SEVEN WAYS TO GET MORE WORK DONE

When you think about the times you achieved full concentration on any
type of job, you will remember that the work was easier, you were
surprised at how much you accomplished, and the quality of the work was
high. The problem is how to achieve this level of concentration, and
how to reach it on a regular basis. Here's some ideas you can use to
more fully develop this trait.

1. The first is obvious - practice concentrating. The more it becomes
a habit, the less brain activity is necessary. Being able to focus
becomes less difficult. Also, you will find that as you practice in
different areas of your life, skills transfer from one task to another
more easily.

2. Make a dull job more interesting by inventing challenges for
yourself. Setting time or quality goals takes out some of the
drudgery. Consider rewarding yourself when you're done with it. Make
it the first thing you do just to get it over with rather than dreading
it all day.

3. If you think about how you would provide instruction to someone who
had not done the task before you may just discover some interesting
details in the job. Or, you might find time wasting elements you've
inserted because you weren't paying enough attention to it. Even if
it's something you don't like doing, realize that you are good at it and
appreciate your abilities.

4. Develop a ritual that makes it easier to devote undivided attention
to the work ahead. Habitual behavior helps to calibrate the mind to a
state of concentration. Perhaps it's arranging your desk or tool area.
Maybe it's organizing your to-do list. Or you may call upon an image
that gives you strength and a feeling of being centered and ready to
take on whatever comes your way that day.

5. Take a break if you start feeling stressful. Once you are
distracted by emotion it's that much harder to give your full attention
to the present task. It's best if you don't lose what concentration
you've built up to that moment by talking to others. Instead take some
deep breaths, gaze out the window, take a short walk, or listen to
instrumental music for a few minutes. Once you finish the job, then
take a longer break to relax before moving on to the next item you need
to accomplish.

6. Do your best to block out everything else. Obviously, this is much
easier said than done. Becoming preoccupied with what will happen when
you finish this project tends to make your thoughts more scattered.
You need to be focused on the present moment. Your thinking must be
that right now, this is the most important project to you. It should be
the only thing in your consciousness while working on it.

7. Believe that you are capable of attaining whatever the end goal is.
How many of you played the card game of Concentration where you had to
match the cards as they were flipped over? You paid attention to the
location of cards, you developed a ritual for remembering where certain
cards were, you didn't leave the game until it was finished, you told
yourself and/or your partner that you were going to win, and you were
elated (or at the least quite satisfied) when you ended up with lots of
matched pairs.

Here's to improved concentration in whatever you do whether it be work
oriented, scholastic, social, sports, or anything else.

About the Author

Copyright 2002 by Virginia Reeves. This article may be reprinted; inform the author via mailto:rainbowop@onemain.com. For more on creativity, success, communication, and enhancing your skills and talents for more growth,
please click on http://www.rainbowopportunities.ws or mailto:millionairemindset@GetResponse.com (for free bi-monthly e-zine)