7 “Mind-Hacks” to Boost Your Focus, Sales, & Drive to Succeed
9 out of 10 business owners have reported struggling with “Shiny Object Syndrome” at least once in their business journey according to Inc. Magazine…
And here’s what “it” is:
“Shiny Object Syndrome”—a distracted mindset.
You have Shiny Object Syndrome if instead of focusing on what really fuels the growth of your business, you get side-tracked like a moth to the flame by a new idea that seems exciting.
Did you know that in a typical office workers are interrupted or switch tasks, on average, every 3 minutes and 5 seconds?
And did you know research has shown it can take 23 minutes and 15 seconds just to get back to where they left off?
You sit down to work on a task for your business. You’re dedicated. Focused. But instead of getting started… a sponsored ad pops up.
Or an “important” email in your inbox that can’t wait ‘til tomorrow…
Or there’s a Facebook or Instagram notification on your phone…
You look up from your screen later wondering:
“How much time did I just waste on that? Darn.”
Luckily, there are some proven ways to boost your brain-power and increase concentration. And most of them are free.
As an entrepreneur, I’ve battled with daily distractions—and lately, I’m winning. That’s why today, I’m teaching you…
- How to identify a “shiny object” that will distract you and how to avoid it.
- The 7 proven mind-hacks (like life-hacks) that’ll keep you focused on crushing your sales goal, and...
- How to make these powerful habits part of your daily routine to start driving you to succeed.
Let’s start reviewing those life-hacks, get your brain focused, and crush your sales goals
In a rush? Want to download this article as a PDF so you can easily take action on it later?
Trying to Stay Focused In an Unfocused Time?
The Coronavirus is everywhere.
You visit a website and there’s an announcement related to it (just like we have on our website btw)...
You put on the news and 1,000s more COVID-19 cases are diagnosed and continue to skyrocket.
Supermarkets are still out of toilet paper.
And everyone’s posting memes on Social Media that you must check out.
It’s distracting. I get it.
Your phone, the internet, the news—all keep you away from the one thing you should be focused on: growing your sales.
It’s good to use our mobile devices to stay informed—up to a point.
But it doesn’t help if technology keeps us spending an average of 3 hours and 15 minutes a day on our phones. And checking our phones 58 times per day.
According to Deloitte, technology has some downsides to our productivity. It takes our time and attention.
Technology gives but takes away too.
In fact, research by CareerBuilder shows that the biggest productivity killers in a workplace for employers are:
- Cell phones/texting: 52%
- The Internet: 44%
- Gossip: 37%
- Social media: 36%
- Email: 31%
- Co-workers dropping by: 27%
- Meetings: 26%
- Smoke breaks/snack breaks: 27%
- Noisy co-workers: 17%
- Sitting in a cubicle: 10%
But to be successful, you need to master the art of focusing on one thing. And you need to be self-motivated.
It’s no wonder why billionaires put all their attention into one task before moving onto the next one.
Right now, keeping our attention on one thing is admittedly a bit hard but not impossible.
And this article shows you 7 proven mind-hacks that’ll help you boost your brain, keep your mindset focused on business, and crush your sales goals.
Because in the end, as Harvard Business Review states, you can use behavioral principles to wean yourself from distractions.
1. Fill Your Brain with Ideas that Inspire and DRIVE You to Succeed
I always listen to Mixergy’s podcasts.
The other day I went for a walk and listened to Andrew Warner.
He was talking to entrepreneurs about how they built and scale their businesses.
For me, this is truly inspiring. And it ignites a competitive streak.
It made me think, “I can do the same to keep scaling my business with my team.”
Listening to podcasts is the first mind-hack I recommend.
It’s like having a virtual mentor 365 days a year.
I do it while going for walks and runs.
It helps me fill my brain with inspiring ideas that drive me to succeed.
Every day I listen to stories of other successful entrepreneurs and business leaders.
I learn about their journeys from startups to scaling up their businesses and how they do it.
This pushes me to constantly learn from them and level up myself, and in turn, Growbo.
Did you know that, according to Buzzsprout, 20% of U.S. podcast listeners have an annual household income of $100,000 to $150,000?
And another 15% of U.S. podcast listeners have an annual household income of $150,000+.
The other day I was listening to another podcast.
