair or shiny teeth. People don’t magically wake up bursting with energy, and do a million things in a day and still have time to work out, or spend time with family.

In reality, while multitasking exists, not everyone can do it.

But then how do some people manage to leave work early and still complete a dozen tasks in a day? While it sounds unbelievable, there are ways to improve your peak performance and still balance your work and life.

The Importance of Focusing on One Thing at a Time

One of the problems we all have is that we focus on too many things all at once.

Is Jake going to the office party with Karen or Matilda?

What if I use this method to work on the client’s project?

How does Daniel manage to complete his work?

Does someone email his work to him early in the morning?

Thinking about everything all at once can clutter our mind and distract us. Over-thinking everything is also not a good thing as it can lead us to focus on unnecessary things.

It doesn’t matter if Daniel works from home or if Jake goes with someone other than Matilda and Karen; what matters is how we manage our time.

And one of the ways to do this is by focusing on one thing at a time.

By focusing on one thing at a time, you won’t have to worry about doing several things simultaneously and your mind will be able to relax as well. When we focus on more than one thing, we always tend to get confused, mixed up, and forget that we weren’t born with more than two hands.

It can be difficult focusing on one thing at a time, especially when you feel like you’re in a marathon with your colleagues. But relax and know that time management is the key to success. Here’s how successful people manage their time and focus on important things:

­ Organize Yourself

First thing you should do when you get to work is organize your thoughts. Use a notebook or a sticky note to write down everything you have to do throughout the day.

Always start working on complex projects and tasks before so that by the second half of the day, you breeze through everything.

Organize your thoughts so that you don’t lose sight of your goals and targets for the day. Tackle each and every task step by step and plan your breaks as well.

­ 15 Minute Breaks in Between

Now you don’t have to go karaoke to find motivation. People work differently. It’s important to find out what works best for you/ But at the same time, make sure that you’re not working continuously throughout the day. Give yourself 15 minutes after every 2 hours or so.

Take a walk in the hallway or go make some coffee when you really need it. Short breaks help energize us, and that helps us get back in focus.

­ Starve Your Distractions

Everyone has temptations. Whether it’s wanting to secretly take a bite of your coworker’s fudge brownie when they’re not looking, or smacking your boss with a book—we’ve all been there!

But it’s imperative that you throw these thoughts in the bin, install a plugin that blocks social media on your work laptop, and tune out the latest gossip your coworkers are interested in.

Starve your distractions. That’s the only way to feed your focus. Listen to some white noise while you work. From thunder and rain sounds to the distortion of TV, white noise helps you focus on the thing you need to focus on.

When you catch yourself becoming distracted, try and make a conscious effort to tell yourself no. Slowly and gradually, you’ll be able to get the hang of it, and before you know it, it’ll become part of your routine.

Need a helping hand to get you started? Jon Petz offers inspirational and motivational keynote speeches to help individuals in the corporate world find their voice and drive! With years of experience in the corporate industry, he knows ways to tackle complex challenges and improve your focus.

Call him at 614-456-3072 to discuss your training requirements or book an appointment for an entertaining training session.