HOW TO IMPROVE CONCENTRATION: 13 TIPS THAT WORK - GEOGRAFÍA - 2024

For many people, improving concentration is an area they need to actively work on. Due to changes in our culture, more and more individuals find it difficult to keep their attention focused on a single task. For this reason, in recent times there have been numerous exercises to strengthen this capacity.

The rise of the Internet, social networks, smartphones and other technological advances have accustomed us to not holding our attention for more than a few seconds. We find ourselves overstimulated; we are constantly bombarded by information that requires us to heed it.

This causes all kinds of problems in most people's lives. Among other things, both children and adults state that they have difficulties concentrating in class or at work, reading, or spending more than a few minutes without looking at their mobile or social networks.

Therefore, in this article you will find several exercises and techniques that will help you improve your concentration. Just like if you wanted to start building muscle, you need to start small. Pick one or two activities that appeal to you, and practice them for a few minutes each day.

By doing so, you will soon find that your ability to concentrate increases slowly but steadily.

Practical tips for training concentration

1- Train your willpower

In our day-to-day life, we are constantly moving and staying active. Our life demands that we go from one task to another without time to rest in between, so little by little we have been losing the habit of doing nothing.

As if this were not enough, due to the constant distraction posed by our electronic devices, it is very difficult for us to keep our attention focused on a single task for more than a few minutes. Luckily, willpower is like a muscle that can be trained. Here is an exercise to help you develop it.

The idea is very simple. Pick a chair that you are comfortable in, and pick a position to sit in. For the next few minutes, keeping your eyes closed, you will have to try to stay in it without moving a single muscle.

At first, doing so may seem relatively straightforward. However, you will soon realize that this task requires your full attention. Within a few minutes of starting, you will notice how your muscles want to perform all kinds of involuntary movements, which you will have to consciously combat.

To start with this exercise, it is enough that you do it for five minutes a day. Still, once you have a little practice, you will see the maximum benefits if you are able to hold the same posture for at least a quarter of an hour.

By doing it for several days, you will notice how each time you are able to focus on the same task for longer.

2- Create a distraction-free environment

We have already seen that willpower can be trained, and you have learned an exercise to achieve it. However, numerous investigations suggest that no matter how much we develop it, it is very difficult for us to maintain our concentration if we are surrounded by stimuli all the time.

Therefore, one of the most important keys to focusing your attention on a single task is to create an environment in which there is nothing to distract you from what you are doing.

Depending on what you have proposed, this can mean many things; but in general, it will mean that you look for a space that you only go to when you have to fulfill your tasks.

For example, if you have to complete a project for work, it will be much more difficult to do it without distractions in your room or in the kitchen.

If you have space at home, setting up a small office in your own home will help you in this regard. If not, working from a coffee shop may give you extra concentration.

Another action that will instantly improve your concentration is to put the phone in airplane mode. Few things distract us more than the social media notifications, calls and messages we constantly receive.

So when you go to work or do something important to you, disconnect your smartphone and see how long you can go without looking at it.

3- Work in short spaces of time

If you are like most people, it is very likely that you will have a hard time maintaining full attention for several hours. That is why a large number of entrepreneurs, workers and artists have found that they are much more productive when they only try to do it for a short period of time before resting.

The easiest way to do this is to use a technique known as 'pomodoro'. It consists of setting a timer for 25 minutes. During this period of time, your goal is to focus 100% on the task at hand. After your period is over, you can take a short 5-10 minute break before starting again.

Although 25 minutes may not seem like too long, especially if you have a very long or complex task ahead of you, those who have used the pomodoro technique say that it has helped them improve their concentration in the long term.

Try to start with these times, and when you see yourself with more confidence you can gradually increase the duration of the work period.

4- Set clear and achievable goals

In addition to the constant distractions we receive, one of the main reasons we find it difficult to focus is because we do not have specific goals to set ourselves. For many of us, work and study are an endless succession of tasks.

The problem is that our brain is not prepared to function in this way. Research reveals that our minds are at their best when we focus on specific tasks and that they have a clear reward once we complete them. So changing the way you organize your obligations can help you focus better.

The key is to set a goal that you can work on directly today. For example, if you have to finish a very long project, break it down into smaller pieces that you can finish in a busy day at work. Thus, it will be much easier for you to stay focused than if you simply faced the whole group.

5- Get adequate rest

Unfortunately, the usual for many people is getting less than 6 or 7 hours of sleep each night. Because we have to get up a lot early, and we tend to stay up late, most of us find it difficult to get as much rest as we really need.

However, numerous studies suggest that sleeping less than 8 hours a night for an extended period of time can wreak havoc on our ability to concentrate. When we have not had enough rest, even the simplest tasks can become a world.

Therefore, if improving your concentration is important to you, make a minimum of 7 hours of sleep a night a priority. In general, we do not sleep little due to lack of time, but because we do not see rest as important.