This entrepreneur is a marathonist who owns a Yoga business.
And she mentioned that for anyone looking to reinvent themselves or their businesses, it’s necessary to do 3 things:
- Know what you’re reinventing for.
- Delegate and do team work because there’s no way you can do it all yourself.
- And ask for help because you don’t know everything.
I found this last point particularly interesting because it’s actually quite honest.
We don’t know everything. We’re constantly looking to learn something new and the best way to do it is by asking those who know about it.
That’s why my favorite mind-hack is filling my brain with inspiring ideas I get from listening to podcasts.
2. Stop Multitasking (this Simple Tool Makes it Super Easy…)
As an entrepreneur or business owner, you get distracted by… well, everything.
Especially if you work from a computer.
Ads like these pop up every second...
You can’t even listen to some relaxing music in Spotify because more ads are displayed every second.
RescueTime is a simple tool that lets you block distracting websites like portal news or Youtube.
You can sign up for free or for their paid $6/per month plan.
While most apps distract you, RescueTime gives your attention back.
You can sign up for a free trial to try their app for 14 days too.
This tool is a great way to hack your brain chemistry and stop you from multitasking.
Because multitasking can actually drop your productivity by 40%, take you 50% longer to accomplish one single task, and make up to 50% more errors according to Visually.
And as Pareto’s law says, you get 80% of the results from 20% of your efforts.
So you might as well figure out what deserves your 20% and simply focus on that.
And one effective way I’ve found to do so is with RescueTime.
It will help you focus and avoid interruptions by blocking all distracting websites from your computer.
And best of all, you can manage for how long you wish those websites to be blocked.
It automatically sees when you’re distracted, alerts you when that happens, and starts blocking the websites.
Also, it lets you customize and categorize your block list depending on how distracting one website is to you.
And it finally shows you in-depth reports of the distracting websites you use and the time you spend on them.
And of course, once you’re done accomplishing something, you can celebrate by unblocking those pages.
And this tool not only helps you focus on work-related stuff.
It can also help you with any personal or educational task you’re looking to complete on your computer.
3. Exercise—Especially Cardio In the Mornings
Exercising is key to increasing your brain power.
When you exercise, the BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) protein boosts your cognitive abilities according to the American Council on Exercise.
In fact, research by American Psychological Association shows that:
- Employees who exercise before work have shown a 15% increase in productivity.
- Employees who spent 2.5 hours per week exercising were more satisfied with the quantity and quality of their work.
- Employees who spent 2.5 hours per week exercising reported increased work ability.
Especially, if you do cardio in the mornings, this’ll let you boost your productivity during the day.
A study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information found that exercise is a fantastic way to boost cortisol to feel more awake in the mornings.
And research by the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that morning exercise actually improves attention, visual learning, and decision-making.
So try a routine where all you’re doing isn’t just working.
Wake up and do some cardio in the mornings.
That’ll help you get your brain super focused on your daily tasks.
4. Boost Your Self-Image and Confidence with Weight-Lifting
As part of exercising, consider doing some weight-lifting.
Yeah, I know, you’re probably wondering, “Why the heck should I lift some heavy weights to crush some sales?”
And the truth is, you don’t have to.
However, lifting weights leads you to having a better self-image.
And having a better self-image gives you confidence.
I’m pretty sure you know where I’m going, don’t you?
The bottom line is, boosting your self-image gives you confidence.
It makes you feel good about yourself. It makes you feel good about getting on the call with a potential buyer. And it makes you feel good about asking for the sale.
In fact, one determinant of sales success in any field with any product or service, is actually self-confidence according to American Management Association.
Lifting weights has helped me close sales at Growbo for years.
And I’ve actually encouraged our Digital Marketing Strategist to do the same to beat the stage fright before a call.
There’s even a Ted Talk about how sitting straight for 2 minutes will help increase your testosterone and your confidence.
And testosterones give you that one little push you need to just ask for the sale which, as anyone in sales knows, is hands down one of the most important parts of your pitch.
5. Use An Alarm to Go to Sleep, Not to Wake Up
Sleep more.
Your business needs you to be rested.
If you multitask, don’t exercise, AND don’t sleep, your brain won’t function at its best.
You need to be fresh when you wake up every morning and start working on your business.
