How To Improve Our Concentration

The mental focus is a mental process that is done through reasoning. It consists of voluntarily focusing all the attention of the mind on an objective, object or activity that is being carried out or thinking of doing at that moment, leaving aside the whole series of events or other objects that may be capable of interfering in its achievement or in your attention.

Sometimes keeping your attention and concentrating on something can be difficult. If you have problems with the attention of this article it can be useful. Find out how to improve your concentration.

Method 1: Quick Fixes

Count how many times you get distracted

Counting all the times your mind wanders on a 3 × 5 card could help you improve concentration:

• Divide the card into three sections: morning, afternoon, and evening.
• Every time you find yourself wandering, make a small mark in the appropriate box.
• After a very short time you will find that your mind will not wander so many times, just to maintain an account.

Being aware of the problem is the first step, and this method helps you stay on top of every time you lose focus. An awareness of what you are doing over time will help you improve your concentration, without any added effort.

Thus, you are probably better able to identify your most vulnerable moments. Let’s say you find a large number of counts during the morning, when you are still tired and the mind is probably drifting. That’s a sign that you could be getting better from getting more sleep or eating a healthy breakfast.

Choose your hours of rest

Set certain times during the day in order to let your mind wander or to let your concentration drift. If you have a certain time during the day: For example, if your drift time is at 17:30 every day, when you return from school or work. You may be less likely to lose focus between 11:00 and 15:00.

If one learns to let the mind rest during any of the authorized hours, it will be possible to establish a time for rest. This could make it easier to try to keep your brain focused on whatever task you have to do.

Rest your brain every hour

Remember to give your brain a little break at least every hour, every 30 minutes at the most. If your brain has to focus for several hours at a time, it loses processing power and slipping levels of concentration.

It is best to give your project space and take breaks. In this way, you can resume your concentration and maintain your attention.

Finish one task before starting another

Practice doing one thing at a time and doing it to the end. If you jump through all the tasks and start a new project before you’ve finished the last one, what you’re telling your brain is that it’s okay to switch from one topic to another.

If you want to improve your concentration, we recommend that you start convincing your brain to finish one task before moving on to the next. Apply this philosophy to as many different tasks in your life as possible.

You may think that finishing one book before starting another has nothing to do with finishing one job before starting another. However, they are very similar if you think about it. Even the smallest tasks have repercussions in other parts of your life.

Use the “be here and now” technique to help you regain focus when you get distracted for a moment. Practice this in a variety of settings, such as:

• In class lectures where people move or cough and get on with it without looking at them.
• When you talk to someone, keep your attention on the person, look them in the face and take into account what they are saying.

Work at your desk, not your bed

Don’t work on your bed, but on your desk. Your bed is where you sleep, your desk is where you work and focus.

Your mind makes these kinds of associations unconsciously. This means that you are sending a “sleep” signal to your brain if you are trying to work in your bed.

This is counterproductive, because you are actually asking your brain to do two things at once: focus and sleep. Therefore, ask your brain to focus or sleep well, choosing your workplace carefully.

Try the five plus strategy

The five plus is a simple rule. Every time you feel like you’re going to lose focus, tell your brain to do five more than you were doing.

For math problems, do five more problems. If it’s about reading, read five more pages. If it’s about concentrating, do five more minutes. Determine the energy to the maximum by doing five more than you were doing.

Method 2: Long-term solutions

Sleep well

A key factor that affects concentration is rest. Concentration requires that your mind be calm. But your mind can tend to wander if you are not well rested.

Make sure you get the right amount of sleep at the right time. You should also have a regular sleep time which can be the key to concentration.

Getting just enough sleep is ideal, getting up just when the alarm clock rings. Falling asleep disrupts your natural rhythm and can cause you to become lazy. Avoid this in order to have an alarm to wake up on time.

Make a plan

Always have a plan for what you are doing. When you sit down to work without a plan, you can get caught up in activities like emails, social media, and surfing the web.

Without a purpose, you will be wasting your time. You could be distracted by a variety of lingering thoughts instead of devoting your full attention to an important task. To avoid this, make a clear plan that meets your needs beforehand.

Take a 5-10 minute break in between and use this time to check email. Then close your inbox and move on to your most important task. When making a plan, be sure to allow enough time for entertainment, study, and sleep.

Meditate

The practice of meditation will undoubtedly improve our ability to concentrate. Actually, when we try to meditate, concentration is the first thing we have to master.

A daily period of meditation can give us the opportunity to work on concentration techniques. Try it and you will see the results.

Choose a specific place to work

Pick a place of your choice for concentration. It is obvious that some places are better than others. School libraries, study rooms, and desks are the best.

Above all, the place you choose should not be a distraction. Try to stay away from other people if you need to focus on your work.

Eat a balanced diet

If you want to master the art of concentration, you need to eat a controlled and balanced diet. Overeating creates a huge burden on digestion and can make you feel uncomfortable and sleepy.

Eating light, healthy meals can help you maximize your ability to concentrate. In the end, you will likely find that you need less food than you think to satisfy yourself.

Practice exercise

Exercise frequently. The ability to concentrate also depends on our physical well-being.

If we are tired, unhealthy, and afflicted with numerous minor ailments, concentration will be more difficult. Of course, concentration is possible, but it will be more difficult.

However, we have to try to make life easier for ourselves. Therefore, we have to give a high priority to physical health.

Take breaks

To increase concentration, take breaks and mix up your surroundings. Continuous work in the same place can drive anyone crazy.

Taking constant breaks can solve this problem. This will get you activated and more interested in the topic.

Practice these techniques for good concentration

Know that practice makes perfect. Concentration is an activity like any other. It is evident that the more we practice it, the better our concentration will be.

We wouldn’t expect to become a strong runner without doing some training. Similarly, concentration is like a muscle, the more we exercise the stronger it becomes.

Advice

• Take a moment to focus on what you need to accomplish. Don’t get distracted by problems or worries. Set up a reward system for yourself.
• Promise yourself rewards for staying focused.
• Every time you lose confidence, think about your past accomplishments.
• Don’t force yourself if your mind keeps wandering. It doesn’t help at all.
• Create a cozy and calm environment to help you focus.
• You have to plan your own hours to study or work.
• Divide your time to complete the topics you are studying or working on.
• When you find that your thoughts stray from what they need to focus on, redirect them. Don’t let them get lost.
• If you are too asleep to concentrate, it is very doubtful that you will be able to finish a paragraph of a book you are reading or what you are doing.
• At school and work give your maximum for each task to be done and take the last five minutes of the lesson as a break.

• If you are not determined to do it, you are probably wasting your time.
• Remember that the best people will achieve nothing if they lack concentration.
• Do not work in a crowded place, as you will lose concentration.

Remember that what we have described here are tips that may not work for you. We recommend consulting with a psychology professional if you think you have trouble concentrating on a daily basis.