To Be More Focused & avoid Distractions
7 Productivity Tips
7 Productivity Tips
Uncategorized
We all have goals, ambitions, and to-dos, but sometimes we fail to make any meaningful impact because we have a hard time staying focused and avoiding distractions.
Here are 7 incredibly helpful tips to complete work quicker.
Tip 1: Practice The ‘Fully On, Fully Off’ Method
Most people are never fully ‘on’ and never fully ‘off.’ When they’re supposed to work (aka, be ‘on’), they procrastinate and waste time on distractions. Every few minutes, they get distracted by private messages, social media, or news websites. This leads to low productivity and slow progress.
Most people are never fully engaged during work hours and never fully relaxed during ‘off’ hours. Therefore, I recommend following this one productivity principle: When you’re ‘on,’ be fully on. When you’re ‘off,’ be fully off. Don’t hang somewhere in between. It’s the least enjoyable state to be in.
Tip 2: Stop Multitasking
Research has shown that multitasking doesn’t work (at least not with cognitively demanding tasks). In fact, every time you switch tasks, it takes, on average, 25 minutes before your focus is fully available for your task at hand again. This phenomenon is called ‘attention residue,’ which implies that some of your attention is ‘left behind’ at the previous task that your brain was dealing with. Instead, focus on one task and, when completed, move on to the next task. This makes you a lot more efficient as you don’t suffer from the attention residue.
Tip 3: Follow A Daily Deep Work Routine
Deep work is the most productive state we can be in. It’s when you work on a highly valuable task uninterruptedly for a longer period. In a 2-hour deep work session, you’re likely to be more productive than most people are in two full days of work.
The reason why deep work is so powerful is that you combine the two most productive things:
Working in deep focus mode — free from distractions and time-wasters
Working on the most important tasks that generate the most value
This way of working is exponentially more productive than how most people approach their work. Where most people work on many non-essential tasks — email, making small tweaks, posting on social media — in a state of continuous distraction, you work in a highly focused way on one task that truly matters. That’s where you reach peak productivity.
Tip 4: Download App & Websites Blockers
Using blockers is probably one of the easiest ways to protect your focus. You don’t have to rely on your willpower anymore as technology is doing the work for you. This way, you keep the most distracting websites and social media platforms from disrupting your work- or study flow.
Tip 5: Use The Pomodoro Technique
The idea behind the Pomodoro technique is that you’ll be able to focus better by working on one task — without distractions — for a relatively short amount of time, followed by a short break to recharge mental energy.
Here are the six steps of the Pomodoro technique:
Step 1: Pick one specific task that you’d like to get done
Step 2: Set a timer for 25 minutes
Step 3: Work on the task until the timer rings — without any form of distraction (no phone, social media, email, etc.)
Step 4: Check off your 1st Pomodoro session
Step 5: Take a short 5-minute break
Step 6: Repeat for 4 sessions, then take a longer break of about 20–30 minutes.
Tip 6: Use Music To Your Advantage
Music can help you stay laser-focused. However, the music you listen to must be familiar to you (aka, no new songs). When new songs come up, or when you listen to a variety of different songs that include vocals, the music starts to compete for attentional space in your brain.
As your brain now needs to spend energy to fight off these distractions, it’ll be harder to focus on your task at hand. Therefore, put one song on repeat for 1–2 hours or listen to repetitive type music like techno , classical music, or trance music. This will help you reach a state of deep focus with more ease.
Tip 7: Batch Produce Lesser Important Tasks
Unfortunately, we can’t always escape those lesser important tasks — whether it’s email, answering comments, making phone calls, etc.
One way to efficiently get these lesser important tasks out of the way is by ‘batch producing’ them. With batch production, you essentially lump a few similar tasks together and finish them all in one effective go instead of doing them scattered throughout your day.
Now Do It
Change comes from taking action. Therefore, as an action point for this article, pick one of these tips and apply them in your next work session.
If you would like to talk, feel free to reach out to us. An LifeWorks therapist would be able to help.
Harpreet Saini
Consultant Psychologist - English, Hindi & Punjabi
CDA Licensed Psychologist - 13+ Years
Dr. Mohammed Fried Ahmed
Clinical Psychologist - Arabic
PHD Psychotherapy - 6+ Years
Khansa Abd Almalik
Clinical Psychologist - Arabic
PHD Psychotherapy - 6+ Years
Prerna Siroya
Counselling Psychologist - English & Hindi
CDA Licensed Psychologist - 4+ Years
Dina Alqedra
Clinical Psychologist - Arabic & English
DHA Licensed Psychologist - 6+ Years
Nuzhat Basheer
Consultant psychologist - English, Hindi & Tamil
CDA Licensed Psychologist, M.Sc. in Psychology - 10+ Years
Vidushi Sukam
Consultant Psychologist - English, Hindi & Punjabi
CDA Licensed Psychologist | RCI Licensed Rehabilitation Psychologist - 13+ Years
Olena Taleski
Counselling Psychologist - English and Russian
Master Degree in Psychology - 13+ Years
Simrah Hamdulay
Consultant psychologist - English and Hindi
CDA Licensed Psychologist, MSc in Child and Adolescent Psychology - 3+ Years
Javaria Zahra
Counselling Psychologist - English, Urdu and Hindi
MD/ MS/ MPhil in Applied Psychology - 16+ Years
Fatima Altaf
Counselling Psychologist - Urdu, Hindi and English
Msc. Psychology - 8+ Years
Aarhie Kaushik
Clinical Psychologist - English & Hindi
Msc. Psychology - 8+ Years
Dr. Febna Moorkath
Psychiatric Social Worker - English & Malayalam
PhD & M.Phil in Psychiatric Social Work - 10+ Years
Dr. Fatemeh Abdi
Clinical Psychologist - English and Persian
PhD. in Psychology - 20+ Years
Dr. Azizreza Ghasemzadehi
Counselling Psychologist - Farsi & English
PhD in Psychology & Education of Exceptional Children - 20+ Years
Saima Khan
Clinical Psychologist - English, Urdu, Punjabi & Pashto
Ph.D. Scholar in Clinical Psychology - 6 Years
Kinan Ali
Counselling Psychologist - Arabic and English
PhD. in Psychology - 6 Years
Dr. Abdelaziz Osman
Consultant Psychiatrist - Arabic and English
MD, AB, Msc, Cert - 20+ Years
Naeema Ali
Psychologist - Arabic & English
Dr. Naeema Ali trained psychology and social worker students of UAE University. She is actively providing counselling support to cancer patients and their families. She launched an occupational therapy for cancer patients and cognitive behavioural therapy in Tawam.
