12 Ways to Maintain Focus All Day Long

The “Zeigarnik Effect” is the principle that unfinished tasks are harder to get out of your brain than are tasks that haven’t been started. This means that starting a project — even if you work on it for just 10 minutes — will make it harder for your brain to forget or dismiss it. If you find yourself daydreaming instead of getting started, set a timer for 10 minutes and do something (anything!) during that time. Once you start, the big, scary project will turn into an unfinished task — meaning your brain will latch onto it and figure out how to get it done.

Write down your major priorities at the beginning of each day. This is a great way to block out annoying distractions and periodically refocus your attention. A daily focus list — a short, bulleted outline of three major and three secondary priorities — isn’t just a “to-do list”; rather, it’s a grounding tool that keeps your head out of the clouds and focused on what’s really important. (Download an example of a daily focus list .)

Racing thoughts and hyperactive imaginations mean that ADHD brains are easily thrown off course by passing thoughts about dry cleaning or returning Aunt Linda’s phone call. Deal with sidetracking thoughts — and the anxiety they can create — with a “parking lot,” an easily accessible place to dump unneeded thoughts until a more appropriate time. The parking lot could be a notebook you carry in your purse, or a post-it note stuck to your desk; whatever it is, it will save you stress and keep your focus unbroken.

Write down your major priorities at the beginning of each day. This is a great way to block out annoying distractions and periodically refocus your attention. A daily focus list — a short, bulleted outline of three major and three secondary priorities — isn’t just a “to-do list”; rather, it’s a grounding tool that keeps your head out of the clouds and focused on what’s really important.