There are many great tricks people use to keep focused at work or while working. Most Americans get another cup of coffee or pound another caffeine drink and hope to push through.
There are much healthier ways to stay focused, more relaxed, and in a better mood while working. And If you use all of these methods there is a compounding effect that will take place.
1. Listen to Tunes
2. Remember To Breathe
3. Exercise at your desk
4. Focus On Posture
5. Meditate
6. Bite Down On A Pencil
1. Put a Pen Or Pencil In Your Mouth While Typing
You may think this is an odd tip to increase focus and productivity, but it has been studied that it will improve your positivity while you are focusing on something which is less than enjoyable.
Placing a pen or pencil in your mouth will force your facial muscles to make a “smile”. This inadvertent smile will actually trigger subconscious mental and emotional triggers that will improve your mood, increase your immune system, and relieves stress.
Researchers have concluded that this one act alone has many health benefits as well. If you are going to be working on a long project that is less than enjoyable, you might as well trick yourself into being happy while doing it.
2. Take A Deep Breath
When you’re staring at a screen all day long, your bodies natural breathing rhythm decreases. Your breaths become more shallow and you have less circulation of oxygen running through your body.
When you take a moment in your day to focus on your breathe, you can move your blood through your body and increase the oxygen that gets circulated. This increases the oxygen that is in your head and will help improve your focus and energy.
As a tip, set a little chime to go off every so often throughout the day and use that as a reminder to take a deeper breath.
3. Focus on Your Posture
As with your breath, you need to focus on your posture. Your natural body language will throw off a rhythm that may or may not be ideal for your working environment.
A closed and shelter/slouched position will decrease your productivity and negatively affect your mood. When you focus on your posture, while standing and/or sitting you will be able naturally flow with positive energy. With a dominant stance for just a few minutes, can dramatically increase your positivity and your performance.
Other ways to focus on your posture are to use products like ROOST which is completely developed to improve your posture and increase your productivity while working.
4. Meditate
Its, true.. top level CEO’s and some of the most successful people in the world meditate on a daily basis. We here at BestSelf have incorporated meditation into our daily morning routines.
Mediating has been proven to reduce stress and improve concentration. But you don’t have to be shaolin monk in order to start meditating. There are several apps that are specifically designed to help you start meditation while progressing you toward “total enlightenment”
Headspace App is a great way to start meditating and will help you start off with easy guided audio recordings. Muse Headband (which we are giving away) is also a great way to start improving your concentration while meditating, it will give you instant feedback and track your progress along the way.
5. Stand Up and Work
Standing while working has been a booming trend for the past year or so. So much so that offices are now asking new hires what type of desk they would like in their office, standing or sitting.
Using a standing desk will also help with your posture while working. There are many health benefits to it, similar to what we mentioned before with focusing on your posture. Here’s a list of some of the best standing desks that are out there.
6. Listen to Focus Music
There is music that is dedicated to helping you focus. Similar to the sound of the ocean or the rainforest as you would fall asleep, these sounds actually help you stay extremely focused. The rhythm and the patterns are mapped together to help your cognitive function work a little harder and help you stay in a peak state of mental concentration.
There are a few ways to start listening to music that will help you focus. Focus@will sole purpose is to help people focus while working. They have a variety of music type, and you can probably find one type you’d prefer over the others.
Another way to listen to focus music is through one of Spotify’s Albums- many people have put together playlists that will improve your focus, but keep in mind that people put these together for themselves and not necessarily for you. Do some digging and find one that works for you.
Now that you’re ready to start being more productive at work and get the most out of your day.
