Tips on how to refocus at work during summer season

CLEVELAND (KABC) -- The lazy days of summer may make it tough to concentrate sometimes - especially in the office. In a survey, nearly half of American employees said they get distracted just 15 minutes after their workday starts.

While it can be a challenge, experts say there are some things we can do to stop distractions and refocus during the summer season.

What's the first thing you do? Stop thinking about yourself.

Dr. Scott Bea is a clinical psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic, who says that in order to refocus you need to shift your concentration.

"Imagine a ballplayer," Bea said. "He's had two fat ones go right past him. He starts thinking about himself too much rather than just see the ball and hit it. And whenever we get overly involved with our thoughts, we lose sight of what's happening in the here and now."

This means keeping family photos, or even pictures of your pets, on your desk can help to clear your thoughts and refocus.

He recommends introducing new pictures regularly, so you don't get used to them. You can also take a walk when you're having trouble concentrating, or just look out the window.

Bea says it's all about "refreshing" your personal home page.

"Think about the time you're working on a crossword," he said. "You get a little stumped, if you step away from that for just a few moments it frees up your thinking. You can come back and all of a sudden the answer that was not available to you is available to you. So, there are a lot of psychological and productivity benefits to getting your brain off yourself."