If any distractions come along during that period, don’t ignore them or focus on them. Don’t give them any energy at all. Let them pass, like clouds parting around a mountain. Regularly engaging in this practice builds the muscle of focused intention, which you can use in everything you do. Eventually, tuning out the undermining voices and losing yourself in the work will not be an effort of will, but an earned ability.

One simple method is to take a pen or pencil and hold it up against a blank wall or ceiling. Now concentrate on the pen as if it is the most important thing in the world. Then allow your sense to relax, so you see the pen against the background of the wall. Concentrate again. Relax again. Keep on doing this until you become aware of the ability to focus attention at will. You will find that this unaccustomed activity of the will is tiring; it produces a sense of strain behind the eyes. My own perception is that if you persist, in spite of the strain, the result is acute discomfort, followed by a sudden immense relief - the 'peak experience'.

Focus: This involves narrowing your attentional spotlight to focus on the task at hand, which helps you work more efficiently.

By giving full attention to one thing at a time, we can learn to direct attention where we choose.

You don't need to focus harder. Focus is the byproduct of a lack of distractions. You simply need to be in the right environment (mentally and physically) and have a clear set of tasks that you have the knowledge and skill to execute. Ignore everything but that.

Becoming aware of what you’re thinking about is one of the best practices for managing your attention. The more you notice what’s occupying your attentional space, the faster you can get back on track when your mind begins to wander, which it does a remarkable 47 percent of the time.

Pay appropriate attention to what has your attention, so you can pay attention to what really has your attention.

There are a lot of things you can focus on. If you can, focus on something you greatly enjoy, even if it’s alone or with one friend and put energy into it. If you dwell on the negative it will swallow you but if you focus on the positive it will help you.

Focus of attention in the present moment, the only one you can really live in. Focus means not dwelling on the past, either on mistakes or glories; it means not being so caught up in the future, either its fears or its dreams, that my full attention is taken from the present. The ability to focus the mind is the ability to not let it run away with you.

A simple way to ensure you are focused on what matters:

Imagine everything gets wiped. You inherit no tasks or responsibilities from your past or present. Then, add back only what you miss.

Choose what to add to a blank slate, not what to keep from a full plate.

If at all feasible, allow yourself to do whatever you’re doing to the exclusion of everything else. If you’re on the phone, don’t scroll through social media at the same time. If you’re making breakfast, don’t also work on your to-do list for the day. By doing one thing at a time, your concentration “muscle” will become incredibly

You don't magically become focused. You practice it. You notice you're distracted and snap out of it, over and over again until it's second nature. Most people have not trained this muscle, and they are not anywhere close to as focused as they think they are.

more you focus on what you are called to do, the less you become distracted by what someone else is or isn’t doing. It’s hard to run your race and your course while focusing on someone else’s race and course.

To improve your focus, boost your serotonin activity. Research shows that exercise can do that. But something else, that’s equally effective, and a lot easier is a simple mind-exercise. All you need to do is remember positive events that happened in the past.