The ability to focus is a skill that needs to be maintained and improved. 8 tips for improving concentration.
Being able to focus on a project in order to complete the work on time and with high quality is a valuable skill.
And not all adults own it. Often we catch ourselves becoming more absent-minded, constantly distracted by insignificant trifles. As a result, we spend a lot more time on business than we planned.
(1) – “Just as you may not run as fast or jump as high as you did as a teenager, your brain’s cognitive power—that is, your ability to learn, remember, and solve problems—slows down with age. You may find it harder to summon once familiar facts or divide your attention among two or more activities or sources of information. These changes affect your ability to focus, so you may find yourself getting more easily distracted than you were when you were younger.”
What will change with increased concentration
The quality of work is improving. The results get better in the same time. We get less tired, there is an opportunity to overcome difficulties without breaking.
The quality of recreation is improving. Strength is restored faster, health and activity are preserved longer.
Time is released. As efficiency increases in general, there are free resources that can be spent on professional development or on communication with loved ones and a favorite hobby.
Exercises to increase concentration. 8 tips for improving concentration.
If we want to be in good physical shape, then we go to the gym and train. The brain can also be trained to develop skills that have either been lost or have never been your strong point.
For this purpose, special exercises have been developed to increase concentration, develop concentration and attention, improve the level of attentiveness when performing a particular job.
Second hand
Take a mechanical watch and focus on the second hand for 3-4 minutes. Think only about her, don’t look away. As soon as you catch yourself on extraneous thoughts or that your eyes have been taken away, put a minus and start over. This exercise can be performed with other household things, for example, washing dishes. Or just sitting in a relaxed position.
Where is the attention directed
Periodically during the working day, stop for 10-30 seconds to analyze what you are doing. Determine where your attention is directed, whether you are using your time productively, what exactly is distracting you.
This exercise will help to analyze the distribution of time and identify the most disturbing factors.
Reflexive reading. 8 tips for improving concentration.
Choose a fascinating book, a work of fiction or special literature. Read one chapter carefully, immersing yourself in the text, taking notes as you go.
Note the details, not just the basic information. Pay attention to the style of the text, the way the author expresses his thoughts.
Countdown
Choose a large number (from hundreds to thousands) and start counting backwards. The goal is to reach one. Getting lost, make a note and start over.
The ability to focus on a specific task is not given to everyone, but we learn how to focus attention correctly. Thanks to classes, we achieve success. This is one of the wonders of the human brain, an organ about which many facts are known.
(2) – “These changes in the brain can affect mental function, even in healthy older people. For example, some older adults may find that they don’t do as well as younger individuals on complex memory or learning tests. However, if given enough time to learn a new task, they usually perform just as well. Needing that extra time is normal as people age. There is growing evidence that the brain maintains the ability to change and adapt so that people can manage new challenges and tasks as they age.”
Useful tips. 8 tips for improving concentration.
To increase the concentration of attention in a particular situation and throughout the day, regular training may not be enough. You need to learn how to organize your life properly.
Ergonomic workspace, absence of additional irritants and habits harmful to mindfulness. This is a condition for maintaining the existing level and improving the skill in the future.
In order for the techniques of developing concentrated attention to give the expected result, follow a few tips.
#1. Decide on secondary tasks
Often we spend a lot of time on additional insignificant work, for example, constant mail checks. Before you start the main task, make a schedule of distractions for such minor matters. This way you will stop thinking about them all the time.
#2. Keep an eye on hydration
Water is needed to maintain mindfulness. In addition to the needs of the body, the lack of fluid makes us distracted during the work process. Drink clean water at the first sign of thirst and always keep a supply next to you. Then you will not have to interrupt additionally to go to another room for her.
#3. Additional motivation
Being interested in the case is extremely important. Before you get to work, focus on what you will get from doing it.
Find a serious reason for yourself to cope with the task quickly and without any reason to complain about quality.
#4. Listen carefully. 8 tips for improving concentration.
Give up the everyday habit of distracting your attention by doing several things at the same time or working with different sources of information.
Pay full attention to a specific task. Listen carefully and watch the running video or conversations of the child.
By deliberately scattering attention in non-important moments, you acquire it as a fixed habit. Later you will not be able to listen carefully to the interlocutor.
#5. Take breaks
It is impossible to keep concentration on a certain task for a long time, at the same level. To achieve the best result, it is worth taking periodic short breaks at regular intervals.
In this way, you practically restart the brain, giving it the opportunity to take a fresh look at the material.
#6. Comfort
Thinking about how to develop concentration and attentiveness, learn to focus at work and improve concentration. A comfortable and non-distracting environment is also extremely important.
#7. Load balancing
Easier things to do first, contrary to popular belief. This helps the brain to accelerate. Difficult tasks from the very beginning will slow down concentration and slow down speed in the future. However, they should not be postponed until the end of the day.
#8. Direct training
As we remember, concentration is the ability to keep attention on one thing. This is often hindered by extraneous thoughts that appear. To learn how to cope with them, concentration on breathing will help: sit up straight, close your eyes and watch only your inhales and exhales, as cool air enters and easily exits through your nose.
At first it will be difficult, and thoughts will fall as if stronger than usual. Do not despair and calmly turn your attention back to breathing. There is no task to completely get rid of thoughts – it is enough to periodically notice the switching and gently return to the subject of concentration.
(1) – Harvard Medical School; How aging affects focus; October 13, 2022. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-aging-affects-focus
(2) – NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA); How the Aging Brain Affects Thinking; June 27, 2023. https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/how-aging-brain-affects-thinking
