101 Proven Practices for Focus

101 Proven Practices for Focus
JD Meier

“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.” -- Zig Ziglar

Here is my collection of 101 Proven Practices for Focus.   It still needs work to improve it, but I wanted to shared it, as is, because focus is one of the most important skills we can develop for work and life.

Focus is the backbone of personal effectiveness, personal development, productivity, time management, leadership skills, and just about anything that matters.   Focus is a key ingredient to helping us achieve the things we set out to do, and to learn the things we need to learn.
Without focus, we can’t achieve great results.
I have a very healthy respect for the power of focus to amplify impact, to create amazing breakthroughs, and to make things happen.

The Power of Focus
Long ago one of my most impactful mentors said that focus is what separates the best from the rest.  In all of his experience, what exceptional people had, that others did not, was focus.
Here are a few relevant definitions of focus:

A main purpose or interest.

A center of interest or activity. Close or narrow attention; concentration.
I think of focus simply as  the skill or ability to direct and hold our attention.
Focus is a Skill
Too many people think of focus as something either you are good at, or you are not.  It’s just like delayed gratification.
Focus is a skill you can build.
Focus is actually a skill and you can develop it.   In fact, you can develop it quite a bit.  For example, I helped a colleague get themselves off of their ADD medication by learning some new ways to retrain their brain.   It turned out that the medication only helped so much, the side effects sucked, and in the end, what they really needed was coping mechanisms for their mind, to better direct and hold their attention.
Here’s the surprise, though.  You can actually learn how to direct your attention very quickly.  Simply ask new questions.  You can direct your attention by asking questions.   If you want to change your focus, change the question.

101 Proven Practices at a Glance
Here is a list of the 101 Proven Practices for Focus:

Align  your focus and your values
Ask new questions to change your focus
Ask yourself, “What are you rushing through for?”
Beware of random, intermittent rewards
Bite off what you can chew
Breathe
Capture all of your ideas in one place
Capture all of your To-Dos all in one place
Carry the good forward
Change your environment
Change your physiology
Choose one project or one thing to focus on
Choose to do it
Clear away all distractions
Clear away external distractions
Clear away internal distractions
Close your distractions
Consolidate and batch your tasks
Create routines to help you focus
Decide to finish it
Delay gratification
Develop a routine
Develop an effective startup routine
Develop an effective shutdown routine
Develop effective email routines
Develop effective renewal activities
Develop effective social media routines
Direct your attention with skill
Do less, focus more
Do now what you could put off until later
Do things you enjoy focusing on
Do worst things first
Don’t chase every interesting idea
Edit later
Exercise your body
Exercise your mind
Expand your attention span
Find a way to refocus
Find the best time to do your routine tasks
Find your flow
Finish what you started
Focus on what you control
Force yourself to focus
Get clear on what you want
Give it the time and attention it deserves
Have a time and place for things
Hold a clear picture in your mind of what you want to accomplish
Keep it simple
Keep your energy up
Know the tests for success
Know what’s on your plate
Know your limits
Know your personal patterns
Know your priorities
Learn to say no – to yourself and others
Limit your starts and stops
Limit your task switching
Link it to good feelings
Make it easy to pick back up where you left off
Make it relentless
Make it work, then make it right
Master your mindset
Multi-Task with skill
Music everywhere
Narrow your focus
Pair up
Pick up where you left off
Practice meditation
Put the focus on something bigger than yourself
Rate your focus each day
Reduce friction
Reduce open work
Reward yourself along the way
See it, do it
Set a time frame for focus 
Set goals
Set goals with hard deadlines
Set mini-goals
Set quantity limits
Set time limits
Shelve things you aren’t actively working on
Single Task
Spend your attention with skill
Start with WHY
Stop starting new projects
Take breaks
Take care of the basics
Use lists to avoid getting overwhelmed or overloaded
Use metaphors
Use Sprints to scope your focus
Use the Rule of Three
Use verbal cues
Use visual cues
Visualize your performance
Wake up at the same time each day
Wiggle your toes – it’s a fast way to bring yourself back to the present
Write down your goals
Write down your steps
Write down your tasks
Write down your thoughts
Work when you are most comfortable

When you go through the 101 Proven Practices for Focus, don’t expect it to be perfect.  It’s a work in progress.   Some of the practices for focus need to be fleshed out better.   There is also some duplication and overlap, as I re-organize the list and find better ways to group and label ideas.
In the future, I’m going to revamp this collection to have some more precision, better naming, and some links to relevant quotes, and some science where possible.   There is a lot more relevant science that explains why some of these techniques work, and why some work so well.
What’s important is that you find the practices that resonate for you, and the things that you can actually practice.
Getting Started
You might find that from all the practices, only one or two really resonate, or help you change your game.   And, that’s great.   The idea of having a large list to select from is that it’s more to choose from.  The bigger your toolbox, the more you can choose the right tool for the job.  If you only have a hammer, then everything looks like a nail.
If you don’t consider yourself an expert in focus, that’s fine.  Everybody has to start somewhere.  In fact, you might even use one of the practices to help you get better:  Rate your focus each day.
Simply rate yourself, on a scale of 1-10, where 10 is awesome and 1 means you’re a squirrel with a sugar high, dazed and confused, and chasing all the shiny objects that come into site.   And then see if your focus improves over the course of a week.
If you adopt just one practice, try either Align  your focus and your values or Ask new questions to change your focus.  
Feel Free to Share It With Friends
At the bottom of the 101 Proven Practices for Focus, you’ll find the standard sharing buttons for social media to make it easier to share.
Share it with friends, family, your world, the world.
The ability to focus is really a challenge for a lot of people.   The answer to improve your attention and focus is through proven practices, techniques, and skill building.  Too many people hope the answer lies in a pill, but pills don’t teach you skills.
Even if you struggle a bit in the beginning, remind yourself that growth feels awkward.   You' will get better with practice.  Practice deliberately.  In fact, the side benefit of focusing on improving your focus, is, well, you guessed it … you’ll improve your focus.
What we focus on expands, and the more we focus our attention, and apply deliberate practice, the deeper our ability to focus will grow.
Grow your focus with skill.