How to Improve Your Attention to Detail Skills

It makes sense that when everything is chaotic, details will slip. So, the first step to take to improve your attention to detail skills at work is to get organized.

Now, getting organized doesn’t mean that you need to tidy up your workspace and waste time going through your stuff, but it does mean that you need to start using your calendar. Mark down appointments and meetings to ensure you won’t forget about them and note any details or thoughts you have about each meeting. Then, plan each day by making a note of deadlines and important dates.

Bullet journals are all the rage now, but even a simple daily planner can help you sharpen your attention to detail on day-to-day basis.

Many people are under the impression that being organized and having lists hinders creativity, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Making lists can boost creativity, as it takes away a lot of the stress that goes hand in hand with multitasking. It allows you to prioritize and allocate time for every task. You become more focused on what you’re doing, which is the main ingredient to being attentive to detail.

Making lists can be a fun activity in itself, though you should be careful not to become too attached to your lists because that can be counterproductive. And although there’s nothing wrong with traditional sticky notes and handwritten lists, why not go for an app that will remind you when it’s time to do something? There are many apps available that can do so much more than a traditional list. Some of my favorites include Google Keep which, although it needs a little work on its user interface, is so effective that you’ll soon forgive its rather unpolished appearance. If want a more sleek-looking app, though, you can try Todoist or Any.do.

One of the reasons why we tend to not pay better attention to detail is because we’re constantly distracted. The question, of course, is how do you limit those distractions?

Most of us work in open-plan workspaces which make distractions inevitable; there’s always someone getting up or talking to someone. You’ll need to learn how to detach yourself from the rest of the office and mentally isolate yourself.

Research has time and again shown that people who listen to classical music (Mozart in particular) can be more productive, so it’s worth giving it a shot. I’d strongly advise against listening to music with lyrics, though, as this will just end up adding to your list of distractions.

It’s also important that you turn off phone notifications; if you have an extension that pops up every time you get an email, meanwhile, disable that as well. Limit the time you spend checking your email and create a space that helps you relax and focus.

Some of my favorite playlists for focusing include “Morning Coffee” and “Music in the Workplace”.

Our brains need their downtime as well. Overworking your brain and working eight hours straight without taking a break can be incredibly counterproductive. For our brain to be able to pay attention to detail, it needs to be well-rested, so it’s crucial that you schedule regular breaks.

Get up as often as you can, and walk around the office, while you should also give yourself mental breaks. Spare a few minutes to read your favorite blog or look up recipes for dinner. Going back to work with a refreshed mind can make your brain more focused, which can help you spot any mistakes or just make it easier to pay attention to detail.

Coming back to the concept of the brain as a muscle, exercising your brain is just as important as giving it time to rest. Think of an athlete, for example: they train day in and day out to increase their stamina and improve their performance. Similarly, workers need to train their brains to perform at their best.

The easiest — and most entertaining — way to do that is by playing focus-enhancing games like cards or Spot the Difference. Of course, there are also lots of apps that can help you improve your attention and focus like Peak and Elevate.

One of the main reasons people tend to not pay attention to detail is because they’re just not present when performing a task. With all the distractions, stress and pressure most employees deal with, it’s easy to understand how someone can zone out, but it pushes you to produce poor-quality work, which can be disastrous for your reputation and your career.

The best way to remedy this situation is to identify the reasons you’re so often not present and find appropriate solutions. If it’s because you’re bored at work, for example, maybe it’s time to move on. If it’s because your workload is too heavy and all you do is think about how long it will take you to do everything, then you may need to have a chat with your manager about delegating your tasks.

Too much routine can kill you, but a lack of routine makes you undisciplined, so find an in-between that’s ideal for you. The reason that routine can be beneficial to developing this skill is that it forces you to do the same things over and over again, which means that, as you’re familiar with going through the motions, you’re much more likely to pay attention to smaller things (in other words, the details). Routine basically helps train the mind, and you should, therefore, learn to embrace it.

It might be hard at first, but with enough practice, abiding by your routine can be as easy as checking your Facebook.

One of the main reasons most people’s work suffers is that speed is more important than quality. But it’s important that you prioritize quality, because not doing so could cost you your job, reputation, and career.

If you have too heavy a workload, talk to your manager and make your case. Do they value quantity over quality, or do they have more long-term plans that will require setting better foundations?

Quality will inevitably become one of your professional habits.

I’m not going to lie — being focused and paying attention to detail is hard for me as well. My mind tends to wander more than I’d like to admit, and one of the best tips I ever got was to create a reward system for myself. We’re all kids at heart, and we all like to get rewarded when we get something right; the problem often is that our bosses couldn’t care less, so find ways to reward yourself.

One way is to give yourself breaks. Say, for example, that you’ve spent 45 minutes completely focused at work. Why not give your brain a rest afterwards? Another way is to spoil yourself for every 10 or 20 mistakes you’ve spotted because you were attentive to detail. Whatever you choose to do, it’s got to be something that’s meaningful to you.

