# You're Not Stupid: How To Never Lose Focus Again

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDpBqMCugZg

[00:00] imagine having deep focus and perfect flow every time you work.
[00:05] in this video I'm going to teach you the methods that I use to consistently maintain Focus.
[00:08] even when I'm tired and exhausted not in the right mood didn't get enough sleep surrounded by distractions whatever it is.
[00:14] I'll go over what determines whether your brain stays focused or not.
[00:17] how we can manipulate that to optimize our focus and at the end I'll give you my top eight high yield tips that I use for my personal life to stay focused.
[00:25] FYI to my knowledge I am neurotypical but if you have ADHD or ASD with hyperd distractability this should help you too.
[00:34] and by the way there is a lot to cover in this video so don't worry about writing it all down.
[00:38] I'm going to have a summary at the very end where I go through all eight tips.
[00:41] for those of you who are new to this channel welcome.
[00:43] I'm Dr Justin Sun.
[00:45] I'm a learning coach and head of learning and iin study.
[00:47] I'm also a former medical doctor.
[00:48] for the past decade I've worked with thousands of people from around the world to help them learn more efficiently and be more focused.
[00:54] before we jump into it I'd appreciate if you give this video a like.
[00:58] it really helps with the algorithm so so first of all let's talk about what Focus.
[01:02] means despite what your parents or your teachers might have told you in the past
[01:05] you can't just increase your focus by trying harder
[01:07] it doesn't work that way
[01:10] for example if someone slaps you in the face every 5 seconds
[01:13] it's probably going to be impossible to focus
[01:16] and this might seem like an extreme example which it is
[01:18] and I hope that's not happening to you
[01:20] but it does bring up an important Point
[01:22] Focus involves a lot of different factors
[01:25] some of these factors we control
[01:28] and some of these factors we can't control
[01:30] having good focus in the real world where things are generally unpredictable is knowing which of these factors matter
[01:35] and knowing how we can control them
[01:38] it's like a control dial
[01:40] you have to know how to turn them up and turn them down
[01:43] and on some days you need to optimize more of these factors
[01:46] and on some days you need to optimize less
[01:48] it's not about just a technique here or there
[01:50] and the same technique doesn't always work in every setting
[01:53] it's about understanding what pulls you in and pushes you out of focus in different scenarios
[01:59] and on different days and
[02:03] being able to optimize that for example.
[02:06] I'm currently filming in my hotel room here in India.
[02:08] I've been traveling around cities meeting our students holding some workshops and it's been an amazing experience so far but it does mean that my travel schedule keeps me on the move pretty often.
[02:15] Unfortunately for me I have to do just as much work as I was having to do before I went on this trip and just for reference I was doing 100 hour work weeks before coming on to this trip.
[02:33] FYI if you want to learn how I time manage when I'm doing these 100 hour work weeks I've got another video that you can check out here.
[02:38] So on this trip I have to do work in a lot of very unideal situations.
[02:43] Sometimes I'm working on the plane.
[02:45] Sometimes I'm working in an Uber and by the way Uber rides in India are wild.
[02:52] I usually don't have a proper desk.
[02:55] I'm usually constantly surrounded by loud noises and distractions.
[02:59] I'm basically always always tired and I'm usually between important events.
[03:00] In fact the other night I literally had to
[03:04] borrow a pen from the restaurant and do some work on a napkin because there something that I had to get done and I was running out of time.
[03:09] the work I'm doing is also pretty high stakes for my business as well so I can't just get it done.
[03:14] every piece of work needs to be done to a very high quality so this kind of situation I need to know exactly how to turn each of these dials to stay on top of things.
[03:22] and even if I'm just sitting at home it's the same thing sometimes it's just harder for me to get my head in gear I have to know why and what dials I can turn for that situation.
[03:30] so what are the factors that actually matter and how do we control them.
[03:35] there is a lot of research on this and one great resource that you can look at is a place called the flow research collective which is basically a group of researchers investigating flow and deep flow and focus states.
[03:44] there's a lot to go through so I'm going to focus this video on the things that have made the most difference for me personally.
[03:53] I'm starting from the least important and helpful in my opinion and also in my professional experience to the most helpful but remember that even any one of these factors could potentially be so out of control that that alone is enough.
[04:05] to put you out of focus so even the least important one can't just be completely ignored.
[04:09] First off with number eight is diet and exercise.
[04:14] I know certain foods make me feel bloated and exercise helps with my cognitive performance.
[04:18] So when I'm super busy I try to find time to get regular exercise in.
[04:23] Over the years I've realized that when I skip exercise it just makes things worse.
