I will admit, staying focused on your goals is hard. No one said it will be easy. YOU have to want it for yourself and be able to fight off the distractions to achieve them.

It’s our duty not lose focus and preserve through it all, as the end goal will be worthwhile. We owe it to ourselves to be consistent and constantly reminded that “in every success story, the longest chapter is the one about determination”.

But not to fret, you’re not in this alone.

Without further ado, here are seven proven ways to harness your determination and stay focused:

1. PLAN YOUR DAY THE NIGHT BEFORE

Journaling has been proven, in countless instances, to accelerate your ability to manifest your goals. It allows for a clear headspace and helps keep you productive and calm during times of stress.

If you’re anything like me, you’re constantly thinking about life. What you’ll eat tomorrow, what you’ll say to who you may encounter, or even what you could’ve said in that argument you had prior will relentlessly cloud your mind, rent-free.

This can be extremely overwhelming so I can’t stress enough the importance of keeping a journal. It has allowed me to organize my thoughts in a concise way and has been my way of expressing my creativity.

Trust me, as an over thinker, continually reading and rewriting your goals daily ultimately allows them to become forged into your subconscious mind and memory. So much so that, eventually, your dreams will rapidly become your physical reality as it consumes your inner world.

Write down what you want to accomplish, both long term and short term. Begin segmenting your day and developing milestones towards your goals.

So before going to sleep, make some decisions about your day tomorrow, no matter how basic these may be. Stick to your schedule and at the end of the day, close your eyes for a few minutes and dwell in how good you feel to be in charge of your day.

Each day, your task list should be working towards those goals.

If it’s not, then it becomes very easy to see where you are spending your time the most, so you can readjust.

2. DETOX FROM DISTRACTIONS

I don’t know about you, but I’m someone who’s easily distracted by the littlest things. I’m that friend that takes spontaneous trips, literally anywhere, to avoid studying for an exam or doing my work.

It’s practically impossible to remain focused on your goals if you haven’t mastered time management. You’ll be amazed at how much you’ve progressed rather than falling behind when you find and implement and time management system that works for your lifestyle.

I suggest my all-time favorite: the quadrant time management system. It splits your daily activities up into four separate quadrants based on two factors: 1) urgency, and 2) importance. Things are either urgent and important, neither of those two, or one or the other.

An illustration of this is attached below, feel free to share with others.

The main idea is to steer clear from time-wasting activities, which aren’t urgent nor important (quadrant 4). It’s easy to lose focus on your goals when you’re indulged in this quadrant for much of the day, which includes things like binge watching Netflix, excessively using social media, and many more.

Instead, ensure that you spend as much of your day in the not-urgent-but-important quadrant (quadrant 2), which include your long-term goals. Although these goals aren’t presently urgent, they are important to our lives.

We can’t achieve our goals if we’re constantly living in defensive-mode, spending our time merely reacting to life and wasting time, rather than strategic offense, where we’re tackling things head on by planning in advance.

3. DO THE MOST DIFFICULT THINGS FIRST

Avoid procrastination.

I know that’s much easier said than done.

Believe me, even now as I writing this, I’m thinking about the few weeks prior where I said I would finish this post but kept putting it off.

Nonetheless, here I am now, trying to educate and practice what I’m preaching.

The most tedious duties will not get easier the more we worry about them or continue to put them off. We will only waste energy that would be better spent by just diving in. You might as well tackle the hardest tasks right away while you are still focused and have the energy.

Ideally, our minds have shown to be the sharpest in the morning and that is when we should do the tough things. With these out of the way, we can relax and accomplish more routine work that doesn’t require much mental strain or energy.

Your shoulders will thank you later when that burden is lifted off of them.

4. ADJUST THE COMPANY YOU KEEP

Food for thought: You become like the 5 people you spend the most time with.

Or as the saying goes, you should surround yourself with people who fit your future, not your history, as they will be a reflection of you.

Hold yourself accountable, with help.

If you surround yourself with people that are smart, go-getters, passionate about what they do, then those qualities will rub off on you.

Take the time to switch up your group of friends, your co-workers and work environment, and even your family.

Remove any negativity from your life. If these people are not contributing to your life in a healthy, positive way, reconsider how much time you spend with them.

5. ALLOW YOURSELF TO REGENERATE

A common thread between great minds is exercise and meditation.

Whether it’s going to the gym, or even taking a leisure stroll through your neighborhood, being in harmony with your body will support you in getting through the mental endeavors necessary to produce great work.

This is another great way to clear your mind and allow it some rest as it has worked diligently in the previous hours.

Too many entrepreneurs and “driven achievers” forget this.

Take some time in the morning and at night before bed to quiet your mind and let the creativity come to you — instead of you relentlessly chasing it.

Not such a bad idea to journal or create a vision board for yourself.

It doesn’t take much to sit in silence for 5–10 minutes.

6. ELIMINATE YOUR VICES

This is different from removing distractions.

Distractions are the TV, cell phone, the party next door, etc.

Vices are the things we use when we really, really want to avoid the hard work.

Nicholas Cole, medium.com

By eliminating them, we can become more aware of what within us is holding us back.

Surprisingly enough, once you remove your vice, you will vividly see the moments when you crave it and the moments when you have no craving whatsoever.

And if you can’t, ask yourself why.

There’s a lot to explore there.

And those cravings will provide you the interminable insight into what really prevents you from achieving greatness.

7. CONSTANTLY REMIND YOURSELF OF YOUR ULTIMATE GOALS

Implementing motivational techniques and picturing yourself achieving your goals is the ultimate goal here.

Repeatedly thinking about your goals will make them seem that much more attainable.

As I’ve stated before, the best thing would be to write down the goals. Either in a diary that you’ll see frequently or a whiteboard in your room or wherever you like.

Keeping it all in the head will not help. Brain has too many thoughts to process, making it difficult for us to remain focussed on just a few of them.

If you like, draw a rough picture of what you want to achieve.

Try writing down your short-term goals with a deadline date on a pocket-sized card that you carry along with you. You read it daily to remind yourself exactly what you have to work towards for the day/week/month.

I’ve tried the above trick a few times and it’s worked for me. But it requires some of your time. To think exactly what your goals are and to write them down and to read them. For simplicity, break down your goal in small steps. For instance, say your goal is to write a novel, start with the smaller goal of writing 300-500 words of one chapter a day. Keeping only the broad goals like ‘I’ll finish writing five chapters in 2 weeks may seem discouraging. Apply this same philosophy to any goal.

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I hope this post helps and you find your own suitable way of working towards your goals 🙂

Feel free to share your thoughts, advice, and tips in the comments!

With love, khaamisa