How can I focus? Please Help.

This could be, and I'm sure is a complete wso on it's own..

But in a nutshell the best thing you can do is set some goals.
Set them for long term, medium term, and for each day.
Prioritize them.. which one's give you the most benefit, the soonest.

But above all, give your self some for each day at the start of the day.. then knock them off one my one.

Also.. one cool little trick issomething called the Pomadoro Method.. I'll let you google it to find out about it. It's very effective.
All the best.. It was a great question.

This is something that I do and it helps me.

Write everything down. Just dump all of your to-dos on paper. Spend about 20 minutes to an hour doing this first. Try getting everything out of your head and put it on paper.

Once you have a list, do an 80/20 analysis on it. Prioritize the top 20% of tasks that will make the most impact on your business.

In internet marketing, that almost always equates to traffic and conversions.

Once your list is ordered, start crackin!

DO ONE TASK AT A TIME! Don't move on to another task until the one you're on is complete or you cannot work on it anymore because of something out of your control. (IE power outage, natural disaster, etc...)

I'm a huge advocate in killing the idea that multitasking is good. It just creates chaos and half assed work, in my opinion.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

The best thing I can suggest to you as it works the best for me and is the most simplest thing to do.

Write down a daily list of tasks that you would like to complete. Nothing overwhelming...just a few things that you would be happy to have completed.

Write it on a post it note and stick in on your desk or computer monitor...just keep it visible...You will see your productivity skyrocket

Also keep the social media sites closed they are the biggest productivity killers out there

Hope this helps

Use this Productivity Planner...its ace and will help you focus!

Good luck.

I've come to find out that the mind is kind of like a remote control. It is programmed to do a set of operations on command and you the individual are doing the programming. You press the +Volume button on a remote, the audio on the TV gets louder. In order for a person to focus on command it has to programmed in the mind. I feel I have to appropriately associate and make sense in my mind what "FOCUS" is in the first place in order to act out that particular action. All things take time and can't be rushed so you gotta take yours

This is sometimes a problem for me as well. I've had very productive times and also wasted whole work days, so it's off and on for me.

Like Patrick mentioned, the Pomodoro technique can be very helpful.

I pick a maximum of 6 important tasks to focus on at any given time. Place that on a list and check off items as they're completed. Start at the top of your small to-do list and set the Pomodoro timer for 25 minutes. It puts a bit of pressure on you, but it's nothing crazy - any tasks that aren't completed can be done in your next 25 minute session.

Health probably has something to do with it as well. There are supplements that help you focus, but I'm sure you can get all those nutrients from food sources (think tea for L-Theanine and fish for Omega-3s, etc.) Exercise is also a big help.

Lastly, slap yourself in the face each time you check your email or log into Facebook. Just do it. Ever been forced to put money in a jar every time you did something wrong (swear/smoke/whatever)? Same principle - associate time-wasting activities with something unpleasant.

Man you guys are all spot on and I soo needed to hear that I'm not the only one who gets distracted. I find that writing out your to do list the night before and going over it briefly helps to focus you when you wake up as well.

I have used a timer on certain things in the past and found it to be very helpful as long as you honor your own system, don't cheat yourself or none of this matters!

Great thread guys, this is actually my first ever response or post in the forum...I can totally relate to this issue and thanks for having the courage to seek help. This is helping me as well.

I highly recommend you watch this video I had placed on my blog by Dean Jackson which is 50 mintues long and it is a must watch for all Internet Marketers....I got it from Vimeo.....

The 50 Minute Focus Finder

Good topic, I have the same problem, at the end of the day I realize that so many hours were spent and still haven't achieved what I needed to achieve. I guess the best way is to take notes and make a list of the things to be done and cross them out as you get them done and also think which one is more important than the others. It can be quite difficult if you have too many websites set up, there's a huge load of work involved in getting them all right. Good Luck!

So I looked up the Pomodoro technique and it's very close to something I learned from Paul Scheele's Photoreading course years ago. Except Scheele uses a 5x20x5 schedule and Francesco Cirillo (pomodoro's creator) uses a 25x5 schedule. So it's almost identical.

I'm actually willing to bet that Sheele got it from Cirillo and just made tweaks to be able to brand it.

Anyway, I can vouch that it's a very good technique! Helped me get 2 college degrees. This is also a great way to avoid burnout.