[04:26] But this factor does have a limit and how helpful it is.
[04:28] I I think after a certain point you're not really getting many improvements anymore.
[04:31] For example I think diet can be really overrated sometimes.
[04:35] There are a lot of people that are obsessed with trying to find the perfect brain superfood but actually I don't really think that it makes that much of a difference.
[04:44] And there's certainly not enough research to suggest that it does either.
[04:46] So unless you're not exercising at all and your diet is completely whack this is probably going to be the lowest priority item on the list for you.
[04:55] Number seven is limiting your visual distractions.
[05:00] Seeing something distracting is distracting.
[05:03] I usually try to position myself somewhere with a pretty nice view but there isn't
[05:06] anything specific that's too interesting that's going to distract me.
[05:08] I like having a nice view because I can be working and then I can look up and gaze out into the distance.
[05:14] Which is something that I do when I think about things.
[05:15] And I notice that if I'm looking up and I see just a wall right in front of me or there is something distracting that does pull me out of focus.
[05:21] If I'm not able to position myself like that I can sometimes wear a hat with a hoodie.
[05:26] It just narrows my field of view and if that isn't enough or you just don't want to do that then there's not really much more else that you can do.
[05:31] And at this point I just have to deal with it.
[05:34] And this is the reason why this doesn't rank so highly because the amount you can control this is somewhat limited.
[05:41] And even if you can't control it it usually is not going to be as beneficial as the next items.
[05:43] And number six is Task timing.
[05:46] I talk a lot more about this in my scheduling video here but the main idea is that you want to schedule tasks and events during your day when you know you're going to be more focused and effective for that task.
[05:58] For example I like to do more deep work that requires a lot of concentration in the mornings and I try to do more menial timec
[06:07] consuming but lower mental effort work during the evenings.
[06:09] the only way that you can really figure this out though is to try it out yourself observe and experiment.
[06:16] again this one is actually really helpful and if you can nail this one down then it does make a really big difference.
[06:21] again I took a lot more about that in my scheduling video but I'm ranking a little bit lower because you can't always control this and even if you don't get this it's still possible to do really good focused work.
[06:30] number five is to craft a focus zone.
[06:32] if possible try to create a clear and uncluttered workplace that is separate from where you sleep or relax.
[06:40] one of the worst things that you can do is mix your workpace with your relaxation space and never ever study or work in bed.
[06:47] not only does that reduce your brain's conditioning to enter into good focus when it's time to work and study but it also reduces your brain's conditioning to to go and sleep when it's time to rest.
[07:01] this can lead to things like insomnia.
[07:03] it's also the reason why you shouldn't be scrolling on your phone or watching videos when you're in bed.
[07:08] I have the privilege of having my own office inside my home and I don't do anything in that room other than work or study.
[07:13] I've spent years playing around with my situp and what I prefer and how that affects my focus.
[07:19] And I've even spent money on outfitting my office with smart LED bulbs that change color depending on my task or time of day.
[07:26] Whether that really makes a difference or if I'm just trying to justify my spending habits is another question.
[07:32] But let's just not think too deeply about that one.
[07:35] Sometimes you can actually just create a focus zone by going somewhere where you know it's a better environment for focusing like the library or at a cafe.
[07:45] And just changing your environment can be a increased to your focus.
[07:47] Just like the previous one, this one can be extremely helpful to take some time to figure out.
[07:52] But again, it's not always within your control.
[07:55] For example, me when I'm traveling, right now, I'm ially never able to create a focus zone.
[08:00] And I can still get some really deep focused work done.
[08:02] I also have some students that don't even own a desk and they're still able to be really productive, which
[08:09] brings us to number four which is attention span and this is probably the beginning of the most powerful factors I think.
[08:18] these are the ones where if you don't have these in place it's just going to be hard for you to focus in any situation to be frankly honest.
[08:26] short form videos and social media are training our ability to f Focus to become shorter and shorter and shorter.
[08:31] and a big part of staying focused especially over a long period of time is how much effort your brain needs to exert to keep your brain on task.
[08:40] if you have a very short attention span it takes more effort to stay on task.
[08:45] we get tired more easily and therefore we need to optimize more things just to overcome that.
[08:49] training your attention span is possible and it is kind of like the just Brute Force way of becoming more focused.
[08:57] it's kind of like going and working out to get stronger like regardless of what exercise or sport you do you're probably going to have a bit of an advantage there if you're generally more athletic.
[09:08] now unfortunately in this distraction
[09:11] free world it's probably not enough if you just have a great attention span and nothing else.
[09:16] but it does make everything easier.