Due to her continued support in oncology and ongoing support to cancer patients, Naeema received countless awards locally and international to recognize her achievements and skills. She has been invited to participate in various conferences and workshops around the world and invited as a guest speaker in various subjects that covers psychology.
She also joined Al Sayegh Medical Center as a Social Worker, providing comprehensive assessment and treatment services to children and families, in inpatient and/or outpatient settings, and communicates with referral sources as indicated by applying psychometric test, such as IQ Test, MMPI, Wechsler Test for children. Exhibit superior communication skills to uncover complicated mental health issues; develop and recommend treatment plans based on patient needs and diagnosis.
She continued working as a clinical psychologist providing counselling within the multi-cultural environment of the Emirates Airlines for the past 15 years. Her main task is providing mental health support to inflight and ground staff and addresses any problems, anxieties, or job-related stresses that they are dealing with. She uses her findings to help improve processes and behaviors of a patient to maintain a safe environment, to manage stress, overcome trauma, or avoid job-related conflicts. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the method Naeema is using to reduce the difficulties, anxieties, and stress that employee faces.
Naeema is also part of “ Shawer ”, the “Seek Our Advice”, and “We Listen To You” program of the Family Development Foundation of Abu Dhabi. The aim of the program was to promote family awareness and support a stable family life. It involves a group of community members who deal with family problems in a positive manner and provide individual and group counseling in social, psychological, and educational areas. They do so in a systematic way according to the needs of community members.
Besides “ Shawer ”, Naeema is also a volunteer of “ Friends of Cancer ” of Sharjah, supporting patients and their families to overcome the multitude psychological difficulties that they are experiencing due to cancer treatment as well as introducing some programs such as health education, self-care and some community programs wherein they can collaborate and share their experiences.
Area of interest:
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Psycho-oncology
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CBT
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Psychometric Assessments
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Children, Adults and Family therapy
Qualification and Membership:
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Psychology graduation from the University of Wisconsin
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Licensed by Community Development Authority
Graduation in Psychology, (Phd) - 30 Years
Dr. Mohammed Bardi
Consultant Psychiatrist - Arabic, English
Dr. Mohammed Bardi M.B.B.S, M.D (Psychiatry) has worked under different capacities in clinical and hospital setups in Saudi, USA, and UAE. He comes with over 15 years of experience in mental health. He specifically worked with cases relating to schizophrenic, bipolar disorder, dual diagnosis, major depressive disorder with suicidal risks, anxiety disorders, Intellectual disabilities, Autistic spectrum disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD).
Area of interest:
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Mood disorders
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Anxiety disorders
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Improving life skills (social skills, self- esteem, decision making, coping with stress, problem solving, and time management)
Qualification and Membership:
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MBBS COLLEAGUE OF MEDICINE, KING SAUD UNIVERSITY 2003 (KKU).
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ARAB BOARD OF MEDICAL SPECIALTIES IN PSYCHIATRY 2007
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ANXIETY DISORDERS WORKSHOP (DIPLOMA), 2010
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ADDICTION FELLOWSHIP UCLA, USA, 2010-2011
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ADDICTION RESEARCH AND MATRIX TRAINING, ISAP, UCLA, LOS ANGELES, CA, USA 2014-2015
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BACHELOR’S DEGREE OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY
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ARAB BOARD OF MEDICAL SPECIALTIES IN PSYCHIATRY
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ADDICTION FELLOWSHIP UCLA 2011, 2015
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BETTY FORD CERTIFICATE, ADDICTION PROGRAM 2010
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CDA) Licensed Psychologist
Therapeutic Approach:
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At LifeWorks Holistic Counselling Center Dubai, Dr. Bardi works collaboratively within our expert multidisciplinary team, in treating a wide array of psychiatric conditions including:
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Anxiety disorders
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Substance use disorders
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Mood disorders including depression and Bipolar affective disorders
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Psychotic disorders (Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders)
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Personality disorders
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Cognitive disorders including Dementia
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Learning disabilities (intellectual disability disorders)
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Child and adolescents’ disorders like Separation anxiety disorders, conduct
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disorders and ADHD
M.B.B.S, M.D (Psychiatry) - 15 years
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