Introduction
Are you one of the millions of individuals who struggle to concentrate? Do you find it difficult to concentrate on reading or studying, even though you know you should? You’re not by yourself. According to one poll, 78% of Americans had difficulty focusing. At best, this can be annoying; at worst, it can lead to procrastination, depression, and even health problems such as heart disease.
Being ability to focus is almost a super power in today’s environment. Rarely do you come across someone who can focus on a single task for hours on end. And it comes as no surprise that those who can concentrate do so much more than others. You might benefit from greater concentration in a variety of areas. Whether it be for business, study, or a hobby. You may achieve your goals more quickly if you have the ability to concentrate.
Therefore, I’ll outline what’s preventing you from focusing today and what you can do to change it. And I am aware that you are putting off doing something right now by reading this essay.
We have two areas of concentration. Directed focus and scattered focus Scattered concentration refers to evenly divided attention. This is standard multitasking, attempting to perform several things at once. While cleaning the home, speaking on the phone, or preparing supper. Or someone who is attempting to concentrate on one thing but is distracted by another. And this is what the majority of people do. They focus their attention on a variety of subjects. The difficulty with this style of concentration is that your brain is terrible at switching between numerous tasks at once.
You see, switching from one work to another does not happen instantly. Instead, you must save the context of whatever you are doing in working memory. When you frequently move your attention from one subject to another, your brain is forced to load and re-load context on a continuous basis. Essentially, you wind up expending a lot of mental energy going back and forth, leaving you drained and unable to do anything.
On the other side, we now have focused attention. You accomplished this by focusing your attention on a particular action and disregarding everything else. This is what they should aspire towards, and it is where top performers put their attention. They focus on one item at a time, much like a laser beam. And they execute it to the best of their abilities, disregarding all other inputs.
So, how can you prevent having scattered focus?
Remove all distractions
It’s easy; you should try to remove any distractions and avoid any impulses that may interfere with your attention. Consider it this way. Assume you have five units of focus attainable at any one time. That implies you may apply those five units however you choose. For example, you may focus purely on studying, obtaining focused concentration.
If your mother walks into your room while you’re studying and informs you that supper will be served in 45 minutes. Even if you were completely focused and the encounter only lasted 10 seconds, your attention is split. Dinner will now be on your mind, and your concentration will be less than it was previously. One of your concentrate units was utilized on the supper, detracting from your study session. It will now take some time before you can fully restore your attention, and you will waste your mental energy in the process. The weird thing is, you’re probably always carrying a similarly distracted mother with you. It’s your phone. This little gadget is the world’s smallest anti-focus machine. It beeps, vibrates, and produces a sound every time you receive a new notification. It just takes one beep to distract your focus away from the activity at hand.
Even if your phone is on quiet, you’re highly likely to stare at it anytime you’re bored, splitting your focus. Of course, this does not imply that you should burn away your phone or anything. Instead, I propose that if you want to concentrate on something, you place it somewhere where you know it won’t bother you and where you won’t be able to look at it. However, cell phones aren’t the only item that might distract your attention. Anything can do that, but your phone is most likely the most significant factor. The goal is to become aware of such distractions and avoid them.
Physiology
Your physiology might be influencing your capacity to concentrate. This is something that is rarely considered. However, in order for your mind to work efficiently, you must first take care of your body. If you sleep fewer than 7 hours each day, your focus will drop. On the contrary, having 7-9 hours of sleep has been demonstrated to improve one’s capacity to focus during the day. Exercise should be done on a daily basis as well. Your capacity to focus on tough activities improves when dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, and other neurotransmitters are released.
By exercise, I don’t mean running a marathon; rather, a quick walk around the block is fine. A walk in nature is an added benefit. Hydration is also critical. You may have observed that when you first wake up in the morning, you are unable to think clearly. One of the causes is that you haven’t had anything to drink in more than 8 hours, so you’re slightly dehydrated.