In fact, The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society recommend that adults between 18–60 years should sleep at least 7 hours each night to promote optimal health and well-being.
They also state that sleeping less than 7 hours per day is associated with an increased risk of developing chronic conditions like high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and frequent mental distress.
For instance, one infallible life-hack you must try every day is using an alarm not to wake up, but to go to sleep.
Being disciplined with your schedule for resting is key to increasing your brain power and your growth mindset.
Setting up an alarm to go to sleep is the most efficient way to actually stop working and get some much needed shut-eye.
Nothing will ruin your focus more than an inconsistent sleep schedule.
In fact, successful billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates sleep at least 7 hours a day according to Inc.
Popular musician Pharrell Williams wakes up at 9 am (without an alarm) and starts working on his songs according to Business Insider.
And Oprah Winfrey wakes up naturally too and this is what she thinks about waking up with alarms according to Aol...
“I have never set an alarm, I don't believe in them. They are ... alarming! I put the number in my mind and I wake up before that, usually between 6:02 and 6:20, because the dogs are trained to go out around that time. My first thought in the morning is, "Oh, I'm alive. Thank you!" I hop up, brush my teeth and go take the dogs to do their thing. They do the real downward-facing dog!”
And for that you must stop working at a reasonable time, rest, and get back to work.
6. Lookout for What You Eat—It Affects Your Physical And Mental State
Your diet is what you eat every day.
And it’s directly correlated to your moods, mental state, and health.
For example, I never eat bread or starchy carbs for lunch because they make me sleepy. And getting back to work after that is more difficult for me.
Consider evaluating which meals work better for your health in general.
Forbes lists down blueberries, wild salmon, avocado, green tea, and dark chocolate to boost your work focus.
One of the best ways to improve cognitive function and boost your focus is to get more fats in your diet.
Food like nuts, avocados, and eggs are great ways to get healthy fats into your diet and help your brain run more smoothly.
And according to Health Harvard, these are the food options recommended to better brain-power...
7. Go On a “Dopamine Detox”
Research by Brown University found that there are drugs like Ritalin and Adderall that help people focus by enhancing the dopamine released in their brain.
Social media, our phones, algorithms, and especially the large buckets of fear from Coronavirus are reprogramming our brains—in negative ways that hurt our productivity and focus.
Phones are the #1 source of distraction nowadays.
We all got one and we all carry it around all the time.
Consider taking a break from your phone (put it on airplane mode) to "reset" the brain's reward system.
Or, for instance, “hide” it somewhere so you don’t have to constantly check it.
And now that your phone is far from you, stay away from the tv.
Especially at nights before going to sleep, avoid watching tv.
This keeps your brain active and makes it more difficult for you to fall asleep.
Your work probably requires you to use the computer every day. But for that same reason, you need to take breaks from it.
Use your laptop for work, not for relaxation.
When finishing work, switch to a different activity that doesn’t involve anything from work.
Even if you use your laptop or computer for relaxation, you might still be associating it with work.
Conclusion
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In crazy times like this, you need to step aside for a second and think about what’s best for growing your business.
And it all starts by boosting your brain so you can focus on one thing: crushing sales.
And that’s exactly what this article is for: to help you do that with the 7 proven mind-hacks we at Growbo just love.
- Fill Your Brain with Ideas that Inspire and DRIVE You to Succeed
- Stop Multitasking (this Simple Tool Makes it Super Easy…)
- Exercise—Especially Cardio In the Mornings
- Boost Your Self-Image and Confidence with Weight-Lifting
- Use An Alarm to Go to Sleep, Not to Wake Up
- Lookout for What You Eat—It Affects Your Physical And Mental State
- Go On a “Dopamine Detox”
Try these mind-hacks. They’re free and don’t require much effort.
Just be disciplined.
Stay away from the “shiny objects.”
Exercise.
Boost your confidence so you’re not afraid to ask for the sale.
Rest.
And take care of your health.
Successful entrepreneurs and billionaires put these life-hacks in practice and have been part of their success.
And after you try them, you’ll be able to focus on scaling your business.
Now tell me something.
Which mind-hack do you think is easier to incorporate into your daily routine?
Have you ever tried any of those?
Which ones do you think are most effective?
Let me know in the comments below.
Keep Growin', stay focused.