If you take a look at the big players, outsourcing is the definitely the way to go. Ultimately all of us want to be free of having a "job" and the only way is to leverage on other's time.

For someone just starting out, outsourcing would most likely be too costly and might even make you lazy even before you start making any money ! The real question to ask yourself is HOW BADLY do you want the internet marketing lifestyle ? If it's just something that's "nice to have" then your focus will never be where you want it to be at.

Take mini steps, write out your goals and tasks for the DAY. These are things you MUST accomplish before going to bed. List them out and check them off as you complete them.

I guess there's really nothing much to say when it comes to motivation other than it comes from within. How badly do you want success ?

Do one thing at a time....get organized and put down your task for the day.... multi tasking does not help any one, you end up not doing any thing

I outsourced some my workloads. It may not work out the way you want it at the start but eventually when your VA know what to do. You can relax after while.

Thank you sooooo much Patrick! You are awesome!!!

That maybe is my core problem

Thanks for sharing Anthony

I did something similar but I did not add it to a "task list" thanks.

Wow! These are great advices. I have been battling the same thing for years now. Focus, clear goals, and a daily to-do list helps me a lot. I'm all over the place without a to-do list.

came across this blog post from Stephen Pierce that deals with this issue.....take a listen 001 - How To Stay Focused - Don't Become A Hostage To Distractions | What Is Success Sculpting

One thing that has helped me is having a whiteboard. If you are not full time, you might find that having a reminder right in front of you, easy to see and easily reachable to write and cross off tasks, can be effective.

Start with one project. Then write down all of the tasks required to to complete the project on the whiteboard. Cross them out as you finish them and you'll feel motivated to cross off the entire list eventually.

There are many useful productivity apps out there for the iPhone or Android, but getting back to the basics like using a whiteboard can be exactly what you need to be highly productive.

Routine is also a great way to remain focused. What can you make part of your routine on a daily basis? For example, if you are only able to work in the evenings, do the same thing every single night for one month. After one month, you may have acquired some discipline to focusing on your online work. When this happens, it won't feel right to deviate from your routine, thus helping with completing tasks. (This actually applies to anything that requires discipline, such as going on a diet).

Hope some of the tips help above. It has certainly helped me in many aspects of my online businesses (and actually diets ;-).

Hi all,

So I'm new here, and this is post 1. I've been helping folks with their businesses for years however, and I'll share what I have found.

First, the comments about goals are correct, you have to have very clear and very specific goals. I start all coaching with a goal session, all - with no exceptions. You must have your big picture goals clear, and you must have your small steps to reaching those goals clear.

Second, you then use the great methods listed above to prioritize and keep on one task at a time, until complete. Focusing on one task through completion is excellent advice.

Here is the other piece I'd like to add. I've found that people tend to get distracted the most when doing a task that is out of alignment with their inner mindset. When was the last time you had to force yourself to focus on something you really loved to do or loved to talk about? For most, very rarely. Yes, it happens, but is the exception to the rule, not the norm...

So, I would argue that you have far too many tasks in your day that you either dislike, don't believe you can do fully, or don't want to do at all. In your mind you are telling yourself that you are 'supposed' to be doing this (you may very well be right that all those tasks do need to be done), and at the same time you are telling yourself that you don't want to, how much you dislike the task, etc...

This means you must find a way to partner with, outsource, barter, trade, whatever, and find a way to remove those tasks from your list.

Very few people struggle with distractions and overload when they are only focused on the task set and goal set they love doing.

I would suggest that you spend some time tomorrow, not on your actual tasks, but rather on big picture planning. Take an hour or two and focus on your goals, both the high level goals and the small goals needed. Then take an hour or two and put together your task list of what needs to be done, and put that task list in a priority. Next, go through your list and honestly rank the tasks from 1-5 as a task you love versus a task you really don't like to do. When you find the high priority tasks that turn out to also be tasks you don't like doing at all, right there you have identified a main cause of your distraction. Take that knowledge now and do whatever you need to in order to find someone else to do those tasks for you.

Best of luck!

try to draw with your imagination a star in a flat surface

The key to focus is proper motivation.
Visualize the end product, and what do you expect out of the job you're working on. When you visualize positive end result, motivation will come, and it will improve your focus.

It helps me.

Do meditation. it helps to focus on work and improve work continuity.