Being focused when doing something, whatever it is, will really help us in getting it done. The time and energy required are less than doing it while multitasking. That's because every time we start doing it again, there will be more energy needed to start again from the beginning. If we focus and finish in one start, then the activation energy is required only once.
Unfortunately, we naturally find it very hard to focus on something. There are so many things that can disturb our focus. The most disturbing example is our phone. If a notification popping up, it seems very hard to ignore it, even though we know that it isn't that important. Fortunately, it's not just us who have struggled with focusing, there are also many people out there who feel the same way, and there have also been many studies discussing the best way to focus.
Stay away from sources of distraction #
If we will definitely check our phone every notification, there's nothing wrong with keeping the phone away. Throw it away until we have to spend extra effort to pick it up. If possible, hide it in a different room.
If you're still afraid to miss something, install WhatsApp on your laptop and connect it to your cellphone, so you can still reply to important chats via your laptop without being distracted by your phone.
Create Challenges #
One of the things that make us really addicted to is playing games, because behind the game, there are developers who really design the game in such a way that it is difficult for people to stop playing when they play.
They design the game with levels that have difficulties that continue to rise as time goes on. But we can still pass it, so that we have a sense of success, pride, and feel challenged to continue playing the game. We can make our tasks to be like that, too. Make the task a bit difficult, but don't make it too difficult so that you don't feel anxious at first. Don't make it too easy, too, as it will make us bored.
Create an Awkward Target #
For example, we have 10 questions. We set a target to do 7 questions. When we are tired on the 5th question, we can say, "C'mon, 2 more then we finish." And later, when we reach the 7th question, we can still say, "Just a little bit more, and all questions will be done." And so on.
Just three for now, will be added later if there are more.