What to Do to Focus Better? 10 Coaching Practices to Try
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For What to Do to Focus Better, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Practices that may help
- Keep an attention capture list during hyperfocus
Write down every impulse, distraction, and off-topic idea that arises during a session rather than acting on or suppressing it.
Hyperfocus: Directing Intense Attention to What Matters Most - Design cues that summon focus mode
Build environmental triggers that signal “focus now” to your brain.
Mind Wandering and the Default Mode Network - Hyperfocus: Directing Intense Attention to What Matters Most
Hyperfocus, as described by Chris Bailey, is a state of intense, voluntary attention on a single task — the opposite of distraction. It is not the same as the hyperfocus associated with ADHD. Bailey argues that deliberately entering and sustaining this state for the most important tasks is one of the highest-leverage productivity skills, though his framework is practitioner-level insight rather than peer-reviewed research. - Distinguish applying from sustaining attention
First, aim attention at the object (applying); then, stay with it without tightening (sustaining).
Shamatha: The Buddhist Practice of Calm Abiding - Design an environment that reliably triggers hyperfocus
Create a physical or digital environment that your brain associates exclusively with deep work so it enters the state faster.
Hyperfocus: Directing Intense Attention to What Matters Most - Calibrate your personal hyperfocus window length
Find the session length at which your focus quality begins to decline and use that as your block ceiling.
Hyperfocus: Directing Intense Attention to What Matters Most - Set a deliberate intention before each hyperfocus session
Name the single task you intend to focus on and why it matters before beginning a deep work block.
Hyperfocus: Directing Intense Attention to What Matters Most - Use more distal external focus for greater performance benefits
Focus further from the body (on the target, not the implement) for the largest attention benefit.
External Focus of Attention, Made Practical - Energy: treat the body as the engine
Protect sleep, movement, food, and quiet, because attention runs on physical energy.
Make Time, Made Practical - Use external focus to improve balance and stability
Focus on the feeling of the surface or a distant stabilization target rather than on your postural muscles.
External Focus of Attention, Made Practical
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- Right when I’m finally locked in, my brain throws up "remember to email so-and-so," and if I act on it the focus is shattered, but if I try to ignore it the thought just gets louder and keeps tugging until I deal with it.
- Every time I sit down to work it takes me ages to drop into focus, and the opening stretch is where I drift the most
- When I do manage to focus, I do it by clamping down hard on the object, and within a couple of minutes I’m tense and worn out
- I try to focus from the same spot where I also scroll, eat, and watch shows, and my brain has no idea which mode it’s supposed to be in
- I keep forcing myself to push through long blocks because some article said 90 minutes, but I can feel my focus quietly turn to mush partway in and the rest is just me staring
Related concerns
- Focus The Ultimate Guide On How To Improve Focus And Concentration
Hyperfocus, as described by Chris Bailey, is a state of intense, voluntary attention on a single task — the opposite of distraction. It is not the same as the hyperfocus associated with ADHD. Bailey argues that deliberately entering and sustaining this state for the most important tasks is one of the highest-leverage productivity skills, though his framework is practitioner-level insight rather than peer-reviewed research.
- How To Focus Better
Write down every impulse, distraction, and off-topic idea that arises during a session rather than acting on or suppressing it.
Keep an attention capture list during hyperfocus
- How To Increase Focus Or Concentration
Build environmental triggers that signal “focus now” to your brain.
Design cues that summon focus mode
- How To Increase The Focus And Concentration
Build environmental triggers that signal “focus now” to your brain.
- Focus And Concentration
Hyperfocus, as described by Chris Bailey, is a state of intense, voluntary attention on a single task — the opposite of distraction. It is not the same as the hyperfocus associated with ADHD. Bailey argues that deliberately entering and sustaining this state for the most important tasks is one of the highest-leverage productivity skills, though his framework is practitioner-level insight rather than peer-reviewed research.
- How To Have Better Focus And Concentration
Protect sleep, movement, food, and quiet, because attention runs on physical energy.
Energy: treat the body as the engine
Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.