To be productive, it's important to stay mentally focused on the task you're working on.  If your mind keeps drifting away, you won't get a lot done.  But you might find your mind drifting away a lot.  Your mind might wander on what you should eat for dinner.  Or you might start thinking of your spouse or children.  When you've realized your mind has wandered off, you notice that several minutes have passed and are wasted.

How do you get around this problem?

For starters, whenever you find your mind drifting away, simply bring your attention back to the task at hand.  It's better not to beat yourself up about it.  Understand that it's normal to have your mind drift away.  It happens to everyone.

In fact, in Zen meditation, it's taught that whenever you notice that your mind has drifted off, simply bring your mind back to focus.  And don't beat yourself up for losing focus.

Now you know what to do when your mind drifts off.  But is there a way to minimize the number of times that your mind drifts off?

You won't be able to eliminate your mind drifting off completely.  But you can minimize it.  For instance, if your mind keeps wandering off on figuring out what to eat for dinner, have that figured out before you start working on your task.  Write down what you will eat on a piece of paper if you like.  That way, your mind won't be bothered on what you should eat for dinner because you've already figured it out.

Also, make sure you eliminate distractions that would pull your attention away.  Turn off your cell phone, instant messenger, TV, and radio when you're working.