[09:19] my preferred and recommended way of training your attention span is something like mindfulness meditation.
[09:25] there are apps that you can use.
[09:26] personally I recommend using Cal they have these 30-day beginner courses but there are lots of other YouTube videos on mindfulness meditation as well.
[09:34] the idea here is that you put your mind in a state where it's forced to be distracted and you train your mind to get back on track every time you bring your thoughts back.
[09:43] if you do this for around 15 to 20 minutes a day you should start seeing noticeable improvements to your attention span as well as actually a whole range of other benefits like emotional resilience and overall energy within a month.
[09:52] but because it is retraining your brain just like growing a muscle it actually does take time.
[09:56] it's not not an instantaneous fix unfortunately.
[10:00] but also just as a disclaimer if you have some past trauma I would recommend that you do this with a therapist or a psychologist because in some cases meditation can actually resurface past trauma and number three.
[10:12] is rest timing the most famous example of this is the Pomodoro Technique where you work for 25 minutes and then you take a 5 minute break.
[10:20] There are lots of variations of this and you can do lots to make this more effective.
[10:24] The actual number doesn't really matter so much as the principle to take some more frequent shorter breaks to keep your focus and energy levels topped up rather than depleting yourself all the way to exhaustion and then needing to spend a really long time recovering.
[10:37] For me personally I just use this rule of thumb I just keep working within a flow state until I feel like I'm losing my flow I'm slipping out of flow more easily I'm getting distracted a little bit more easily I can see that my mind is starting to get restless at this point I know that it's time to take a break.
[10:55] I see how long I've worked for I take that number I divide it by four and that becomes comes my break.
[11:00] Most days I can manage around 1 to 2 hours of deep focused flow state work before I need to take a break but on some days I can barely squeeze out 30 minutes it's just what it is.
[11:09] Now the two really important things to do here is number one you have to time your break so that you don't go.
[11:15] over and you have to do something during that break that actually makes you feel re-energized for example don't do something that you know is just going to suck you in like starting like a whole new online game or watching your favorite series on Netflix like you know you're not going to be able do that within just the allocated amount of time that you had in your break anyway so don't even start the meditation that I told you about before or other breathing techniques like the whm Hoff method which you can search up these can be really effective for getting a lot of recovery and re-energization in a very short period of time when I'm really in a rush and I need to make sure I'm doing a lot of focused work back to back those are the types of things that I'll do during my break and also just make sure that you're not waiting until you are so tired to take the break if and doubt take it a little bit earlier like I said for me when I feel like I'm just losing the edge the sharp edge of that flow state that's when I'll take my break and coming in at number two is to create auditory focus in other words just blocking out distracting sounds and creating a auditory focus zone I'm not
[12:18] entirely sure why but there's something about auditory focus and sounds that are just so powerful both for distracting us and helping us enter into Focus.
[12:26] I know there's a lot of research that's ongoing about brain wave frequencies and different types of sounds that might be able to influence that but I'm not aware of anything that's too conclusive yet.
[12:39] but I do know that trying to optimize it is very very effective which is why it ranks in at number two.
[12:42] so here's what I do to control this.
[12:43] first of all I always have noise cancelling headphones or earphones on with me pretty much at all times.
[12:49] and secondly I use a White Noise app.
[12:51] if you don't know white noise is basically a sound that doesn't communicate any information such as the sound of static when you're on your radio between two stations.
[12:58] there's sound coming in but there isn't anything for your brain to focus on or process.
[13:04] so here's the tip around using white noise that I think a lot of people don't think about.
[13:08] The purpose of white noise is to drown out distractions while also helping you to enter into this immersive focus zone.
[13:14] so instead of using the same white noise that you normally would like
[13:18] the sound of rain in every single instance.
[13:20] I actually recommend trying to match the White Noise with the type of distraction you're trying to drown out.
[13:26] For example if I'm somewhere where there are a lot of people talking around me, then that's going to be distracting.
[13:30] So I'll actually add sounds of people talking like crowd or Cafe sounds.
[13:37] Because now it makes those voices indistinguishable.
[13:40] There's so much going on that it becomes White Noise.
[13:42] Next I'll try to layer that sound with another sound that matches my mood and overall energy.
[13:49] For example if it's a really bright and sunny day outside, I'll usually play some kind of the sounds of birds singing or something like the river flowing or the sound of waves hitting a beach.
[14:01] If it's a rainy day I add even more rain and then Thunder.
[14:04] If it's late in the evening and it's all dark I'll add fireplace sounds like crackling and popping.
[14:08] I love that stuff.
[14:10] Now the app I personally use for this is this called White Noise or white noise light.
