It can be said with certainty that no matter what we do, we rely on concentration to get through it. When we’re unable to concentrate, we cannot think clearly nor maintain attention to the task, which is very frustrating and can cause various problems. If you have trouble concentrating, you are not alone. Luckily, there are few mind tricks to keep you focused.
Many people seem to be experiencing some difficulties staying concentrated, both at work and home. It’s widespread in today’s life. There are a bunch of reasons why we struggle to stay focused, but generally, there are two major reasons for that.
First, we have all these new technologies which help us in many ways, but they do an excellent job in distracting us, and our human habits have not adjusted to that yet. We see it all the time.
How many times have you unlocked your phone to reply to a message, and you find yourself hours later scrolling through Instagram, playing in an online casino recommended by Casino Whizz, or watching some series on Netflix? Probably way more than you want to admit. But that’s ok, we all do that.
Second, the amount of information we absorb and try to process throughout the day is something that the human brain is not used to. So it’s not surprising at all to sometimes forget to do something you wanted.
Some of the symptoms of being unable to focus and concentrate are:
- Inability to make decisions
- Difficulty sitting still
- Frequently losing things
Several medical conditions can cause or contribute to the inability to focus. However, it’s not always a medical emergency.
You don’t need to go to a doctor if you once forgot where you put your car keys, but if that’s happening on a regular basis, consider seeking medical attention.
1. Get Rid Of Distractions
While it may sound obvious, you need to eliminate distractions. People underestimate how many distractions can prevent them from concentrating on the task. And those intrusions can come in various forms.
However, you can’t escape from every little distraction, but you can do your best to reduce and get rid of as many distractions as possible.
If you work from home and you are surrounded by loud noises, either get a noise-canceling headphone or move to a quiet area of the house. If your phone is blasting with notifications and messages from friends, either turn off your phone completely or put it on silent until you finish your job.
Minimizing distractions isn’t always as easy as it sounds, so it’s best to have a specific time and place where you can isolate yourself for a certain period, and if you work from home, request from your family to be left alone while you work.
2. Put a Lock on Social Media
While people who can multitask exist, the majority of us have a hard time doing two things at once. And if you are on your job, you really shouldn’t be doing anything else apart from the task.
Our phones can be very good and very bad for us, depending on how well we are self-disciplined. Checking social media can be pretty addictive. Therefore it’s advised to put a lock on all social media platforms on your computers.
As far as the phone goes, you should put it in another room, so you don’t fall into the temptation of checking it while you work.
Some of the best apps that block social media are Freedom, FocusMe, and AppBlock. So go ahead and try it. You will definitely be more productive once you put a lock on all of your social media accounts.
3. Limit Your Focus
Multitasking seems like a great way to get a lot of things done quickly, in theory. Bt, in reality, it turns out not so much. You’ll be surprised to know how many people are actually bad at multitasking.
One of the main reasons why multitasking is bad is because it dramatically cut down on your productivity, therefore, making it much harder to focus on what’s truly important.
On the other hand, if you put all of your energy and focus on one particular area, you will see things very clearly, be more productive and finish your job in time.
Limiting your focus is a part of improving your mental state and concentration altogether. It’s all about making the most of the resources you have available.
4. Take Breaks
If you want to be more productive and focused, then you need to take breaks when you feel like you need it. How many times have you tried to stay focused on the same thing for hours? We all tried it and failed, which is totally normal.
After spending hours working, you notice that as time passes, it becomes more difficult to devote your mental strength to the assignment and your performance ultimately suffers as a result.
Taking a break when you feel unfocused, tired, and overworked is crucial to your ability to refocus. There’s no need to feel guilty nor ashamed about it, breaks are very important, and everyone needs them.
5. Get a Good Sleep
Hopefully, we are all aware of how important it is to get enough sleep, approximately seven to eight hours, especially if you have a busy workday ahead. We can agree that most of us are lacking in the sleep department, which is not good.
Staying up until two or three in the morning is something that we are all too familiar with, unfortunately. With that being said, not getting enough sleep negatively impacts your ability to concentrate and stay focused.
There’s a tremendous difference between sleeping four hours and being frazzled and sleeping eight hours and being laser-focused. So, if you want to be more productive throughout the day, get a good night’s sleep.
