How do you successfully accomplish an overwhelming number of tasks? What do you do when project deadlines loom and you’re nowhere near half of the work yet?

The short answer is to stop worrying and continue working. But I know that’s easier said than done.

In my life as a freelancer and entrepreneur, I’ve learned that one of the secrets to productivity is sustained work focus. This means prioritizing important tasks, doing them everyday, until they are accomplished.

But with so many distractions, personal limitations and uncontrollable circumstances, it will sometimes be hard to achieve such consistent progress. Here are 12 tips that can help keep our energy, maintain our dedication, sustain our enthusiasm and improve our work focus towards accomplishing our goals.

1. Learn to delegate. Don’t be afraid to ask your family, friends and colleagues for help in doing your minor but urgent tasks. This way, you can focus more on what’s important.
2. Study your energy patterns. Determine which times of the day you feel inspired and motivated and note when your lazy times are. Being aware of this helps in planning your daily routine.
3. Block out time for work. This means having a daily, non-negotiable schedule to do your important tasks.
4. Remove possible distractions. Eliminate time wasters – turn off the television, tell your friends and colleagues not to disturb you and disconnect from the internet.
5. Always have well-defined goals. Write them down on paper. State your desired results as clearly as possible.
6. Assess your tasks at hand. Determine which are urgent and/or important. Act accordingly.



7. Give yourself a powerful reason and meaningful purpose why you need to finish your task. Having this will motivate you to sustain your work focus.
8. Employ finish-line focus towards your tasks. Before starting, decide the amount of work you want to finish, don’t stop until you meet that goal. Stay committed.
9. Break down complicated tasks into simple ones. Make it a checklist. Track your progress and cross off completed tasks immediately. This will make you feel better and hopefully inspire you to do more.
10. Take a break once in awhile. When you notice yourself becoming less focused and feeling strung out, stop for a moment and rest. Just make sure you come back to it though. Avoid procrastination.
11. Reward yourself for accomplishing your set tasks. Remember that it’s important to always feel good about your work.
12. Be consistent. Move ahead towards your goals everyday. Plan and prioritise your tasks constantly. Make it a habit.

How about you? Do you have any more tips on how to stay focused? Please share them below. Lastly, if you want to learn more techniques on how to become more productive in life, then please subscribe to Ready To Be Rich.

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Photo courtesy of ihtatho