8 Strategies For Better Concentration
Concentration is an ability to focus to an effective degree on something of importance. Does it matter? Absolutely it does. Concentration is one of the greatest determiners of success in the modern era. School? Well, if someone gets by in school without some ability to concentrate then that would come as a surprise. Many jobs out there require concentration to be successful even if some don’t directly state that. If you want to start your own business, there is a good chance that concentration will be a major skill you’ll need to use in order to elevate that business to success.
In short, having the ability to focus is a powerful skill you can use to improve your life. Its importance spans across many day-to-day tasks so if you lack an ability to concentrate, you may feel that you are falling behind. Ultimately even if your focus is not top tier, being even moderately competent in this area can elevate your potential. So here are some great tips for improving concentration.
Ways to concentrate better
Here are some ways for how you can improve concentration skills.
1. Sleep
Zzzzz. You’ve probably heard this one before. Sleep is crucial for mental performance in general and this is true even when it comes to concentration. Sleep helps us feel more cognitively energetic. This increase in energy improves focus. You should make an effort to keep up not only on the quantity of sleep but also on the quality.
Aim for at least 8 hours. If you need to wake up at a certain time, count backwards 8 and a half hours and sleep at that time. This is so even if it takes you about 30 minutes to fall asleep, you would still get your recommended time. Just as important: how you sleep. Make sure the room you sleep in is comfortable and free from sounds, lights, or other sensory stimuli. Set the room temperature to something comfortable for you, keep sheets and pillow cases clean, and make sure you have a great mattress. To avoid waking up at night to use the bathroom, try to limit how much water you drink two hours before bed unless you are very thirsty.
2. Take time to Relax
Relaxing is not a substitute for sleep but it does offer similar benefits. Taking time to relax can help you feel more rejuvenated and energetic which improves focus. In the modern era it is easy for our brains to be exposed to sources of overstimulation. Think of how much people focus on their phones between social media, chats/texts, etc. All of this uses up brain energy that we would otherwise be able to use for concentration on more important things.
When you tire your brain on social media or to look at a screen, you could very well find yourself with less mental energy. This doesn’t even just apply to technology, it is anything that takes too much of our attention in exchange for something of little gain to us. This doesn’t mean you should never use your phone to chat or text again. We should even use social media in healthy ways. But we have to set our limits.
Relaxing does not solely entail avoiding use of your phone or limiting social media. It also means lying down, closing your eyes, or just having a casual conversation with a friend. The main idea of relaxation is to limit the amount of mental energy you expend for a set timeframe in order to leave yourself with more energy to direct towards important tasks.
3. Limit distractions
Just like mental energy is wasted by focusing on minimally beneficial or useless tasks, it is also depleted when divided between tasks. For that reason, limiting distractions is an important strategy for improving all around focus. If you want to concentrate better, you should first assure you are concentrating on only one thing. If you are like most people, dispersing your attention will only cause you to focus less on the tasks you are doing. This in turn will increase the likelihood of mistakes/errors, failure or poor knowledge retention. When you’re doing something, try to focus only on that one thing.
A lot of us may need our phones to be close to us, but many phones these days have a do not disturb feature. Turn it on and try to assure you only receive notifications from important contacts. Put anything else that may distract you (which does not need to be in close proximity) far away.
4. Create an environment suited for concentration
This encompasses so many different ideals. We should aim to be in an environment that is otherwise comfortable in order to assure we aren’t bothered. Disturbances can come from anything, including room temperature, uncomfortable seating, noise (big one) or a messy environment. This can be surprisingly effective at taking away our ability to concentrate. Make sure your surroundings are comfortable and peaceful for you.
5. Eat right
Now this isn’t really an article about how you should eat healthy, but there are some general tips we can run through here. To maximize our focus potential we should assure we give our minds the fuel they need to function optimally. Avoid greasy junk food that is high in unhealthy fats, sodium and sugar. These can really take their toll on the brain and its ability to concentrate. In terms of foods you should be including in your diet, it might be easy to guess what is best. Vegetables and fruits are great. Eat a fair but moderate amount of meat and try to include poultry and fish in your diet for variety. And always remember to stay hydrated.
6. Eliminate Stress
Stress is a great distractor and just like some of the external entertainment sources that surround us, stress can also deplete our mental energy. Less mental energy = less focus. The mind has limited resources and directing this towards stress is enough to risk compromising focus. Ignoring all of the horrible effects of stress on our bodies, the effects on the mind should be enough to get you to do something about it. Take action and resolve stress quickly to establish an inner peace and you may find your concentration improving significantly in the process.
7. Train your focus
The brain is like a muscle. Granted it is different biologically, but we’re not really getting into that here. The idea is we can train our minds much like how we can train our muscles. Say you want to build patience, you can engage in activities which require you to max out your patience. The same goes for improving your concentration. You should try to push your limits (within reason) in order to constantly raise the bar for your mind. Try reading a paragraph with your full attention. Do this for about a week and then start reading a whole page or section of an article. After that try reading the whole article. Each time, make sure you are maintaining focus on what you’re reading and push yourself to retain information. Also, don’t feel like reading is your only option, you can do other things that you feel will obligate you to pay attention. The idea is practice, practice, practice!
8. Consider the possibility of a medical condition
Numerous medical conditions can cause a lack of or inability to focus. These can be mental health ailments like depression or anxiety. They can also be physiological like anemia, headaches or nutrient deficiencies. Consider seeing a physician if you feel like you’ve been dealing with recurring lack of focus and you struggle to combat it.
Conclusion
Concentration often makes the difference between success and failure. It is a major desired skill in the modern world and if you struggle with it you may see it taking a toll on your daily life.
Peoples’ ability to concentrate is indeed contingent on many of the things discussed in this article, but this is not a comprehensive list. First of all, there are all sorts of lifestyle habits and health issues that have implications on focus. But when you’ve done everything you can to improve your concentration and you’ve completely ruled out any possible health ailments, you may just need work around your situation. At the end of the day concentration isn’t everything. We are all unique people, and if focus is not your strong suit look for something else that is. It’s not the end of the world so don’t view it that way.
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