Concentration is an art form. With so many distractions ready to derail your focus, we all need a little help brushing up on our techniques when it comes to paying attention.
Listen to Coach Bolton!
Here are 5 top tips to get your focus back in check.
Letās get into it, queen.
1) Take a long hard look at yourself.
Yeah. Letās get real for a sec. (In a nice, good, positive way that leads us to a solution!)
Youāve gotta assess how strong your mental focus is right now. Weāre gonna go out on a limb and say itās not particularly on fleekā¦ Otherwise you wouldnāt be reading this article now, would you? Also weāre bringing back āon fleekā. You canāt stop us.
Good focus:
ā Staying alert isnāt an issue for you.
ā Youāre a boss at setting goals and breaking tasks up into smaller parts.
ā You take short breaks, but easily get back to work.
Not so fabby focus:
š Youāre a serial daydreamer.
š Tuning out distractions is a strug.
š You easily lose track of your progress.
Wherever your answers fit on these questions - youāre in the right place. Whether your focus needs a little or a LOT of improvement, these tips will help you build up good habits. MEANING, you can slay all day, errday.
2) See ya, distractions!
It sounds obvious, but people do underestimate just how much distractions can mess with their concentration.
If youāre working from home, it could be the sound of the washing machine whirring like itās about to take off into space. If youāre in an office, it could be Angela coming to your desk to tell you yet again about her dogās bowel problems over the weekend.
Some distractions are easier sorted than others. Turning off the radio is easyā¦ But trying to get your 7 year old to stop coming into your home office and doing a full blown performance of āSkibidi toiletā is a little harder.
Set aside a specific time and place and request (politely) to be left alone for that period of time. Thatās focus time, girlie. Go to a coffee shop or a local library. Donāt forget to bring noise cancelling headphones, on which you can play a lilā white noise or some wordless LoFi. Or jazz, if youāre fancy. š
3) Multitasking is not your friend.
You need to limit your focus.Your attention is like a spotlight. Shine it directly on one location and you can see it clearly.
Give your full attention to one thing at a time. Juggling multiple things can not only lower your productivity - but it can also make you feel mega-anxious. Anxiety is a major contributor when it comes to distraction. Just sayinā.
4) Practise mindfulness.
Thereās a reason that meditation and mindfulness have existed for thousands of years. That stuff WORKS. Mindfulness meditation has been shown to boost concentration and focus. What a slay.
People have reported being able to stay on task longer, switch between tasks less frequently, and become efficiency queens when they made a commitment to practising mindfulness.
It can be anything from regular meditation to some deep breathing exercises. Breathing exercises are a vibe because you can literally do them anywhere, any time. (Maybe not if youāre having a āwho can hold their breath the longestā competition or diving without a snorkel. But those are about the only exceptions.)
There are plenty of online resources that can help you get started. Apps, YouTube videos, or even a meditation coach are just a few clicks away!
5) Take a cheeky short break.
After a while concentrating on one task, your focus will start to break down. Grab yourself a tea. Take a few minutes away from your laptop, make yourself a sarnieā¦ A quick break is going to help you return to the task at hand with a clearer mind.
Just donāt let short breaks become your frenemy. A short break can become a long break if youāre struggling with motivation and/or discipline. Set a timer if needs be!
The most important thing with all these steps is to keep practising.
You might not get it right every single time, but - like ice cream - good habits take time to form and solidify.
Donāt give up on yourself if you trip up. You've got this!