Your diet also has a significant impact on your performance. If you load your face with bad foods or drink soda, you’re doing your brain a harm. Food with a high sugar level causes brain fog and an inability to focus. You might wish to look at healthier options. So, if you want to focus comfortably, take care of your body. Let’s now look at ways to improve your attention.
Concentration is a skill
It is important to note that focus is a skill. You can really train your attention in the same way that you would practise for a sport. The more you practice it, the better you will get at it. When you first start, you might only be able to focus for 10 minutes. But if you practice it every day, your capability to concentrate will improve and you will be able to do it for longer lengths of time. So it’s okay if you can’t concentrate for hours right now. Over time, you can improve your directed concentration. And the greatest approach to practice your attention is to set aside time in your day to concentrate exclusively on one job.
Make it a Habit
Essentially, you want to make focus a habit. Many of us are waiting for the right chance, when we are inspired and all the planets are aligned, before we go and try to focus. But that is the incorrect approach. Instead, set aside time during the day to sit down and focus on one item for as long as you can. You then want to safeguard that period of time. The greatest time to concentrate is in the morning, around an hour after you wake up. When you’re completely awake and your mind isn’t engaged with other things that require your attention, sally.
Furthermore, you normally have no distractions at that time, and all of your attention nits are ready to be disturbed. Many historical artists, authors, and philosophers have made use of this time period. But what about later in the day?
You see, if you’ve had a busy day, your attention has already been diverted in several places. And your brain is being overstimulated. That is why it is so much simpler to concentrate in the morning. After all, your brain has been sleeping for 8 hours. So, if you decide to turn your attention to a cognitively demanding task, such as studying, in the middle of a distracted day, you’ll have difficulty directing your focus. Your mind will be occupied with other matters. As a result, such attempts will typically fail. But that doesn’t make it hard to concentrate late in the day.
un-stimulate your brain
All you have to do is de-stimulate your brain. And you accomplish this by taking a decent pause. It’s difficult to focus on something for a long period of time without becoming mentally exhausted. And it makes no difference whether it’s distributed or controlled. Both are draining. That is why, every now and again, you should take a break and relax your thoughts. However, here is where the majority of individuals fail. Taking a break, you know, does not involve taking out your phone and checking Instagram, YouTube, or whatever. You’re still engaging your brain and intellectually engaged, which implies you’re losing rather than recharging your mental energy. Instead, go for a stroll, meditate, or even attend a class.
Because they are less exciting, these activities allow you to disconnect and begin recharging your mental energy. I understand that it may seem boring, but you should allow yourself to be bored in order to give your brain some breathing room. Of course, taking a mental break isn’t simply for switching from scattered to focused attention. It’s incredibly effective when you wish to increase your capacity to focus deeply.
Another way to look at it is to suppose you’ve been running nonstop for an hour. Then you’ll take a 15-minute rest before running for another hour.
You can choose to:
A) Sit down, relax and do nothing for 15 minutes.
B) Jump rope and do burpees for 15 minutes
You obviously select option A since you don’t want to push yourself any further. After all, you want to have enough stamina to run for another hour. Running is an analogy for attention in this case. You don’t want to add more stimuli to the mix after concentration for an hour. Watching TV or surfing the internet will just wear you out mentally. So choose an activity that you enjoy, that is not striving to meet, and that allows you to relax.
Pomodoro technique
The pomodoro technique is the ideal method for combining strong attention with mental breaks. You select a task to concentrate on. Then you set a timer for 25 minutes and focus only on that work. When the timer goes off, you take a 5-minute break before restarting the timer. When you’ve finished four 25-minute sessions, sally, you take a lengthier rest of 30 minutes. Of course, it does not have to be that strict. 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of relaxation are only guidelines. You can do it for as long as you like, depending on the difficulty of the work.
Conclusion
The human brain is often distracted, and you are not alone if you have difficulty paying attention. Creativity demands some free-flowing creativity, but you must learn to control it. Until then, work on improving your attention so that you can complete the tasks at hand.