Let’s face it, staying focused doesn’t always come naturally and being at home can make it even harder to get work done. With everything from personal distractions to daunting deadlines, staying on track can be hard and it’s something we could all use a little help with.

We’re sharing our top 6 tips and tricks for staying focused and knocking your goals out of the park!

1. Planning Your Day

Setting yourself up for success is one of the most important things you can do to stay focused. Start each day by planning out your day as much as possible so you can visually see what needs to be done and manage your time accordingly. This helps you stay on track and manage your workload, along with allowing you to see what free time you have and how much of your day is booked with actual work and meetings. 

2. Booking Time in Your Calendar

Take advantage of tools you already have on hand! Booking time in your teams or outlook calendar can be helpful for staying focused and getting work done on time. It adds a visual element to scheduling and allows you to see at a glance what you have to get done and the time allocated to finish each task. While it isn’t always possible to stick to this, especially in industries like PR where last minute requests pop up all the time that require our immediate attention, it is important to schedule time to get work done the same way we schedule meetings. 

3. Be Realistic About Your Day

As much as we all want to be superhuman and accomplish everything under the sun, it isn’t always the most realistic and can lead to feeling overwhelmed, burnt out and unmotivated to get your work done. Setting yourself up for success comes down to even the way we prepare and plan our days. Taking a look at the tasks you have to do and the time you have can help you realistically plan your day with achievable goals. Sometimes things need to be pushed and that’s the reality of work.

4. Muting Personal Notifications

As much as checking social media for personal reasons might seem tempting, it can ultimately be the biggest distraction throughout the day. Eliminating personal notifications entirely can help ensure you’re able to focus on your work and can chat about the latest Euphoria episode once you’ve gotten through your to-do list for the day. Discussing the Maddy vs Cassie showdown in your group chat will be so much more exciting after checking everything off your to-do list.

5. Take Care of Your Workspace

You know how everyone says looking good can help you feel better? Well, this goes for our workspaces as well. Having a clean workspace that sets you up to be productive and gets you excited about work makes all the difference in productivity. Especially as we enter our 3rd year of working from home, it’s important to have a dedicated workspace that’s clean and has all the tools you need to work throughout the day. Not having a clear divide of work and personal space can blur the lines and make working even harder. This, in turn, can also affect your personal life – nobody can relax in bed if you spend half your time working there. 

6. Prioritize Your Health

Lack of sleep, bad nutrition and poor physical and mental health can have a big impact on your ability to focus and get work done. Taking care of yourself and prioritizing your health is key to staying on top of your work and ensuring you can focus on the tasks at hand. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep, eating well throughout the day and regularly including making time for self-care. We work best when we feel our best!