Most of us have issues when it comes to focusing and our attention span in general. It’s not an issue of a certain age, it affects all generations.
Perhaps we’re too exposed to various sources of entertainment and it isn’t often that we can just be on our own in complete silence and isolation. All this is probably a consequence of the development of technology. Nowadays we’re constantly available on social media and all messengers and regardless of how hard we try, we cannot resist the urge to read our messages and reply right away. Taking all this into account, it’s no surprise that we find it difficult to concentrate among all these distractions. This is where we come in to help you fix the problem.
Small goals
Like every other habit, being able to concentrate takes time and effort. You need to start small and work your way towards the goal. Baby steps is always a good technique. Make a plan every day and make sure you stick to it. Start by giving yourself easily accomplishable tasks that will give you satisfaction and boost your confidence. After that, add more work to your plate every day until you reach your desired pace.
Isolate yourself
You cannot work or study in a distracting environment. It’s quite hard to find a place without any noise just for yourself, however, even if you do find it, you may feel it’s quite a shock compared to the regular atmosphere you are exposed to. This is why more and more people find it much easier to focus with music. In order to block all other sounds, you should get a pair of high-quality headphones. A new flagship pair of Focal Utopia is guaranteed to bring you the sound as it really is while eliminating all others. They enable you to focus without distractions.
Time yourself
Another way to improve focus is by timing yourself. You can decide on the amount of time you work or study as well as take breaks. You can start with 25 minutes of active time and a 5-minute break or anything you find suitable. In time, you should increase your active time gradually until your brain gets used to being focused for a much longer time period than in the beginning. You can use an app to help you respect the schedule. These apps let you set your preferred time and they have an alarm when each phase ends and another one begins.
Exercise or meditate
They say that your body functions best when it’s equally engaged mentally and physically. This makes sense as it’s extremely healthy for us to be optimally engaged either way, as well as fed and rested. Of course, sometimes we simply don’t have the luxury to sustain this kind of regime. Instead, we should use our break time to do a few minutes of jumping jacks or crunches. Longer breaks can be spent taking walks and it will be enough for a start. You’ll soon realize this type of break suits you better than watching an episode of your favorite sitcom or staring at your Instagram feed.
Basically, our brain should be treated the same as our muscles. It needs exercise. The most important factors in improving concentration are continuity and discipline. Once you make a plan, stick to it without any excuses. Moreover, never let a day go by without doing some work, except when you’re on vacation or some extreme circumstances occur. However, if you do skip a day, have a good night’s sleep and continue the next day as if no interruptions were made.
