Have you ever woken up and you feel you have ended the day in lines but without having accomplished anything? You are not the only one. In a world full of never-ending notifications, pixel wells, and multitasking, being focused is no longer a superpower, but literally the resisting force. The favourable news? A couple of clever hacks will help you claim back your time and concentrate.

What is the good news? There are some clever ways, using which you can reclaim your time and refocus your attention.
Check out another of our guides Top Time Management Apps in 2025 to turbo charge your productivity toolbelt.

Here is a guide to the specific ways through which you can evade time wasters, and remain at the helm of your productivity. As a student, freelancer or busy individual, these useful tricks are sure to help you to work harder, not smarter.

Why We Losing Focus (and how it is costing us)
Distractions are like a virus that should be understood before we can fight them. Individuals are being distracted on average in every 11 minutes and it takes an average of 25 minutes to re-focus after such a deviation (University of California study).

It translates that unless you have an active management of distractions, you are losing hours a day. Combine that with the pressure to be unproductive, and the effects are severe, not only on an individual level but also in the workplace.

The Top Time Wasters that you need to Eliminate

The following are the most frequent focus killers and suggestions on how you can eliminate them:

1. Scrolling the Social Media

Failed at looking at Instagram or Tik Tok only once? You are not the only one. This normally turns to 20+ minutes waste of time.
Solution: Create a block during working hours with such apps as Freedom or StayFocusd.

2. Multitasking

It reduces effectiveness as cross-tasking reduces the output by about 40 percent, as stated by the American Psychological Association.
Solution: Single-task. Limit yourself to performing only one task to the burst method of Pomodoro Technique (25 minutes of work, 5 minutes of rest).

3. Unschedule Calls or Chats

Surprise Zoom meetings and constant messages? They have the ability to break your concentrated work.
Solution: Carve out some time on your calendar. Silent talks and notify your team about availability time.

4. Perfectionism

Holding on to perfect timing or perfecting? You are possibly wasting time in disguise.
Solution: Be governed by the 80/20 rule (Pareto Principle) and work on 20 percent of the tasks which deliver 80 percent of the results.

Proven Tricks to Be Concentrated and in Command

Proven Tricks to Be Concentrated and in Command

Feel like it is time to become distraction-proof? Begin practicing these concentration enhancing tendencies:

Plan your Day (a Night Before)

• A to-do list eliminates time wasted on making a decision and overwhelm. e.g. use Notion, Google Calendar, or any other paper planner.

Begin with MITs (Most Important Tasks)

• Address your most key 2-3 priorities in the morning. Willpower wears out by the end of the day- they should be rationally deployed.

Time-Blocking

• Split the day into concentrated sessions that include breaks. Even 90-minute concentration sprints can 2-fold your output.

Establish a Distraction Free Zone

• To condition your brain to be in deep focus you should silence phone notifications, use noise-canceling headphones, and work in a clutter-free environment.

Case in Point: Chaos to Concentration

Here is a story of Ayesha, a digital marketer who could not keep off distractions. She used time-blocking, put screen limiters and began concluding her day with a 5-minute review. Her output increased by 35% within a period of 2 weeks and the work hours were also decreased by 2 hours a day.

Eye-Opening Statistics that Will Inspire You

Employees waste 28 percent of their day trying to deal with unwanted distractions.

We are only doing a fourth with our time, and this is wasted on something really constructive.

Individuals who schedule their day, have 33 percent more chances of achieving objectives.

At least, this is the case according to a study by Harvard Business Review (Source: Harvard Business Review, Atlassian).

The FAQs: Time Waste Prevention

Q1: What can I do to quit procrastination?
Divide large work into micro-work. Set a time and keep a prize when you are through.

Q2: When do you do you deep work best?
In most cases, your brain is at its peak between 2 and 3 hours after you have woken up. Reserve this period to do important tasks.

Q3: Would music enable me to concentrate?
Yes,-- instrumental music or white noise. Avoid songs that are lyrical since they are distracting.