You have a potentially revolutionary business idea. You have the time and resources to get it off the ground. There’s just one vital ingredient missing: your ability to focus. A lack of concentration can be the death knell of many a promising startup. Entrepreneurs can’t rely upon their innovative ideas alone; they also need the discipline to see their plans through to the end. If you are starting a business and finding it impossible to focus, take a look at these twelve secrets to unlocking your concentration and giving your business a fighting chance.
- Visualize Your Main Goal
Before you get into the finer details of what you want out of your business, reflect on your main aims. Sometimes the steps along the way can be distracting, so instead, try focusing on your biggest goal. This might be building your business to be worth a certain figure or growing it internationally within a set time period. You can worry about breaking down the milestones later. For now, imagine yourself achieving the main goal so you know what you are working towards.
- Don’t Let Unreliable Tech Get in the Way
Sometimes you might sit down at your desk, fully prepared to concentrate on your work, only to find that your gadgets aren’t working as expected. When technology works, it can be miraculously efficient, but when it doesn’t, there is nothing quite as frustrating. You can look for managed IT support Los Angeles to help solve your tech problems. Your computer failing to load the necessary program or your internet playing up can be a terrible distraction that throws you off course. Avoid these situations with reliable tech and trustworthy IT support.
- Clear Your Mind
Running a business requires you to think about hundreds of little matters at once. Responsibilities, ideas, concerns, and doubts all run through your head only to distract you from concentrating on the task at hand. You may even struggle to find a place to start when your head is full. Set aside some time purely dedicated to releasing this pressure from your mind and body. Meditation can be a fantastic way to clear your mind of unnecessary stress, priming you for a session of focus.
- Identify Your Most Common Distractions
What one person can work through, you might see as an unbearable distraction. Some people can easily focus while there is background noise, just as some people need full-power noise-canceling headphones to even get their thoughts in order. Identifying your personal distractions is the first step to eliminating them. Take note of what distracts you most whenever you sit down to work on your business. If, for example, having your phone nearby causes you to check your notifications or scroll social media instead of concentrating, put it in another room on airplane mode.
- Set Up Your Ideal Workspace
Your surroundings are more important than you might think when trying to focus. Most entrepreneurs at the start of their careers don’t have large, luxurious offices to work from. However, you can still make changes to your current workspace so that it is more conducive to concentration. A comfortable seat and a tidy desk will make it easier for you to work without the distractions of a painful spine or cluttered surface.
- Figure Out How You Best Absorb Information
Not everyone takes in information in the same way. When you are conducting research for your business or communicating with stakeholders, you will need to absorb information and process it quickly. Do you find it easier to read data analytics or hear them in a presentation? Do you remember details better after seeing them in an email or listening to them as part of a discussion? Play to your strengths so that your brain can focus on the content of the information rather than the mode in which it was delivered.
- Don’t Punish Yourself for Setbacks
If you are already frustrated by your inability to focus on your business, you could be in danger of punishing yourself for the setbacks this has caused. Feelings of anger, guilt, and shame are understandable when you set high expectations for yourself and your business, yet your poor concentration gets in the way. However, dwelling on wasted time and missed opportunities won’t take you far. Even if you let yourself down by not reaching a productivity goal due to a lack of focus, it is best for you and your business to move on.
- Ignore the Myth of Multitasking
When someone claims to be good at multitasking, what they mean is that they don’t mind performing two or more tasks to a low standard. If you want to give your business the best possible start, it deserves your full attention. This also goes for individual tasks that make up the processes of running a business. Be smart with how you plan your schedule so that you are able to concentrate on one priority at a time. When you give each task your complete effort rather than spreading yourself thin across multiple tasks, you are more likely to be satisfied with the results.
- Write Out Manageable Daily To-Do Lists
A possible reason that you find concentrating so difficult could be the overwhelming sensation at the beginning of each day that you have a mile-long to-do list. This kind of pressure has a tendency to freeze a person rather than spur them into action. To overcome this obstacle, write down a small collection of the day’s top priorities and let everything else wait. You will find it much easier to get into the zone of concentration when you don’t feel the weight of a hundred tasks on your shoulders.
- Find Ways to Hold Yourself Accountable
Some people are better at completing tasks when an external entity is holding them accountable for their actions or inaction. This could be in the form of a friend, co-worker, business partner, mentor, or family member. Ask this person to check in with you at regular preset intervals so that you have real deadlines to meet. If you find that you excel with internal motivation instead, simply set these deadlines for yourself and stick to them regardless of whether anyone else knows about them.
- Work On Your Self-Discipline
A shortcut to better focus is increased self-discipline. This isn’t to suggest that achieving self-discipline is quick or easy, but it can lead to enhanced concentration sooner than other, gentler options. Develop your self-discipline by finding ways to motivate yourself even when you don’t feel motivated. You need to put in the hours in order to see your business excel and self-discipline will help you make time for your priorities.
- Celebrate When Your Focus Pays Off
The stories you tell yourself about the type of person you are will eventually create your reality. By complaining that you lack focus, you feed this part of yourself with attention and strengthen this unhelpful narrative. Instead, build up a bank of proof that you can focus on important tasks. This starts with noticing the occasions when your concentration has led to a positive outcome for your business. Collect these occasions in your memory and revisit them whenever you need to remind yourself of your capabilities. The more evidence you have that you can focus on your business, the more likely it is that you will continue on this path.
Just because you have trouble concentrating doesn’t mean your business needs to suffer. Plenty of successful entrepreneurs have suffered from difficulty focusing. Use these tricks to improve your focus and grow your business.