Ask Christa! What Are Some Tips to be More Focused at Work? (S4E40)

Introduction and Listener Question

Hi everyone and welcome to Ask Christa! the place where you can ask questions about how to work through business challenges and workplace issues. I'm Christa Dhimo and today’s listener question is another short one, but more along the lines of life hacks: “what are some tips to be more focused at work?”

This is one of those questions where there are thousands of tips and tricks to improve focus at work, so as usual… I’m going to offer a different angle and start with what focus means.

Is Focus the Opposite of Distraction? 

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, focus is “a center of activity, attraction, or attention; a point of concentration.”

 I think we can all agree to that definition.

Interestingly, I could not find an antonym or opposite word for “focus” in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, but Thesaurus.com gave me: periphery, and I’m going to take it!   

Merriam-Webster DID provide the opposite of “focused,” as a verb, it was… Distracted. Another was, “Unfocused.”

Alright, Now That We Know What Focus Means… What Does it Actually Mean?

We ALL know that the general rules to be more focused at work is to reduce work distractions, and I agree that’s a good way to increase the CHANCES of you keeping your focus: for example, for twenty years I have checked my email only 2-3x every day. I make this known to everyone who works with me, and I encourage others to do the same: shut off notifications of email, shut off notifications of IM’s—slack, Teams, whatever it is. Actively check email and your DMs a few times a day; FOR REAL, if there’s such an urgency to something that someone needs you THIS VERY INSTANT, they’ll find you.

Most times people will figure things out on their own or find the right resources even before you get to your DMs or Emails anyway, and that’s not just good for you, but good for them, too.

So sure—there are a lot of things you can do to reduce distractions at work that will give you the opportunity to be more focused.

But the REAL question after that? After you’ve setup a workday where you can be more focused at work? It’s whether you can actually be MORE FOCUSED AT WORK.

And here’s where YOU need to develop a position, an opinion, a philosophy about what “being focused at work” means to you, what it looks like, what you accomplish when you have it, and why you want to have more of it and be more focused while at work. Only then will you know your context, your True North, your reason for needing focus AND wanting more of it. And the stronger your position, the more you'll be willing to make some changes within yourself to make some changes about HOW you focus at work.

Work Environment Matters…

Speaking of context, there isn’t any context with this listener question—and that’s OK. But as a result, we don’t know why this person may WANT to be more focused or what they’re experiencing now that led them to submit a question asking how to become MORE focused.

To properly frame my answer, and to simplify toward one track, I’m going to assume they work in a regular work environment or maybe from home; meaning, our listener doesn’t work in an environment where there are constant and intense distractions, such as in an emergency department for a large urban hospital, or at a US-based humane society or animal rescue facility, or in a large open-spaced “bull pen” setup at work, or at a construction site.

I’m making this distinction because if you’re in a highly distracting environment already, chances are you received training to manage the distractions OR if it's simply a chatty creative distracting place, a quick Google search will provide very specific tools and techniques you can use to be more focused at work, and it’s usually related to better control of the environment around you.

For example, you can use noise-canceling headphones if you work in an area in your workplace where a lot of people are talking and of course, in many countries there are regulations and mandates about what the work environment is like for those in a regular office setting, such as temperatures, lighting, desk and chair setup, and for some countries even how much noise you might hear.

Our physical environment matters A LOT when it comes to our ability to focus, so if there’s an issue with your actual surroundings, address it by talking to someone at work, potentially submitting a workplace service ticket or any other quick way to reduce or eliminate distractions.   

… And a Mind Ready to Focus Matters…

But the real task at hand when it comes to focus runs deeper than the workplace environment. It's usually within us. Saying we want to be more focused at work is a lot like saying we want to be healthier. We usually know the basics, but for many, especially those in the United States, our lifestyles and work habits often don’t support the basics.

 If you want to be more focused at work, address any workplace environment distractions but also make sure your mind is ready to be more focused, too, and considering there are dozens of productivity or workplace wellness articles issued all the time over the last decade (or more), with at least 10-30 hacks included in each one, with thousands across the workplace wellness domains—each focused on   the basics of what we already know, it’s a wonder why so many people still ask how they can be more focused at work.

