How to stay focused at work

The workplace is full of distractions. Whether it’s chatting with co-workers or the television when working from home, it can be hard to stay focused.

There are ways to limit these distractions and bring your most-attentive self to work, as discussed by behavioural scientist and author of Mindset Mastery, Darren Fleming.

“The biggest distractions we have in the workplace are between our ears. The constant bombardment of thoughts that we have to endure. Everything from being drawn back to things last night through to wanting to check social media. Or if you’re working on a task and feeling the need to check in on another task. These are the biggest distractions we face,” said Mr Fleming.

“If you’re easily distracted, it is a matter of learning to develop the skill of concentration. You need to pay attention to your attention. The easiest way to do this is to focus on the air coming in and out of your nose. Just simply pay attention to it. This is incredibly difficult to begin with, and your mind will wander within a few seconds. This is how poor most people’s concentration is. It’s like going to the gym. If you want to be able to lift the heavy weights at the gym, you need to start off with the smaller weights and build up your strength. If you want to have stronger concentration, you need to build up the skills.”

If you are one of those workers who is constantly bombarded by co-workers wanting to chat, Mr Fleming said there are ways to reduce these interruptions.

“[If you’re being interrupted], politely state what you need and have an expectation that others will give you that opportunity. Popping your AirPods in so it makes it look like you are listening to something can also give the visual cue to not interrupt,” explained Mr Fleming.

As for employers, there are ways to create an environment where workers can perform at their best by minimising distractions and easing demands.

Mr Fleming continued: “Everyone is overworked. To cope with this, we try to multitask to get everything done. But this kills the ability to develop deep concentration and go deep into your work. When people are in online meetings and doing other work, they are not paying attention to any one thing. This kills their ability to concentrate. That means they are distracted more, which means that tasks aren’t completed to standard or as well [as] they could be. Or they are completed at 9:30 at night when people should be relaxing with their family.”

He added: “If you want to improve mental health in your workplace, give people the time and space to learn to concentrate.”

Jack Campbell

Jack is the editor at HR Leader.