There’s always so much going on in the online world that sometimes it’s really hard to create focus on what you know you need to be doing and be consistent at getting it done. At least, that’s always been my experience. I’ve found that the more I work at creating focus and building consistency in my business and my life, the easier things get because I know what to expect from myself each and every day.

Here are 5 tips you can use to create focus:

Tip 1: Find Your Focus Tool

Everyone has something unique to them that drives them to keep going—for example, I use motivational stickers in my bullet journal to keep me create focus during the day. If you don’t have a focus tool that works for you try using affirmations or giving yourself a pep talk before you start working.

Tip 2: Build Healthy Habits

Adopting a healthy lifestyle and exercise routine is one of the best ways to ensure you get the right nutrients your body needs to function optimally. Poor concentration and memory problems are direct messages from your body that it is missing essential nutrients to work correctly. Learn to listen to it and always strive to provide it what it needs.

Tip 3: Kick the Distractions

Put distractions like your cell phone in a different room or turn off your wi-fi if you don’t need the internet for what you’re doing at the time. Creating the right working environment that inspires you to work at your best and quickly is a key component in improving focus. Ditch the clutter and things that don’t provide value to your work.

Tip 4: Be more Mindful

To create focus, you have to commit to just doing it and being mindful of your actions and surroundings. Only you know what you need and want from life and no one else can tell you what that is.

Tip 5: Take Time to Plan

Find the right time of day to do your work. All humans have a set number of productive hours and times of day when it’s easier to create focus and get things done. Test and experiment with various schedules to see what works best for you. Just because everyone else works a 9 to 5 schedule doesn’t mean you have to, too.

So, What’s Consistency Got to Do With It?

Consistency is a skill that is about doing the same habits and routines regularly or repeatedly. It’s about committing to move forward and act no matter what obstacle lies in your way. Once you get yourself focused, then it’s time to start building the routines that will help keep you consistent at getting things done.

In other words, consistency is the repetition of the movements that get you closer to your goals. With consistency, you improve your weaknesses, perfect your strengths, empower yourself to accomplish more, and increase your productivity.

And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that being consistent goes a long way to helping you create focus and maintain it when you need it.

I’ve also learned that a lack of consistency can have a definitely negative effect on your business to. Here are just a few of the ways it has an impact:

• delays action and wastes time
• stalls momentum
• stalls personal growth and self-improvement
• creates unhealthy expectations

Here are 3 tips for creating more consistency:

Tip 1: Figure out what holds you back

If you want to harness the power of consistency, you must figure out what holds you back. Lack of desire or clearly understanding the direction you want to go in life will create resistance to action. For many, it’s due to fear of success or wanting instant gratification and having an “all or nothing mindset.”

It’s hard to be consistent when you don’t know what the steps you need to take are. It’s much easier to procrastinate, binge watch tv, or lose yourself in a book than it is to stop and figure out what the next step might be. Yet that’s the only way you can build a consistent routine and create focus needed to get the project completed.

Tip 2: Give yourself an attitude adjustment if you need to

Some days, you will not feel the best, and some days, others will get in your way. However, it does not matter what life throws at you. There is always a way to see it more positively and objectively to push forward and get what you want. You only have now, so don’t waste it any longer.

One way to do this is to give yourself permission to be flexible while still being consistent.

For example, if you can’t work on the task you normally would at a certain point in your routine, allow yourself to change the task but still keep moving forward. Don’t give in to the easy out and just take the time off. That way you’re still staying focused on taking action towards achieving your goals, but you’re allowing yourself to change the task if a delay makes it necessary.

Tip 3: Start with the baby steps

I love baby steps! There are days where I am only able to create focus and consistency when I take the baby steps because my mental and physical energy just can’t handle more than that. It’s amazing how much you can get accomplished toward your goals, when you string together a bunch of baby steps.

Here’s how you do that:

Find one task or activity that you know you can do every day without a second thought. Then add another step until that action becomes second nature. Test and repeat until you have a full and consistent workflow that works for your needs.

Final Thoughts

Once you have that consistent workflow down and it becomes second nature to you, you’ll find that that you can pretty much create focus on demand.

That’s because the more consistent you are, the easier it is to stay focused on what’s important. You and your customers both will be happier because you’ll all know what to expect.