How to Focus on Friday and Why It’s Important

Have you heard of Focus Friday? I read about this concept a few years ago but it clicked for me recently. We've implemented a very successful strategy for our team, and here I'll cover a few tips on how we focus on Fridays and why it's important.

The core of Focus Friday is, well, focus. It's time to work without distractions, and those come mainly in the form of meetings. With few exceptions, we book no meetings on Fridays, whether they're for sales, clients, or affiliates. It's our day to take a breath and concentrate.

I saw this in action a few years ago when Brian Littleton was still running ShareASale. His team blocked time on Friday afternoons to work on a project unrelated to the business. As I recall, it included charity work, community outreach or a hobby. I always hoped my company would be at a point where we could do that.

How to Concentrate Better

Here are some things I've learned along the way that increase concentration power for Focus Friday.

1. Don't schedule meetings for the day—or at least half the day.
2. Turn off Slack or set yourself away.
3. Put your phone in another room.
4. Find your trigger to concentrate. This could be a certain type of music or moving your computer to a different location. Meditation works for many people.

What to Do With Your Friday Focus

Take a little time for yourself. It's Friday at 2 p.m. Time to pull out the crossword puzzles and put on some headphones for two hours. Focus Friday isn't a day off, but taking some personal time during the day is healthy.

Where is your to-do list from all those meetings this week? What task is going to take the most time and brainpower? Block out the hours and finish the job.

What does your email inbox look like? Can you organize it better and help yourself get ahead next week?

Review. If you don't have any major projects, review your job description, looking for the little things that happen on a quarterly or annual basis.

Take a walk. Turn your brain off for a few hours. The weekend is about to start and that means family time, errands, and chores. Quiet time is important and this might be your only chance.

Check-in with the industry. Pick up an industry-related magazine or download a podcast that is relevant to your position.

Maybe it's time to learn something new. There are certifications out there that will help you and your business moving forward.

Write. Do you have a blog or a real notebook journal? Grab a pencil or your favorite pen and write whatever you need to help yourself stay centered. Then write a blog post about how you concentrate better.