Ten Ways To Sharpen Your Focus

Do you find it hard to stay focused on demanding tasks these days?  Do you find your mind jumps around rather than staying on the task in hand?  If so, you’re not alone and there are good reasons why we all find this more of a problem nowadays. But don’t despair as there are a number of strategies you can adopt to help you and your kids stay focused.

Trained to be easily distracted

One of the reasons we all find it increasingly difficult to stay focussed and concentrate these days is because we are surrounded by so many and varied distractions.  Whether at work, school, at home, or out in the street there can be so many images, noises, voices all clamouring for our attention.

We find it hard to resist these distractions because we’re ‘hard-wired’ not to ignore them.  The reason is that in prehistoric times distractions like noise or movement were often an early warning of something dangerous –and more often than not required immediate action.  So we could not afford to ignore those distracting signals.

But we all have the experience of being focussed – like when we get engrossed in playing sport, watching TV, in a hobby or a good read.  So being focussed is something we all do and there are strategies you can employ to increase the amount of time you stay focussed. As with anything else, the more you practice the better at it you become.

Know your best time

Most of us work better at certain times of the day than others and find that not only do we do better work, but it seems easier at those times too. For some of us this time is early in the morning, for others it might be after lunch.  Know when your best time is and use it to tackle those tricky tasks requiring concentration.

Set aside distraction free time

So if you’re waiting for a call or feedback from a colleague or expecting a visitor, staying focussed will naturally be harder.  So try not to do heavy-focus jobs at those times. Instead arrange time when your colleagues/family/college mates know you need to concentrate and ask to be left alone for a period of time. 

Switch tasks

No not multitasking, but try switching periodically between perhaps two tasks. This saves you getting bored which will lead to easy distraction and loss of focus.  Keeps you on your toes.

Treat Your Brain Like A Muscle - Train It

It’s been found that thinking capacity is not fixed but can be expanded.

Set yourself a realistic target time for which you will stay focused on what you are doing. It doesn't matter if it’s only five or ten minutes at first, because you’re going to keep practicing and it will get longer. 

If you don’t hit your target first time, reduce it until you can maintain focus for that time.  Then gradually increase the period of concentration, and don’t be hard on yourself when you fail – as with any kind of exercise at some times it will be easier than at others.

Try brain training/games

Apps designed to help you train your brain are available for all kinds of electronic devices.  These often work to improve specific aspects of mental aptitude such as reasoning, attention, and working (short-term) memory.  

Children with pronounced problems with concentration should always be assessed by a qualified person, in case a condition such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the cause. But brain games will never do any harm even in children with this condition.

Get up and go!

Being physically active in breaks between bouts of concentration has been found to help relieve mental fatigue and boredom, which interfere with focus.  So try running around or up a flight of stairs or just take a brisk walk.

Music while you work

Some people find that playing particular types of music in the background aids concentration and also helps them screen out other distracting noise.  It may be classical music or meditative music and you can always use earphones if it’s not to your co-workers taste.  It is very common for surgeons to play music while operating to create a relaxed but focused atmosphere in the theater.

Chew gum

It also reduces the drop-off in attention that occurs with time.  It is not known exactly why it works, but might be due to the action of chewing muscles increasing the supply of blood to the head and brain. Worth a try.

Twiddle and fiddle

Twiddling a pencil around your fingers or playing with a small object like a ball, marble or piece of putty in a ‘mindless’ way has been found  to help some people maintain attention in a meeting or when concentrating on watching something.

The Tangerine Technique

Contrary to what you might think, you are better able to focus when relaxed.  

We all know that we tend to perform poorly when tense and stressed. So the ideal state is one of relaxed alertness.  If you fancy trying an interesting way of achieving this state, try the Tangerine Technique. It basically involves imagining what it feels like to take a tangerine (think of its weight, shape and colour) first in your hand and then place it at the top back of your head, where you will keep it while focusing.  Don’t dismiss it until you’ve tried it!