Staying focused is a skill that many people struggle with especially in the age of technology. A study found that people are constantly interrupted at work, which causes them to be less productive, and it actually leads to sleepless nights. The average person looks at the smartphone every 12 minutes, and that is a stat from 2018, the time has probably gone down by now.
In a world of distractions, how can you build the skill of focus and concentration? There are ways to build healthy habits and set yourself up for success by avoiding distractions and training your brain to get in the zone when you need to.
To reach your full potential, start by getting plenty of rest and self-care, before engaging in activities to train your brain, your thoughts and make physical boundaries for avoiding distractions.
Make Time For Rest
Rest is productive, any modern mental health specialist will tell you so. When you are experiencing burnout, which can cause issues in concentration in the workplace, it is vital to find ways to practice self-care, which bring you rest and also fulfillment.
When the going gets tough and professional life is bringing you down, it won't do any good to keep pushing if what your body really needs is rest.
If you really want to boost your focus and concentration, start by taking the steps to take care of yourself, even if it feels counterproductive, it isn't. Without taking care of yourself first, you won't be able to knock everything else off of your list.
Do Activities That You Enjoy
If you are having trouble focusing, try taking your energy and putting it into activities that you enjoy. This should not include watching Netflix, getting lost in TikTok videos or scrolling through social media. Do activities that make you feel fulfilled, capable and require concentration.
Read a book, some people with technology have actually found it harder to concentrate on things like reading. Make time to read 15 to 20 minutes a day to help your mental fitness and concentration. Exercise is another good way to focus, practice self-care and stay in shape.
Other activities that can help you practice focus are art, sudoku and brain games, playing an instrument and other hobbies that require focus and practice of a skill.
Learn To Control Your Thoughts
The trendier way other than forming healthy habits and self-care for improving concentration and focus is getting in on meditation and mindfulness. Meditation is the practice of learning to control your thoughts, and mindfulness allows you to be intentional with how you think and feel.
Both practices are all about bringing awareness to your thoughts and learning how to gain control over them. Your thoughts rule your emotions, so in turn, you can also learn emotional regulation and how to stay in control of situations.
For example, mental disciple to concentrate. Sometimes even a deadline or the promise of a goodnight's sleep isn't enough to keep the brain focused. If you can learn to control your thoughts and train your brain to focus on tasks to be productive, it will be a big-time saver for the future.
Set Up Helpful Tools
If you struggle with focus and concentration, you can avoid situations that cause distraction and set up helpful tools for keeping your focus.
When getting ready to work or concentrate, put yourself in the right environment. Some people need quiet and zero visual distractions, like an office space. Others need a busy environment like a coffee shop to help them stay focused and on task. Put yourself in the right environment, or switch it up if you get drained always being in the same place.
Next, set up the right tools. Download an app such as Forrest, which doesn't allow you to use your mobile phone while the app is active. If you leave Forrest, you lose points. Another useful app is Todoist which is helpful for making products to-do lists and keeping you on track with your day and your week.
An old school, but no fail, way to stay focused is making a schedule based on urgency and importance. That way you can focus on what needs to get done, and don't get distracted by the unurgent and unimportant things that are only clouding up your mental space. Being mentally organized is a great housekeeping method for staying focused.
Focus and concentration are skills that come from practice and learning about personal boundaries. If you get sucked into online shopping multiple times a week, make a habit to stop visiting those sites that end up wasting your time. That is just one example of building healthy habits to support your skill growth for being able to focus.
Stay focused to be productive, and feel liberated by getting ahead.
