If you want to achieve the results that few ever do; or if you want to do deep, meaningful work, you will need to master your attention, your concentration, and your focus.  Unfortunately, the conveniences of modern society are working against you.  From your smartphone, to the internet, from cable TV to pop-up ads, it seems like everything is competing for those precious few seconds of your attention; and it seems to be getting worse.

Have you ever spent a Saturday afternoon around the house and realize about supper time that you haven’t really “done” anything?  You may have spent some time in front of the television, not really watching anything specifically, but aimlessly flipping through channels looking for something to watch, but never really getting into anything.  Or you may have started out with the intention of checking the news on your tablet, desktop, or laptop, but then three hours later you’ve discovered that you got distracted and diverted by pop-up ads and click bait, and still don’t know what is happening in the news.  There is a war being waged by advertisers, entertainment establishments, and the “news” media and the prize is your attention.  From sensationalized “news” to “What ever happened to...” click-bait, advertisers and marketers are looking to keep you distracted and keep you from doing your most important work.

Consider the following:

1. •The average person completes “tasks” on their smartphones over 2600 times per day and spends 145 minutes a day (i.e. nearly 2 1/2 hrs) engaged on their phone.
   

2. •Recent research has indicated that the average adult attention span is now less than 8 seconds.
   

3. •Even when “concentrating” on a task the average person only goes ~11 minutes before they are interrupted.  Further, on average, it takes another 25 minutes to get back to the task they were doing prior to the interruption. And a surprising 22% of people don’t get back to that task at all until the following day (no matter what time of the day the interruption first occurred).
   

Cal Newport in his book “Deep Work” not only discusses the growing epidemic of distraction but more importantly the imperative to get back to maintaining a singular focus and concentration on generating highly quality and prolific work.  Newport’s thesis is that not only can you produce higher quality work with a greater focus on eliminating distractions, but that you can also generate more of that quality work as well (and in many cases more than you ever thought possible).

In addition to Newport’s work, most leadership, management, and personal mastery advocates (e.g. Robin Sharma, Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield) all highlight the need for a laser-like focus on your goals and objectives to accomplish that which you desire.  Sports psychologists, like Terry Orlick, talk about the need for distraction control and a level of concentration and focus to achieve athletic success.  And finally, even in his seminal work on deliberate practice, K. Anders Ericsson highlights the need for a focused effort in practice sessions to achieve the desired competency in performance (i.e. the 10 000 hour rule).

With this evidence it should be clear to all of us, that if we want to produce more, accomplish more, and achieve more, one thing that we can do is to focus and concentrate more.  We must find ways to eliminate distractions and set up processes that allow us the time and space to concentrate and to fully focus.  Additionally, some of the most recent brain science research has provided us with new insights on willpower.  This research suggests that willpower is a limited resource and one that gets drawn down every day and can reach empty before the day is done (much like the gas tank in your car).  This new knowledge allows us to set up better success strategies to get the most out of the daily tank of willpower.  Setting up routines and eliminating options (that simply become more distractions) are two of these tactics that we can employ to preserve, protect, and extend our willpower reserves and therefore our focus. 

The following list identifies some further options we can employ to help reduce distractions and to create opportunities to increase our focus, concentration, and productivity.  Some of these are “easy” and some of these are definitely “harder” to implement.

1. •Mute the audible “alarm” on all your incoming email messages.
   

2. •Turn off all the “notifications” on emails, text messages, instant messages, on your smartphone.  Consider downgrading from a smartphone to a phone that doesn’t provide internet connectivity.
   

3. •Set up your computer to block pop-up ads.
   

4. •Work in blocks of time (i.e. 60 - 90 minutes) in which you don’t allow any distractions to enter your space.
   

5. •Create working space that is both “analog” and “digital.”  Use the analog space for creating and working out ideas and your thoughts.  Then use your digital space for “publishing.”
   

6. •Keep your work space clean and tidy (not cluttered).  Adopt a minimalist approach both in your workspace and in as many of the environments that you spend a lot of time in (i.e. your home).
   

7. •Reduce the number of options that you have your life.  Purchase a basic cable package, or eliminate cable altogether.
   

8. •Learn to meditate in order to release the “clutter” in your mind.
   

9. •Exercise regularly.
   

10. •Create fixed “working” hours.
    

11. •Use schedules and work plans diligently to challenge your work productivity
    

12. •Employ an accountability partner to help you stay on track.
    

13. •Realize and accept that multi-tasking is a myth and ineffective in getting more done.
    

14. •Use prioritized checklists to focus your efforts on the few most important activities.
    

15. •Write down your goals and break them down into smaller tasks and then schedule these tasks so that you stay on track.
    

16. •Always carry a notebook and pen with you so you can capture thoughts and ideas as they occur and so you don’t have to rely on your memory to try and remember that great idea.  Keep this by your bed at night so that you can capture ideas in the middle of the night if they occur.
    

As you can see, some of the above tactics are easy, but some of them are definitely harder (i.e. cutting back on the TV channel options).  However, if you are truly serious about achieving more and greater results in your life and are not happy with your current results, this just might be the way to supercharge your focus and therefore your results.