[14:14] The most important thing is that you have to be able to create a mix or a combination of different White Noise.
[14:19] sounds when I was on Android I used to use an app called relaxo which basically does the same thing and finally before we hit number one make sure to hit the like button violently but only an odd number of times and coming in at number one is the ability to control your interruptions.
[14:34] this could be your friend or your family coming in to ask you questions while you're working when they really could have asked you that question like 20 minutes ago and you're literally standing right next to them before you had anything else better to do but it can also be digital interruptions like notifications or messages that you get on your phone.
[14:51] controlling interruptions is really kind of obvious but it's the most important one because if you're getting interrupted it actually doesn't matter anything else that you do you will never be able to focus the thing is that we often think that these interruptions can't be controlled but actually there are more strategies than you might realize.
[15:08] digital interruptions actually pretty easy to control you can just put your phone or device on do not disturb mode and that kind of settles it if you really struggle then you could also use app blockers that stop you from engaging in apps that might distract you.
[15:20] if it's other people that are actually disrupting you then something that's worked for myself and a lot of my students and clients is to actively tell the people who might interrupt you that you're about to enter into a state of deep focus and to just not interrupt you unless it's really urgent.
[15:34] if that isn't enough it maybe that they actually have a habit of interrupting you and they don't catch themselves or they forget in which case you could just put a sign up in front of your door either physically or digitally or however you want to a notice that they see to remind them that you are working and that can actually be a cue for them to stop themselves and I can verify that that actually does work a surprise surprising amount of times even in Asian family households where there generally is not a parental respect of boundaries and if that is not enough then you probably need to move like just another location you don't have to move out of your house or anything you can go to a library you can go to a cafe you can go somewhere where you know that those interruptions are not going to be present but what happens if you can't do any of these things in that situation and it happens to me a
[16:22] lot what I do is I don't actually schedule and plan on doing any focused work during that time.
[16:29] if I I know that I can control every other fact that I've talked about but not interruptions I know that that is not viable for me to have focused work.
[16:39] if I don't have interruptions but I know I can control all the other factors then that's fair game.
[16:44] I can get some really solid focused work done so what I'll do instead is in that time where I'm getting interrupted I will prep and plan for my focus work session so that when I'm able to sit down and really get focused I'm able to get through more stuff because I've helped to prepare myself for that session.
[17:01] it could be planning priming creating some kind of flow getting resources together doing an outline making sure that the guidelines of an assignment are readily available to you.
[17:11] it could be about extracting information from sources that when you're focused all you have to do is consolidate and put it together.
[17:18] depending on the task that you're doing your preparation is obviously going to differ now there are
[17:22] still ways that you can use your frequently interrupted blocks of time as well and still be pretty focused.
[17:31] but they usually require more training and setup and a certain level of skill to be able to pull off.
[17:36] if you want to know how to do this with microlearning in terms of studying then I'd recommend that you check out my video on how to make anky three times more effective of any flash cards.
[17:45] you can also get some really solid learning with just five or 10 minute blocks of time by layering your learning really strategically.
[17:52] it's a little bit more advanced but if you want to learn how to do that then I recommend starting with my video here talking about what is my most powerful learning and studying hack.
[18:00] and finally there are two honorable mentions here which are task process and sleep task.
[18:05] process means a process you use to complete a task for example if you use a method of learning and studying that is not engaging the right cognitive processes then you may not feel that you're able to stay in that flow very long because your brain literally wants to escape a terrible experience whereas if you learn a really effective method.
[18:23] it's actually much easier to keep your brain in flow cuz it's naturally more engaged.
[18:25] so the task process makes a big difference to how how long and how sustainably and consistently you can stay in flow.
[18:33] this is arguably one of the most important factors as well but because the actual task process depends on the task you're doing I just didn't include it in my list and secondly sleep is really important for health memory learning and memory consolidation.
[18:52] cognitive performance and well basically like everything in life once you become sleep deprived for more than one or two days your performance drops so hard that it's really not worth sacrificing sleep for anything anymore.
[19:03] getting your sleep right with a good sleep hygiene and wind down nighttime routine is always going to be worth the 30 minutes or hour that it would normally take.
[19:13] so those were my top eight most helpful adjustments and optimizations to improve focus with two honorable mentions.
[19:20] I think a lot of the principles that I talked about in this video align and complement the things I
[19:23] talked about in my scheduling video a lot so I'd recommend checking that out.
[19:27] you might need to improve your time management anyway to pull off some of these tips in the first place.
[19:31] if you like this video make sure to subscribe so you don't miss the next one.
[19:32] thank you so much for watching and I'll see you next.
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