The list below is helpful suggestions to improve your ability to concentrate in the most effective way possible. These tips apply whether you are at school, an important business meeting, at your office busy with work, or if you are just trying to finish a specific project.
1. Do five more
You are either one of two types of persons in this world. Either you know how to go through and eliminate frustration or you are the type that only wishes they are able to work through it.
So try to concentrate and focus in doing an additional five more things. This type of mantra is best used when you feel like giving up.
An example might be if you are reading or writing and you no longer want to continue to read or write, push yourself to do just five more pages. Complete five more math questions or if you are exercising add and extra five minutes on the treadmill. Remember that athletes build their own physical physiques by pushing themselves to the point of exhaustion that also helps to develop mental stamina.
2. Take one step at a time
There may be times when you feel like you are a scatterbrain because your mind is filled with many ideas. Controlling your brain is the key.
Do not worrying about lots of matters, prioritize tasks and do only those that are needed.
For instance, you cannot help but think of your mounting bill problems and this causes you to quit focusing on your presentation that needs to be done in five minutes. Tell yourself that after the presentation you can then focus on ways to pay off your bills. This gives your mind closure and allows you to focus completely on the presentation.
3. Get tunnel vision
You can actually cup your hands around your eyes and this could serve as a mechanism to tell your mind to stay on task.
Case in point: you are in a room and you need to study but there are many distractions preventing you from concentrating. Cupping your hands around your eyes will help your brain to remember to focus and keep it on task.
4. Keep a notepad handy
That way when a thought pops up and distracts your focus, you can write down the thought immediately.
By writing it down you effectively get the thought out of your mind. Now you will focus on the job that you need to accomplish at the moment.
5. Take a break
You are not a machine. You may need to take a break to be able to effectively focus on the job that you have to do.
You can mange the job more effectively by using breaks to break your tasks it to smaller parts. Try taking a walk outside or go out for lunch.
6. Record your start and end time
When doing work, try to record the time you started and the time that you loss focus.
This helps you know how much time you actually spent doing work and when you began losing your concentration. Being aware of this leads to understanding.
7. Mix up your activities
It is wise to change the activities you do so that you keep your mind alert and not bored.
A bored mind is not completely on its game and will wander.
All in all, these activities and suggestions should be practiced regularly to help you to be able to focus and concentrate on the things that really matter most to you.
Practical Tips to Improve Concentration
Some Places are more conducive to concentration.
Some students have great difficulty working in certain environments yet; when they are placed under timed conditions in an exam hall they often find concentration much easier. If you are getting distracted in one place, trying working somewhere else. Generally, the less distractions the better.
One Pointedness
With any form of concentration it is important to concentrate on only one thing at a time. If you are working, but half your attention is elsewhere, you will always struggle to maintain good concentration. Set aside time for work and focus only on that and nothing else. You need to make a conscious decision to concentrate on your work. If you just drift into work, with a relaxed care free attitude you will probably start thinking about other things. If you sit an exam, feel that nothing else exists or matters apart from doing the exam.
Dont Allow Thoughts to take you away.
This is the key to concentration dont allow your mind to distract you with random thoughts. When unrelated thoughts appear in the mind, pay no attention to them and try to immediately switch off. Even if thoughts keep coming, you must distance yourself and detach from them. It is important not to get mad with yourself or frustrated if thoughts are persistent. If you persevere in rejecting useless and unhelpful thoughts, there will come a time when they stop bothering you. It is important never to give up in your attempt to control your thoughts
Understand What You are trying to Do.
Concentration is particularly difficult if you have uncertainties about what you are doing or if you find the task perplexing. When work is difficult, the mind looks for easier things to do. If this is the case try to get a general overview try simplifying it so you understand the basic concepts and framework. If you can conceptualize the whole project in question, it is easier to concentrate on the small details. When I was studying for an Economics degree at Oxford University, the most useful book was always my high school revision notes. Understand the essentials and then work on the complexities; this made work and therefore concentration easier.
Meditation
Regular readers of this blog will know I believe in the benefits of meditation. I began meditating in my final year of university (8 years ago), and I felt it definitely helped. One thing I noticed was that I would work with great concentration for 5 hours a day; my friends would often work for 10-12 hours but still felt they hadnt done enough work. Meditation is not a miracle cure; but, if you can practice sincerely and learn to control the mind you will notice a difference.
Slow but Steady Progress
If you feel you are hopeless at concentration, try to make small improvements every week. If you get distracted for 50% of the time, make a conscious effort to get distracted for less time each week. Even if you make small improvements you will feel a sense of progress. Like anything else concentration is something that will improve through practice. The other option is to try and concentrate 100% for say just 10 minutes; then try to increase this time period each time you practice.
