Is It Possible to Never Lose Focus?
6 Common Reasons Why You Can't Stay Focused

We've all been there. There's an important task to finish, yet we're doing everything in our power not to do it. Maybe we're distracted by our social media timeline. Or, we tell ourselves that we still have enough time to finish it, so no worries.

Of course, then we end up scrambling as the deadline looms on the horizon, submitting work that we know we can do better, and promising ourselves ― this will never happen again.

If you've been looking for a way to not lose your focus, or if you tend to lose focus easily, we've written this blog post for you to help you figure out why this keeps happening and what you can do when you're losing focus in life. And hopefully, your newfound knowledge can help you determine how to improve your focus and concentration.

Absolutely. We think that it will be very difficult to do life well if you don't focus on what is in front of you. Imagine you have to cook a pancake for breakfast, yet you keep getting distracted with everything around you. At best, you'll end up with a burnt meal. At worst, you'll end up with your house on fire.

The field of psychology tells us that the ultimate form of not losing focus in life is flow. Flow is a state where a person is so engrossed in their task that they completely disregard everything around them except the task at hand. However, for a person to never lose focus isn't easy, and thus to get into the flow, there are certain conditions that you must be able to fulfill:

1. Find a challenge that is right for your skill level. Remember when you felt discouraged at school because you didn't understand the material that you were learning? And so you pretty much gave up on it? This is what you should avoid. Try as much as you can to engage in tasks that are just right for your skill level. It shouldn't be too easy, because then you won't feel as challenged to complete it, but it shouldn't be so hard that you get discouraged and lose focus on the task instead.
   
2. Make sure that your task is clear and serves a purpose. The best way to remind yourself not to lose focus when doing something is when there is meaning in it. Even the act of washing your hair becomes significant if it results in someone complimenting you on your hair. Though not all tasks can have the same level of importance for you, it isn't impossible for you to embrace them all as worthwhile. Do this by attaching the tasks you deem less important with a reward that you find meaningful.

Now you know more about flow and what you need to do so as to not lose focus easily. However, there are some pitfalls that you have to watch out for if you want to never lose focus:

Stress isn't always a bad thing. Eustress, or stress that impacts you positively, can help you achieve a state of flow. This happens when you are facing a task that you deem challenging, but its difficulty level is enough for you to still be successful in completing it. However, stress that impacts you negatively, which is also known as distress, can make you lose focus easily. When the task that you need to do is perceived as insurmountable, the stress becomes overwhelming and leads to task disengagement. When this happens, you will lose focus on the task and choose to do something else to alleviate yourself from the distress you experience. Anxiety impacts your focus in a similar manner, and thus it is important to regulate both your stress and anxiety if you want to never lose focus.

When multitasking is executed poorly, it leads to nothing getting finished. You need to imagine your ability to focus as a finite resource. Thus, allocating it properly is crucial. It is possible to do well in more than one task simultaneously if one of the tasks is something that you are already good at to the point where you don't need to think about doing it. We call this automatic behavior. For example, you're able to type an e-mail on your computer without having to look at the letters on your keyboard. This means that your typing skills are a form of automatic behavior. You don't need to allocate extra focus on ensuring that you're typing the right letters. You do, however, still need to maintain your focus while writing an email to make sure that you don't make embarrassing typos.

What does physical exercise have to do with not losing focus in life? Well, research has shown that physical exercise is associated with better cognitive performance, which includes a better ability to allocate cognitive resources. When you have trouble concentrating and remembering, you have exhausted your focus resources. Getting more physical exercise may help. Even light aerobic exercise has been shown to improve your ability to concentrate on your tasks.

If you have some trouble concentrating and remembering things, you need to get better sleep. Not just longer sleep, or more sleep, but better quality sleep. It is important to have uninterrupted sleep and within the right time frame. After all, research has proven that sleep deprivation leads to worsening performance in various tasks. Thus, if you've been neglecting your sleep for other engagements, it is time to put them aside and focus on resting.

As mentioned previously, multitasking, when done poorly, can lead to unfinished tasks. The same applies to distractions. When you have too many things happening around you, you will lose focus on the task at hand. There are many ways to mitigate this, of course, such as only working on your tasks in certain places that are as secluded as possible, or using noise-canceling headphones.

When you're tired, your performance suffers. This applies to whatever setting in which you find yourself - be it at work, at school, or at home. It is crucial that you take the time to stop and assess yourself before choosing to engage in a new task. Are you up for it? Do you need to take a rest? Remember that exhaustion is not just about the physical, it is also about the mental and emotional. If you need to take a break, don't feel guilty - just do it. There is always work to be done, thus you must know how to take care of yourself to perform at your best.

Now that you've read several possible reasons as to why you lose focus easily, you can start making a game plan on how to deal with the situations as they arise. Remember to evaluate your tasks and tackle them one by one for the best possible results.