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In a nutshell:

Train your brain to focus with a simple exercise first thing in the morning, remove your inner obstacles, and complete your toughest cognitive tasks early in the day.

Here’s how you can practice each of these 3 techniques.

Focus technique #1. Identify your top priority first thing in the morning.

To help boost your focus on the important things your brain should pay attention to, ask yourself this question first thing in the morning: “What is the one thing I am committed to completing today?” This technique trains your brain to focus on which goals are important to you right now, and it forces you to prioritize the goal you believe to be the most relevant in this moment.

Here’s how.

• First, write it down. Take a large sheet of paper and write the question in big bold letters with a thick marker.

• Next, find a place where you’re most likely to look at it. It can be on your bedroom wall next to your bed or right in front of you when you wake up, or the bathroom wall next to the mirror.

• Then, look at the question and ask it out loud. You can do that as you’re brushing your teeth or getting dressed.

• Take a minute to consider what’s on your agenda for the day. Then, pick one thing that has top priority for you and give an answer out loud to yourself.

• Start working on your one thing early. If your schedule allows, devote the first hour of the day to your one thing. And if that isn’t possible, prepare so you're ready when the time comes to work on it—your task will feel easier to complete once it’s underway.

Focus technique #2. Remove your inner obstacles by adjusting your attitude.

Before you start doing anything, whether it’s a completely new task or an old task you’ve been working on for weeks, it helps to remove any obstacles in your attitude towards your work. The biggest benefits are that you get your brain on board with what you’re going to accomplish, you sharpen your focus, and you tune into the true value of the work you are about to do.

Here’s how.

• Instead of thinking about your work as an obligation, turn it into a choice. Nobody can get excited about work if you describe it to yourself as too boring, too hard, or even impossible. Instead, tell yourself, “This is something I really want to learn more about.” The benefit? It gives you a greater sense of control about what you’re doing.

• Remind yourself of the value of your work with this question: “Why am I doing this?” Make the connection with the initial reasons for working on something to begin with. It can be to learn a new skill, find out more on a particular topic you’re interested in, study to pass an exam so you can graduate and build a career you’re excited about, solve a particular problem you’re currently dealing with, etc.

• Visualize what you’re about to do. This is a technique called building a mental model; you imagine in detail what you expect to see, learn, or read. For example, if you are learning something new, visualize covering certain chapters, paragraphs, or sections, then taking notes on the important concepts you discover, and writing down questions to research later. By telling yourself a story, you train your brain to anticipate next steps and map out the learning process so it’s easier to manage.

Focus technique #3. Complete your toughest cognitive tasks early in the day.

Your tough cognitive tasks can be categorized as deep work—any kind of analytical thinking that requires the most concentration, such as reading, writing, analyzing or problem solving. It’s a mental task that requires a different type of concentration from the other more tactical things we do on a regular basis. The benefits of tackling deep work early are that it saves you a lot of time, it taps into your willpower first thing in the morning, and it takes advantage of your energy after you wake up.

Here’s how.

• Set aside 2-4 hours after you wake up for deep work. Many scientists say that this is the brain’s peak performance time. If, for example, you wake up at 7, your peak times are between 9 and 11 a.m. You can extend this time to whenever you have lunch, around midday, if you want to maximize your peak performance hours.

• Keep a log for one week of what you do during your peak times. Are you focusing on your important mental tasks? Are you learning new material, solving complex problems, reading, or writing? Or, are you just doing things by default: checking email, making phone calls, watching or listening to the news, chatting with co-workers?

• Re-evaluate your peak brain performance time. Can you think of ways to postpone tasks that are less important to your personal and professional development? For example, if you like to stay on top of the latest news, listen to them on your lunch break. If emails are waiting in your inbox, don’t give in to the urge to read them all, but instead check them mid-afternoon and then later in the day. The benefit? You’ll feel more in control of your time so you can dedicate your brain power on whatever is top priority for you this very moment.