But the basics remain, and they really are... basic.

Are we getting enough sleep at night, getting enough brain-breaks and changes in pace during the day, a reasonable workload with clear priorities, enough good food and hydration, and of course a manageable amount of stress while feeling safe at work so you can focus on doing your job more than focusing on not getting hurt.

So start with things that might be obvious and controllable and fixable as the quick environmental improvements for focus, then start working on the aspects of how your brain works SO THAT you can be more focused at work, or… anywhere:

First, take care of yourself physically: a brain is the MASTER ORGAN that keeps everything else functioning well: eat good food, hydrate, be active in whatever way is best for you, get good sleep—sleep rejuvenates us, and there’s no substitute for it.

Next: Take meaningful breaks during the day-- and this is a REALLY big one with A LOT of research behind it. I know for some this might seem silly and impossible, but your brain is forcing you to take breaks whether YOU take them or not. Forced brain breaks are… distractions. If you find yourself focused on work then suddenly an hour or two or three later you’re drifting and easily distracted, THAT’S your brain taking a break, whether you like it or not. This is also important if you’re a student, too, ESPECIALLY if you’re in graduate school working on a thesis or a dissertation. When you feel like you can’t generate more, do more, focus… that’s a forced brain break. Take it. You WILL bounce back. 

And then put actual brain breaks into your day so you don't tap your brain's focus dry but instead, regenerating some of that attention and concentration throughout the day. Your performance will improve, and your work quality will, too-- or at least, it won't diminish.

And a brain break is more than just task-switching: it’s about using your brain differently. Change your scenery. Change your environment. Move. Go outside. Have a conversation. The break is about recovery and reset.

So again, neurodiverse or brain injury circumstances aside, if you find yourself suddenly losing focus, getting sloppy, easily distracted… that’s your brain getting tired. 

 Give yourself a proper brain break—even short ones do a LOT of good for your focus. I’ll included a couple of quick resources in the show notes that are realistic AND based on research for what really works.

By the way, the brain breaks? Sometimes that’s about changing your pace and the direction of input and output. Connect with others. Shift from output: writing, creating, presenting, facilitating, to input. Read. Learn. Watch. Listen. OR switch it around. If you’re constantly in an “input” mode, shift to an output mode. Talk, write, create. And change your pace.

Last—super important: manage the stress at work, and this is often related to timeline stress as well as workload stress, but also to the ways we respond to behaviors around us. Take advantage of stress support when needed.

Additional Resources

For your resources, I’ve included a short video as a starter. It's from June 2024. It’s called, “Why it’s important to take breaks during work: Improve focus + lower stress.’ It’s by Jackson Kerchis and highlights study results from Microsoft’s Human Factors Lab about brain rest, especially in between meetings.

 I’ve also included an article in Harvard Business Review called “How to take better breaks at work, according to research.” Written by Lyubykh and Gulseren and published in May 2023, the article focuses (…) on the benefits of PAUSING work instead of PUSHING THROUGH work and offers insights on length of breaks, location, activities—even what leaders can do to support breaks throughout the day, which of course, we would expect from HBR.

 And for those who LOVE the more hardcore research I provide, I’ve included the Albulescu et al. paper, “Give me a break! A systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of micro-breaks for increasing well-being and performance.” It’s from August 2022, and I would focus (…) on the first four paragraphs in the Introduction, then the subsection called, “Theoretical underpinnings and outcomes of micro-breaks.” Then go to the Discussions section. It’s insightful and offers a lot of additional evidence that could be helpful if you’re the kind of person who truly believes you should be pushing through instead of pausing.

Last, I’ve included a brief article about Dr. Leonardo G. Cohen, an M.D. and senior investigator at the NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), called “Study shows how taking short breaks may help our brains learn new skills.” It was published in April 2025.

Wrap Up & Submitting Your Questions

And there it is—EPISODE FORTY!!! 

You can submit your question directly on my show’s site, AskChrista.com, that’s Christa with a C-H, where you can also browse through various episodes based on category. While your there—sign up for my More Answers… newsletter, where you will receive additional content on Sunday nights to set you up for the work week.

As always—thank you for your support. And remember, if you have a business challenge or a workplace issue—Ask Christa!