Having focus and being organised whether that’s with tasks, goals or life in general, is one of the keys to having a stress-free life.

This post shares my best tips for staying on track and getting more done in less time.

Focus and efficiency don’t come naturally to a lot of us at the best of times, let alone when going through menopause and dealing with symptoms like brain fog or anxiety! This means finding strategies that help you be more efficient and make best use of your time.

Top tips

🤹‍♀️ Stop multitasking

Multitasking might make you feel like you’re doing more, but it will most likely only help you procrastinate and take longer to get stuff done. And worse than that, it will reduce your focus on each task. This then increases the chances of making mistakes, meaning you have to go back and re-do things. Ain’t nobody got time for that! If you’ve got a block of time, use it to focus on getting one thing finished and finished properly.

🏃‍♀️ Start now

As soon as you start a task (preferably one at a time, remember), your focus shifts to the task ahead, planning what and how to do it, and especially evaluating any progress and difficulties ahead. Because you get so into the flow, this makes it harder to stop or drop the task. So, the best way to get something done is to start doing it instead of thinking about it!

🔎 Keep yourself in check

Evaluate yourself. Look long and hard at the tasks you really need to accomplish and set yourself some goals and deadlines. These can be general ones, or smaller ones for each task or stage, and each day. Then, make a list of what you actually did at the end of the day and compare both. Trying to make both lists identical will help keep you focused and determined, and in turn, ensure you do more with your time.

⏱ Set timers

Use a technique such as the Pomodoro technique. This is a popular time management strategy. You basically set a timer and work on 1 task until the timer ends. You then have a 5-minute break. Repeat this 4 times and then have a longer break of 15 – 20 minutes. Obvs you can change the timings to suit you but this is a tried and tested technique that a lot of people find keeps them very focussed and productive. If you have issues with brain fog and difficulty concentrating, you could try setting your timer for maybe 15 – 20 minutes instead. Play around with it though and see what works.

🧘‍♀️ Relax

You don’t need to do everything in one day. More to the point, it’s probably impossible to anyway! I’m not sure what your to-do list is like but mine is an ever-changing live list that never seems to get any smaller! The best thing you can do is to have a balanced schedule. Find out which are your best working hours, and try to compress the heaviest or more challenging work into those hours. Then make time for regular breaks and long recreational periods, where you can eat, watch a tv show or read a book. This will ensure you have a clear, relaxed mind while you work, and keep you focused. It will also give you something to look forward to at the end of that pile of work, so it will keep you motivated to get through it quicker!

These are some proven methods that help to retain focus and accomplish more work in less time. It is good to note, though, that everyone is different, and some techniques may work better with some than others, and you may find a different strategy will work better for you. But if you’re really struggling, these tips may be worth a try, at least as a starting point, to get your focus to where it needs to be.

What strategies do you use that help you focus and get stuff done? Comment below and share your tips.