In today’s world, filled with several distractions, finding focus and staying on task can be challenging. From latest news updates to Instagram notifications and online shopping, almost every possible distraction is within reach of your fingertips.
Paying full attention to something is critical for learning new things, performing well, and achieving long or short-term goals across different aspects. However, getting your brain to focus is not easy. If it is, perhaps, all people would have the razor-sharp concentration of a top-notch athlete.
Whether you are striving to stay on task or trying to focus on studies, your ability to concentrate can either be your best friend or enemy. Success and failure may depend on your focus, so try out these simple tricks to build up laser-like mental focus alertness.
Keep away from distractions
Constant buzzes, whistles, and pings are your worst foe when it comes to concentrating. Intrusions like blaring of radio, a social media notification, and disrupting co-workers can be frustrating, especially when you’re doing your best to focus on your task.
If you continue working in such an environment, you might work for a couple of hours just to found out that you’re not making any progress.
To keep away from distractions, find a location where you can be left alone for a while. Put your smartphone on your bag or in any place where you won’t easily see it, so you won’t be disturbed every time a notification pops out. Perhaps, you could try going to quiet places like the library, coffee shop or just pick a peaceful place in your house.
Time could also be your best friend. Do your tasks early in the morning when most people are still asleep. Focusing will be much easy because fewer distractions may take away your attention.
Narrow your focus
Multitasking is an excellent way to make the most out of your time, but not everyone is good at it. Finding a balance between various tasks at the same time can cut down productivity levels. If you don’t narrow your focus, you might bypass really important details.
Try visualizing your focus like a spotlight and your task as the area the light is focused on. When the spotlight (your focus) is narrowed to one particular area (one task), you will be able to pay more attention to it without confusion.
Thus, you will get the job done accurately. On the other hand, if you spread out the light all over a big dark room, you might find yourself overwhelmed. This is how important centering your focus is. Get your work done one at a time.
Take a short break
If you are working on a very long task, it is necessary to take occasional short breaks to condition your mind.
According to psychology, the brain tends to ignore constant information. Hence, you need to do something that will shift your attention to a particular task that has no particular relevance to the task at hand.
Mental breaks are necessary for sharpening focus and improving performance.
Grab a cup of coffee
Grabbing a cup of coffee is a way to get your brain to focus on your task. Caffeine serves as a stimulant to the brain’s central nervous system, modestly increasing the concentration and alertness of a person.
Turn on some music
This may seem completely opposite to the first trick, which is to eliminate distractions. But according to studies, listening to music helps improve mood and get a person motivated to accomplish a specific task.
Music is also said to activate both the left and right brain hemispheres, improving memory and maximizing learning.
Spare some time to exercise
Exercise is a proven way to recondition mood, memory, and concentration. This is because physical activities aid in the production of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine levels of the brain, boosting attention and focus.
Giving yourself some time to exercise will help improve your mental focus and your overall health.
Get enough sleep
If you are tired, then rest. You can’t be productive when you are too exhausted. Fatigue would cause your attention to waver, and the chances are big that you won’t get to accomplish the task at hand even if you push yourself to do so.
Make sure to sleep about at least 7-8 hours every day. If you work more than what your body can sustain, you might face negative consequences in the future. Give yourself some slack and take a good rest.
Improve focus through meditation
Mindfulness training ameliorate focus and aids in enhancing memory. While mindfulness meditation might involve studying meditation, it could also be just as simple as deep breathing exercises.
Meditation can bring incredible changes to your outlook and brain, helping improve overall performance in accomplishing tasks.
Live in the moment
Nothing is worse than getting yourself stuck in the past and anxious about the future. Thoughts about the time the already passed by, and the time that is yet to come are distractions that almost all people experience.
If you get caught up with this kind of thinking, you will be in trouble paying attention to things that matter the most at the moment. You cannot go back to the past, and the future is unknown. So, there’s really no sense of stressing yourself out. Choose to save yourself from this kind of thought. Choose to live in the moment.
Determine your peak hours
Some people work best during the mornings, some work best during the afternoon, and some find peace working at night. Which time do you work the best? Determine your peak hours.
During your peak hours, your brain will be more productive, allowing you to sharpen your focus on your task. If you haven’t discovered the time which you can work best, try doing tasks out on different work hours to see which time suits you best.
Have a plan you feel clear about
Planning is a factor that affects focus. If you don’t plan things out before executing them, you might feel lost and confused, having no sense of clarity on what needs to be accomplished.
If you plan things ahead of time, you will have a better sense of purpose and certainty, allowing you to know which you should focus and work on. Having a plan that you feel clear about would help you ease to what comes next on a step-to-step basis. Hence, improving mental focus and productivity.
Pay attention to the foods you eat
As the body’s control center, your brain needs something that will keep it working at peak condition. Brain foods are like fuel that fires up concentration and focus.
It would be great if you would stay away from processed and salty foods and foods that contain a lot of sugar. Instead of eating fries, burgers, and donuts, you should eat foods like blueberries, eggs, fatty fish, and spinach.
Having a healthy breakfast is also vital in promoting brain function.
To enhance brain power, never skip your breakfast. If you are hungry, you will not be able to concentrate well, so take a portion of good brain food to get your day started right. Remember to avoid flushing your body with sugar first thing in the morning because sugar can release hormones that affect memory and concentration.
