Are you always running behind schedule on your projects? Are you distracted by so-called “shiny objects?” Squirrel! 我们工作和生活在一个即时沟通、注意力分散的时代. 我们很多人都为自己设定了长期目标，无论是在个人生活还是职业生活中. But we often fail to meet those goals. (Do New Year’s resolutions sound familiar?)
What the Experts are Saying
To answer this question, we looked at a few brilliant books, 99U’s Manage Your Day-to-Day:建立你的日常，找到你的焦点，磨砺你的创造性思维， Cal Newport’s Deep Work and Scott Jeffrey’s The Most Productive 90 Minutes of Your Life. 所有这些书中的专家都强调，在你和你的目标之间存在着某种东西. 一旦你克服了那些“事情”，你就能在更短的时间内做更多的事情.
What’s Standing in Your Way?
我们很多人都相信那句老话:“一天的时间都不够用。.“虽然我们可能认为时间是我们最宝贵的资源，但它实际上是我们的关注点. So what’s standing between you and that elusive focus? The answer is distraction. 分心有很多种形式，对每个人的影响都不同. After reviewing the books above, 我把最常见的干扰归纳为以下几类.
1. Mental. When was the last time you procrastinated? Yesterday? Right now? 拖延症发生的原因,往往是分心. But procrastination is not laziness in most cases. 这是其他因素的症状，可以解释为什么你选择做一些不是最重要的事情. Some of these reasons include anxiety, fear of failure, fear of success, perfectionism, self-doubt, or feeling overwhelmed.
2. Physical. 健康饮食和充足的睡眠不仅对你的身体有好处. They’re also key components for maintaining focus. Your breathing and posture can also affect your productivity.
3. Environmental. Your environment plays a huge role in your productivity. People (interruptions, conversations), phone calls, audible and visual alerts on your phone, 个人电脑或手腕设备是最大的环境干扰. 专家表示，每次听到警报时，你需要大约两分钟才能重新集中注意力.
4. Habitual. The last type of distraction is habitual. 一心多用和缺乏计划已经在我们中的一些人身上根深蒂固，以至于根本不可能集中注意力. 研究表明，多任务处理会让你的工作效率降低25%! 电子邮件和社交媒体增加了更多提高效率的坏习惯. 很多人早上起来第一件事就是查收邮件，那时他们精神最清醒，最能集中精力，完成高质量的工作. 专家表示，大约60%的电子邮件可以被标记为噪音，因此它是一种低价值的活动.
How to Blast through the Distractions
To find your focus, 你需要养成明智的日常习惯，以支持你实现目标的能力. To quote Cal Newport, 培养一种深刻的工作习惯的关键是超越良好的意图，在你的工作生活中加入例行公事和仪式，以保持一种持续的专注状态.”
是时候减轻生活中精神的、身体的、环境的和习惯性的干扰了. 第一步是评估哪些干扰因素影响了你的工作效率. 然后，参考下面的建议来克服这些干扰，最终实现这些目标.
1. Mental. If you frequently find yourself procrastinating, look deeper to uncover the root cause of the procrastination. 记住，拖延只是注意力分散的症状，而不是根源.
- Understand what’s really getting in the way of your goals. 问问你自己:你选择做什么，而不是你最重要的目标相关的任务? Why?
- Also, keep in mind that decision making requires willpower, which is almost always stronger early in the day.
- 不管你内心的恶魔是什么，了解它们，直面它们.
2. Physical. 如果你感觉不舒服，就很难集中注意力. 要战胜身体上的干扰，向运动员学习，让你的身体保持最佳状态.
- 我们都知道，疲劳或饥饿会阻碍我们把工作做到最好.
- 在你开始那个大项目之前，睡个好觉，吃个早餐.
- If you sit at a desk all day, take stock of your posture. Are you hunched over? Poor posture is linked to poor, shallow breathing habits.
- Diets high in protein, 少吃简单的碳水化合物和糖有助于平衡你的血糖指数，给你稳定的能量供应.
- And finally, hydration is so important. Did you know our brains are 80% water? 研究表明，当我们的身体脱水2%时，认知能力就会下降. It doesn’t take much!
Some ideas:
- Silence those alerts on your phone and wrist device. This includes vibrations.
- 关闭电子邮件和社交媒体，防止电脑屏幕上弹出提醒.
- Put a note on your door asking not to be disturbed.
- Use headphones and listen to soothing music or white noise.
4. Habitual. You probably don’t think about your productivity habits very often, but they are the most influential distractors around. 如果你早上8点走进办公室，问“我今天应该做什么??” you’re already behind for the day. Instead, try:
- Planning ahead. 知道每天去办公室前必须完成的2-3件事. Tackle this high-value work first thing!
- Focus only when you’re fresh.
- Work in sprints. 调整自己节奏的一个好方法是工作90分钟，然后休息10分钟.
每隔2-3天查看一次邮件，直到你完成了当天最重要的2-3件事. - Stop multi-tasking. It’s a myth. Your brain cannot multitask, it simply switches between tasks. To truly focus, you need to give your project your full attention.
If you want to get more done in less time, improve the quality of your work and reduce stress, 然后花点时间分析最容易让你分心的事情，并积极地管理它们. To quote Cal Newport again, “深入工作不仅对个人满意度很重要, but to your very survival in a ruthless marketplace.”
A Final Thought
Focus is a skill. It can be developed and strengthened. 它可以成为你的竞争优势──你比别人更快地完成高质量工作的秘密武器. Now, go get ‘em!