Sloan's Inbox: How do you improve focus?

There are a number of ways to take this question, so I'll add just a single factoid that could help some people in certain contexts.

The positive benefits of coffee really go away if you drink coffee every day (Or use caffeine by other means).

If you're a coffee drinker, it's really helpful to take breaks (like weekends or just drink every other day). This could cause brain fog or worse depending on your dependency, but it's worth doing.

This is not the answer to the question directly, but could help someone out there if this is a component of their issues.

I think the answer for this question depends on if the lack of concentration comes from too many distractions or if it's a matter of low energy, stress, etc. Or maybe both.
For me, most of the time that I notice I'm not being able to focus on getting things done is because I'm procrastinating. Turning off notifications and putting my phone out of sight while I'm working helps me a lot to concentrate on what I need.

This is basic, but try to eliminate distractions. For example, when I'm coding something that I know I won't need to google/go straight to Stack Overflow with, I put my editor in fullscreen, and close all other windows except the ones that I desperately need (which is normally none).

There can be lot of ways. Some might help, while some wouldn't:

1. Try to see the impact on the level you want, be it personal or professional.

2. Relax and take some time off; this is very important. Maybe watch a movie or take a short trip.

3. Work for 30 minutes and then take a 5-minute break. Do something short that relaxes your brain.

4. Remember why you started it in the first place.

HAHA! I'm not in the position to complain lol.

Raise motivation! I find it much easier to focus and work productively on topics that make me feel motivated.

Possible approaches:

• try to reject customers and projects that cause negative feelings instead of motivation (easier said than done, not feasible in most situations)
• try to embrace the positive aspects of not focusing as productive procrastination and give it a certain time slot every day
• take a break and go for a walk, again, using time slots, pomodoro, whatever
• try and see the positive or important aspects of the work that you have to do, like
  • its positive impact on users or society (again, easier said than done in an industry mostly built on producing and marketing useless products)
  • its positive impact on customers or coworkers that you like (I might not care about a company's commercial goals, but I might care about certain people who work there)
  • the opportunity to learn and grow (even the worst assignment might be a challenge or help you find out and narrow down what's specifically wrong about it)
• minimizing external sources of distraction, e.g. sit in a silent room, put on headphones, turn off the phone, block social media websites,
• getting in "the zone" e.g. trying to feel a state of flow and concentration independent of the specific goal or technology, often amplified by certain rituals and listening to appropriate music

Typo in title?

Best way to improve focus is to start off small and improve over time. Treat it as exercising.

Prepare coffee or tea... ✅
Have one accomplishment you want to achieve in a particular project✅
Everywhere is dark ✅ (A bit)
Open Spotify and Play a lofi playlist ✅
Take regular 5 minutes break ✅
Dont do anything more than what you intended to acheive ✅
Feel fufilled at the end ✅