The other week, we talked about the power of rituals, and their potential to re-center and restore you.

One type of ritual that I didn’t include in that post but I want to give some airtime to is the idea of a focus ritual.

What is a Focus Ritual?

A focus ritual is a 1-2 minute repeatable routine that you can use to calm your thoughts, emotions, and body, to shift all energy to a singular goal.

Everyone can benefit from having a “focus ritual” – but not everyone’s focus ritual will be the same. In fact, each person should have a focus ritual that’s 100% unique to them.

Why Do I Need a Focus Ritual?

Being able to focus up at a moment’s notice is a truly invaluable skill. I’m sure we can all think back to time right now where we felt flustered and didn’t perform as well as we would have liked. Can you imagine if you a had a dedicated ritual that guaranteed calm feelings and optimal performance, and how that would have impacted the outcome of that moment? It’s a game-changer!

Being able to focus – really focus is an invaluable skill. Focusing is what sees us through our biggest goals, projects at work, planning family events, and so much more.

And yet we lose our focus consistently, over and over again throughout our days, thanks to the D-word: “distractions.”

And these distractions are expensive! According to research shared in a recent article by daily motivation app, Shine, interruptions “cost the U.S. economy $588 billion a year.” And while this number applies primarily to in-office company culture, that same calculation can be applied to your own life (even your personal life).

When you are constantly interrupted (whether by someone else, or through distractions of your own design), you’re being unfair to the value of your time. A focus ritual helps you reset, and apply boundaries that allow you to get into a positive, productive, high-performance headspace.

How to Create Your Own Personal Focus Ritual

You personal focus ritual has to be 100% unique to you and the things that calm and re-focus you. What works for someone else might work for you, but it’s better for you to create your own 1-2 minute personal focus ritual.

If you can spare up to 5 minutes, that’s great as well.

A few great inclusions for your personal focus ritual are:

-Deep breathing or specific breathing practices

-Repetition of a three-word power phrase or affirmation, either out-loud or in your head

-Assuming the same body posture (Example: standing with your feet planted shoulder distance, with one hand on your heart, and one on your stomach is great one. Or, you can choose a seated posture. The important thing is that it’s always the same.

-Playing a familiar song or sound

-Taking a shower

-Rewriting your goals – Remind yourself of your goals and your power to achieve them.

-Making a Gratitude List – Write down everything you are grateful for at this moment in time to remind yourself of all the good things in your life

Putting It All Together…

I like to block out my focus routine by 30 second and one minutes intervals. So, here is an example focus ritual (that I have actually used before!)

-Take 3-5 deep breaths

-Hold a plank for 1 minute – while holding plank, make a mental list of everything I am excited about in my life right now

-Stand up and repeat affirmations to myself while holding Wonder Woman pose for 1 minute.

Putting together your own personal focus ritual (or trying one out) is a simple, yet highly effective way to take back control of your time and your life.

What are you going to include in YOUR focus ritual?