One of the reasons many of us don’t pay as much attention as we’d like to is that we’re not involved with our jobs. If you don’t care about your job and you’d like to change that, then a great place to start is by becoming a more active participant in meetings. Meetings are where decisions are made, and being able to voice your opinions gives you the opportunity to become more involved, which can help make you more enthusiastic as well.

Who doesn’t multitask these days? We tend to think that performing multiple tasks simultaneously can increase our productivity and make us more efficient. However, the research is clear on this, with some studies finding that multitasking can diminish your productivity by as much as 40%.

The primary challenge is that multitasking requires an abundance of backtracking since you need to determine where you last left off. Instead, it’s best to concentrate on one task at a time.

Is it wise to think of the worst-case scenario at work? Believe it or not, when you’re mulling over situations where things can go wrong, you can determine what’s missing, what you can do to prevent it and ensure that everything’s running as smooth as silk. Sure, you might be a bit of a Debbie Downer if you’re always anticipating a half-empty glass of pea protein milk, but this can keep you on your toes.

Reading is a dying art form. A 2019 Pew Research Center survey discovered that about one-third of Americans haven’t read any books within the previous year. It makes sense: from a paucity of time to other kinds of content competing for our attention. But not reading can be detrimental for your attention to detail skills.

Alex Mastin, the CEO and Founder of Home Grounds, says that poor attention to detail emanates from a poor attention span and feeling like your work isn’t important. Mastin contends that building your attention span, and thus your attention to detail aptitude, can occur from reading.

“Reading is my personal preference because it is easy to measure how many pages you are able to read before getting bored or unfocused,” he says. “Reading for just 10 minutes a day is a perfect place to start and will help you develop that focus muscle that is so crucial for having attention to detail.”

Whether you’re trying to meet a last-minute deadline or working on a critical project, you need to map out the high-level of what you’re trying to accomplish. Without a blueprint, you might get lost and then become frustrated with the job you’re doing.

“You can’t achieve anything without knowing where you’re starting and where the journey ends,” explains Lucas Robinson, the CMO of Crediful.

Ultimately, you can enhance your overall attention to detail by having a map from point A to point B.

Did you know that there are three primary types of attention to detail? Chris Denny, an author and the founder of AttentionToDetail.com, explains that these are contrastive, analytical and additive. Denny notes not understanding this can be “the core reason for frustration (and lack of progress) around the concept of attention to detail”.

From there, Denny says you can improve your attention to detail by homing in on what he calls the Five Fundamentals: focus, interest, knowledge, systems and a right-or-wrong (RoW) attitude.

“Each has several important variables to consider, and almost everyone has strengths or weaknesses in various fundamentals,” Denny says. “If a person works through those fundamentals with an open mind towards improvement, he or she can and will improve his or her attention to detail.”

Most of us spend most of our waking hours in front of a screen, be it our phone, computer, tablet, or TV. This phenomenon has had an immense impact on our ability to concentrate. In fact, several research studies have found that our increased screen time can damage our attention span and harm our mental health.

As a result, your attention deficit caused by looking at your screen all day can also affect your attention to detail skills. The best way to remedy this is to set a limit on your daily screen time and substitute your usual social media scroll with other off-screen activities.

If your work is largely dependent on virtual and online tasks, limiting screen time might be a tad more challenging, but being mindful about it, taking frequent breaks, and managing the time you spend online in afterwork hours will still help!

The longer we spend on a task, the harder it is for us to pick up on nuanced details.

So, every now and then, it’s vital that you pause and take in your surroundings before continuing with your work. This also complements our previous point about screen time; taking a few minutes to look away from your screen and observe your environment could help you recuperate before getting back to your work.

We’ve already covered why you should avoid multitasking, but working continuously on a long, tedious task can also affect your ability to notice details.

The best way to avoid this is to break down a task into smaller chunks and allocate actions and timeframes for each one. By doing this, you will be able to tackle each chunk within your allocated time frame, track your progress and optimize your focus, which will ultimately allow you to have better attention to the details contained within each chunk.

When you’re drowning under a pile of work, your attention to detail will certainly suffer. Indeed, your priority will be to get through as many tasks as possible — causing you to rush through your work and miss out on key details.

The best way to address this situation is to group up with a colleague and relinquish some of your tasks to them. This will give you the necessary breathing space to allocate the right amount of time and attention to your remaining tasks, and you can certainly repay the favor in their hour of need.

Sometimes, you can do everything in your power to stay on top of your work — but if the subject matter of these tasks doesn’t interest you, then lacking attention to detail is imminent.

Of course, we can’t always curate our workload based on our interests, but in the instances that you do have a choice, it’s important to concentrate on tailoring your list of tasks around the things you want to do. Having an interest in your work is key to developing your attention to detail.

Final thoughts

Developing your attention to detail skills is crucial for employees, especially those who are just starting their careers. Identifying methods and techniques which will help you improve can be a vital aspect of your career development.

Do you have any other tips for developing your attention to detail skills? Let me know in the comments section below!

Originally published in July 2014. Updated by Andrew Moran and Melina Theodorou.