The reader also asked a question about Meditation Music. I think the right music can be of help in quietening the mind.
Below is a list of great tips to help you no matter what you are up against. Whether it is a business meeting, a certain project, school and even everyday work obstacles.
1. Go with one step at a time There will be many times that your mind is racing and you cant stay focused as you are being pulled in many different directions.
Instead of trying to keep focused on so many different things, take time to prioritize your list and do only the things that needs to be done at that time. This will allow you to stay better focused and get more accomplished.
2. Take the initiative and do just five more things As we all know, there are just two types of people in the world, the first is those who are the doers, they do as they see fit. Then there are the watchers, who watch the doers, wishing they could have the confidence to do it all like the doers.
Keeping yourself focused and making yourself do just five more things for the day, will help you to gain better control and get ahead in your endeavors.
For example, When you feel like giving up on the treadmill, make your self do just 5 more minutes, or if you are trying to get your homework done and are overwhelmed, just do 5 more problems.3. Keep a note pad handy Keeping a note book close at hand will help you when those great ideas pop into your head at the most impossible times. Without the notebook, you may get distracted and loose your train of thought.
Keeping your thoughts jotted down on paper is a great way to stay focused.
4. Tunnel Vision for Better Focus It might even help to give your self tunnel vision by cupping your hands around your eyes to help you to get focused at the task in front of you
For example, you are working on a project at your desk but your co-workers are being loud and it is hard to stay focused. Put your hands around your face, cupping your eyes. This will help your brain get focused and help you get your task complete with less distraction.
5. Take a break Sometimes you need to stop and take a break. If you try to run yourself without one you could loose focus and what ever you are working on will show the harsh results.
By taking breaks every now and then, you can take care of many tasks and prioritize your day better. So get up and walk away from your desk every so often to clear your head and improve your concentration.
6. Keep track of your time for tasks People do not realize that by keeping g track of their start and end times when working on something, can greatly improve their concentration. You can see where your concentration has wandered and where you need improvement.
7. Stager your tasks In order to not get bored with the jobs at hand, try to vary them to keep your minds eye sharp.
How to Reclaim Your Attention Span
1) Admit Your Problem The effects of the burned out attention span include inability to concentrate while working, studying, or even during a conversation. Are these from a lack of ability, or, a lack of discipline? Were all guilty of too much time in front of the TV, Wii, YouTube, Face book, or with ears plugged into iPods. What will our short attention spans cost us in the long run? How might that unwillingness to concentrate harm our education, careers, and relationships?
2) Unplug! How many of our daily activities depend on electricity or batteries? When we expose ourselves to so much electronic media thats designed to take our attention away, we wont have any left when we need it most. Be especially careful about commercial radio and TV because youre at the whim of programmers and marketers; movie channels and DVDs at least let you choose what to watch without commercial interruptions.
3) Practice Concentrating Despite Distractions When baseball players warm up their swings before walking up to home plate, the weights placed on their bats require them to exert additional effort. When they actually swing at the pitches (with weights removed) they use more force and generate faster bat speed. Studying or reading with some ambient noise can help you redouble your concentration and focus in on the subject much more. With practice, you can learn to block out even louder, more disruptive distractions.
4) Build Up Your Mental Endurance Theres a type of training used in the athletic world called interval training. This consists of regular, timed periods of high exertion followed by systematic intervals of less intense activity. Overall stamina and performance improve more quickly (and with less injury) than compared to long periods of intense workout. You can apply this principle to mental development. Partition your study and learning time with regular breaks to let your mind breathe and recover. Have you ever heard someone say, My brain hurts? Learning to build up mental endurance with bursts of concentration followed by spans of thoughtless recovery will make your learning time more effective. This habit will also preserve a better attitude and promote enthusiasm for the whole learning experience.
5) Make Your Learning Active Dont just absorb information digest it! We can do this best with a pen and paper in hand. Writing notes while listening to someone, or even while watching a TV program turns it into an effective learning opportunity. Dont simply underline or bracket phrases in a book, write down your interpretations or summaries of the information in the books margins.
What people have said about concentration?
"I used to think the human brain was the most fascinating part of the body, and then I realized, 'What is telling me that?'" - Emo Phillips
"I'm getting so absent-minded and forgetful. Sometimes in the middle of a sentence, I . . . " - Milton Berle
"Iron rusts from disuse, stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen, even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind." Leonardo da Vinci
"Tell me to what you pay attention, and I will tell you who you are." - Jose Ortega y Gasset
I would go without shirt or shoe sooner than lose for a minute the two separate sides of my head." - Rudyard Kipling
"It's not that I don't want to listen to people. I very much want to listen to people. I jut can't hear them over my talking." - Paula Poundstone
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