On many occasions, it is preferable to leave some activities for the next day and rest rather than lose hours of sleep to finish everything before going to bed. If you rest well, you will see how in the morning you have much more energy to face your tasks with concentration.

6- Take care of your diet

Closely related to the theme of rest we find that of food. Although it seems to have nothing to do with our concentration, the reality is that the food we eat can determine whether we will do our tasks with ease or if, on the contrary, it will cost us a superhuman effort to finish them.

Some foods, such as sugar or refined carbohydrates, will make it very difficult for you to maintain your concentration for a long period of time. On the contrary, others such as vegetables, meat or fruit will give you the energy you need to fully use your brain in the activities you choose.

To create a sustainable healthy eating habit, it is best not to forbid unhealthy food; on the contrary, it is usually more effective to start introducing better foods into your diet little by little. You can start, for example, by introducing a piece of fruit at each meal, or substituting processed foods for other more natural ones that feel better for your body.

7- Remember your "whys"

One of the reasons people name the most when asked about their difficulty concentrating is lack of motivation. To carry out a complicated task, we usually need to feel like doing it; But on many occasions, we lose sight of why we are acting in a certain way.

If you want to improve your ability to concentrate on the tasks that you propose, you need to constantly remind yourself why you are doing them.

No matter what the reason is: money, more free time, improving your health or your relationships… The important thing is that it is something that makes you want to get down to work.

If you want to take this point a step further, you can even fill your environment with elements that remind you why you do what you do.

For example, if you're saving for a vacation to an exotic location, you could put photos of the destination you're thinking of on your wall, and look at them when you notice your concentration starts to waver.

8- Create a routine

Many times, our lives are a bit chaotic. Both in the case of children and some adults, each day can be completely different depending on what we have to do: tasks to complete, shopping to do, doctor's appointments, outings with friends or colleagues…

The problem with this is that our mind is ready to function at its best when a routine is present. Following a more or less fixed schedule helps us to stay focused, and to give our all when we have to perform a complex task.

Therefore, try to create a more or less stable routine that helps you organize your days. Every second of the day does not have to be planned; but you should follow some general lines in your activities. For example, you can try to go to the gym at the same time every day, always have dinner at the same time…

9- Discover what is your most important sense

For several decades, in the field of psychology it has been known that each person learns and is guided mainly by using one of the senses. For most people, it is sight; but for other individuals, it may be hearing or touch.

In general, people are usually divided into visual, auditory or kinesthetic. Each of them learns better in one way, and is motivated by different stimuli and situations. So understanding which of these categories you belong to can greatly help you stay focused.

10- Go to a specialist

If all else fails, there may be some underlying problem that is not allowing you to focus properly. There are many physical and psychological conditions that make it much more difficult to maintain constant attention on a single task. Some of the most common are the following:

- Low levels of some vitamins or hormones. Extremely low levels of substances like testosterone or vitamin D can make it really difficult to stay focused for long periods of time.

- Attention deficit disorder. Although it is considered that it has been overdiagnosed in recent decades, the truth is that a small percentage of children and adults present this psychological condition. Its main symptom is extreme difficulty in maintaining attention for more than a few minutes, but luckily it can be treated.

- Mood disorders. Problems like depression, stress, or anxiety can make it nearly impossible to stay focused effectively. In these cases, it is best to resolve what is happening first, rather than trying to alleviate the symptom of inattention directly.

11- Set time limits

It is good that you know what Parkinson's law says: "work expands until the time available for its completion is over." This is real and is usually true. If you don't set time limits for completing tasks, you will tend to become distracted and lose focus.

Therefore, something highly recommended is to set time limits to finish what you have to do.

12- Cover your basic needs

If you have to go to the bathroom, are hungry or thirsty, it will take a lot to concentrate. Therefore, try to have those needs covered before you start studying, reading or working.

Surely you are familiar with the feeling of restlessness when you are reading, working or studying and at the same time you feel hungry. So get rid of your basic needs and then you will see how your concentration improves.

13- Practice meditation

Meditation training improves both sustained attention (concentration) and perceptual discrimination in selective attention tasks. A few basic meditation exercises are easy to practice.

References

1. "12 Concentration Exercises from 1918" in: The Art of Manliness. Retrieved on: September 26, 2018 from The Art of Manliness: artofmanliness.com.
2. "The secret to… improving your concentration" in: The Guardian. Retrieved on: September 26, 2018 from The Guardian: theguardian.com.
3. "How to improve your concentration and memory" in: Psychology Today. Retrieved on: September 26, 2018 from Psychology Today: psychologytoday.com.
4. "13 Mind-Blowing Tips To Increase Concentration Power In Kids" in: Flintobox. Retrieved on: September 26, 2018 from Flintobox: flintobox.com.
5. "Top 20 ways to improve your concentration" in: Times of India. Retrieved on: September 26, 2018 from Times of India: timesofindia.indiatimes.com.