If there’s one thing that we all need to retain, it would be the ability to focus and concentrate. One of the reasons for the diminishing prowess is reported to be multitasking.
While instructing your mind to stay focused on a single task (rather than multiple activities), especially the mundane ones, might do the trick but, that might not help in the long run. A study at the University Of London suggests that subjects (people) experienced drops in their IQ comparable to someone who missed a night of sleep. It further mentioned, even though multitaskers felt like they’re getting more work done, they are working at a much lower cognitive level.
Do you want to improve your focus and concentration abilities? There are quite a few techniques that can help you zone in on the task in front of you. Try these techniques that might help you sharpen your concentration and be more productive…
1. Having Good Sleep
It’s no secret, getting enough sleep can help protect your mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety. The National Institutes for Health suggests, majority of people lack good sleep. A few overnighters are considerably okay, but the lack of enough sleep can negatively impact both your short and long-term memory, as well as your ability to concentrate.
Tips to help you in the sleep department:
- Avoid consuming caffeinated beverages
- Switch off your electronic devices
- Keep your bedroom cool and quiet
2. Note Down What Distracts You
Wandering minds and unwanted thoughts are common during the initial stages of meditation. Need to eliminate distractions?
Try this:
- Turn off notifications on your phone/Switching off your phone
- Move to a quiet and comfortable space
- Write down thoughts that pop into your mind
3. Going off the grid
If your idea of a break is to check your social media (Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram) you may want to consider an app that blocks them. Benjamin Brooks says when push notifications are activated, other people are deciding where your focus goes. Make sure you set yourself up for success, and make sure you have the resources and materials for the job at hand, and block out time to work on the task.
4. Committing your goals
Often, a lack of focus is resulted by feeling overwhelmed by a complex project. Without such commitment, you’d probably get distracted again by your thoughts or other demands on your time. You are the master of your thoughts and actions. You’ve got to decide this is the work you’ll complete now—without multitasking—and do it.
5. Practice
Focusing is no simple task, maybe that’s the reason you are still reading this. But, nothing is impossible without practice. You may need to start out with 10 minutes at a time, forcing yourself to stay on task. Then dedicate yourself to incrementally increasing the amount of time you’re focused on a task.
6. Be mindful
Don’t worry, you’re definitely not alone. Being distracted is a common phenomenon and something we all experience. Taking short breaks definitely helps, however, these short mental vacations often make it harder to focus on the task in front of you. That’s where mindfulness comes in. The key is to shift to something completely different than what you were previously working on.
“It’s stopping work completely to read an aviation book or make myself a cup of coffee or check out something on Politico—something completely different that actually allows me to reset for a second so when I am working, I’m working at my full efficacy rather than this deep-down distracted sense,” says Benjamin Brooks.
Be it your struggle to deal with too many competing priorities, lack of sleep, or just the Monday blues, lack of focus can hamper your productivity. Hence, it is important to try the above-mentioned techniques which help you to avoid getting zoned out and assist you to stay on track with your most important tasks each day.