Concentrating takes effort and time. Even if you practice for a week or even a month, if your brain is not doing it right, you will not get effective results. However, there are still some fairly easy ways to improve your concentration quickly and effectively. If you're having trouble concentrating, this article might be helpful.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Long Term Solution
Step 1. Take a break
The biggest factor that affects concentration is rest, this has been verified by various studies. Concentration requires your mind to calm down. But if you don't rest well, your mind will be easily distracted. Therefore, make sure you have enough time to sleep. Also, have a regular bedtime as this can be the key to concentrating.
Too much sleep is also not ideal. This can disrupt your natural rhythm and make you lazy. Avoid this by having an alarm clock to wake you up on time
Step 2. Make a plan
Make a plan for whatever you do. When you sit and work without a plan, you will be easily tempted to do other activities such as checking email, sending messages (chat) and surfing the internet. Without a goal, you will be wasting time. You will be distracted by other thoughts instead of focusing on one important task.
To avoid this, make a clear plan that can meet your needs beforehand. Take a 5 to 10 minute break in between, use it to check email, then close your inbox, and get on with the most important tasks. Make sure when you plan, you allocate enough time for entertainment, study and sleep
Step 3. Meditate
Meditation practice will certainly help your concentration ability. In fact, when we try to meditate, we try to master the ability to concentrate. Meditating daily provides an opportunity to hone your concentration technique.
Step 4. Choose a place of your choice to concentrate
Surely some places are better than others. School libraries, study rooms, and private rooms are the best places. We recommend that the place you choose should not have a lot of distractions. Try avoiding other people if you want to work.
Step 5. If you want to master the art of concentration, try establishing a regular and balanced diet
Eating too much can cause too much digestive burden and can make you uncomfortable and sleepy. As Thomas Jefferson said, we rarely regret eating too little. You will most likely find that eating less is more satisfying than you think.
Step 6. Exercise regularly
The ability to concentrate depends on your physical fitness. If we are sleepy, unwell, or have mild illness, it will be more difficult to concentrate. Of course, you'll still be able to concentrate, it's just more difficult. However, life will be easier if we give priority to physical health:
- Get enough sleep
- Physically fit
- Maintain a healthy body weight
- Exercise regularly
Step 7. Take a break and change your environment
Working continuously in one place can drive people crazy. Taking regular breaks can solve your problem. This can make you more active and more interested in your topic.
Step 8. Remember that perfection can be achieved with a lot of practice
Concentration is an activity similar to other activities. We can't expect to be a strong runner without practicing. Likewise, concentration is a muscle. The more often we practice the stronger the results.
Method 2 of 3: Quick Fix
Step 1. Use ear plugs
This tool is very helpful. Unless it's at night and/or you live in a quiet and alone place, there will always be disturbing noises from people, surroundings, machines, etc., around. Earplugs may feel a little uncomfortable when used. So, don't use it for too long at a time (take it off after an hour of use).
Step 2. Count the number of times your mind wanders in a 3x5 card
Divide the card into three parts: morning, evening and night. Whenever your mind wanders, add a tick in the appropriate box.. After some time, you will find that your mind doesn't wander as often as before, just by counting it!
- Recognizing this problem is the first step, and this method helps you come back to your senses whenever you lose concentration. Awareness of what you're doing will eventually help you improve your concentration without having to put in the extra effort.
- With this method, you can determine when you are most easily distracted. Suppose you find a lot of counts in the morning, when you are still tired and your mind wanders easily. This is a sign that you should improve your concentration by sleeping more or eating a healthier breakfast.
Step 3. Allocate specific time to daydream or relax concentration
If you've set a specific time-let's say “dreaming time” is 5:30 every day, when you come home from school or work-you likely won't let your mind wander to another time, say 11am or 3pm. If your mind keeps wandering indefinitely, tell yourself that you have a special time to daydream, and try to concentrate your mind on whatever task you have in front of you.
Step 4. Increase oxygen flow to the brain
Blood is the main vehicle for oxygen in our body. But blood pools a lot in the lower body due to gravity and doesn't push enough oxygen to the brain, where it can help with concentration. To help the brain get oxygen, stand up and walk around as often as possible to get the blood pumping.
If you're stuck at work and really don't have time to exercise, try exercising at work. This includes aerobic or isometric (muscle stretching) exercises
Step 5. Remember to give your brain a break at least every hour or 30 minutes
If you have to concentrate constantly for several hours, the brain will lose processing power and concentration levels may fall. We recommend giving more free time to your projects or sleeping well in between to reboot your concentration so that it can work optimally near 100%.
Step 6. Practice only doing one thing at a time and working it through to the end
If you're used to jumping from one thing to another and starting a new project before finishing anything else, you're giving your brain permission to move from one thing to another. If you want to improve your concentration, try to convince your brain to get one thing done before moving on to something else.
Apply this philosophy to as many tasks in life as possible. You may think that finishing one book before starting another is different from completely repairing one car before starting another, but they are actually the same. The slightest task has an impact on other parts of your life
Step 7. Use the spider technique
What would happen if you held a vibrating tuning fork next to a spider's web? The spider will come to investigate where the sound is coming from. But what happens if you do that over and over again? After a while, the spider will stop investigating the tuning fork. He knew what was going to happen, so he would ignore it.
The spider technique is a technique for behaving like a spider, by predicting any disturbances that might come to bother you, such as a closed door, a whistling bird or a flash mob in the middle of the road. Regardless of the type of distraction, continue to concentrate on the task at hand. Be like a spider and close your eyes to distractions that can distract you
Step 8. Work on the desk, not the bed
The bed is where you sleep, and the desk is where you work and concentrate. Your mind will subconsciously make associations, which means it will give your head a 'sleep' signal when you try to work in bed. This is not productive because you are actually asking your brain to do two things at once (concentrate and sleep). Instead ask your brain to just concentrate or sleep based on where you are working.
Step 9. Five-again formula
The five-again rule is very easy. Whenever you feel like stopping or losing concentration, tell yourself to do five more of what you are doing. If you're working on a math problem, do five more. If reading, read five more pages. If you're concentrating, do five more minutes. Find the energy within you to do five more of whatever you are doing.
Method 3 of 3: Keyword Technique
Step 1. Try the “Keyword Technique”
This is an easy technique, all you have to do is come up with the right keywords about what you are studying, whenever your concentration is interrupted or your mind is confused. Start saying the keyword over and over in your head until you come back to your topic. Keywords don't have to be in the form of one definite word, but can continue to change and adapt to what you are doing or learning. There are no rules for choosing keywords and any word you think will bring you back concentration can work as a keyword.
Example: Suppose you are reading an article about the guitar. Here the keyword “guitar” can be used. Read each sentence slowly and as you read, whenever you feel distracted or unable to concentrate, start saying the keywords guitar, guitar, guitar, guitar until your head comes back to the article and you can continue reading
Tips
- If you lose confidence, think about the achievements you have achieved in the past.
- Give your time commitment to what you need to concentrate on. Don't let yourself be distracted by problems or worries. Give yourself a reward system. Give rewards for maintaining that concentration.
- Divide your time to complete the topics you are working on.
- You must have a study plan and schedule.
- Creating a comfortable environment can help you concentrate.
- If you don't have determination, it's likely to be in vain.
- At school, work hard on each subject and give yourself a break for the last five minutes.
- If you are too sleepy to concentrate, it will be very difficult to finish the paragraph of the book you are reading.
- If you find your thoughts deviating from what they should be, get them back on track. Don't let your mind wander.
Warning
- Do not work in a crowded place because you will lose focus.
- Remember that even the greatest people will achieve nothing with low concentration power.
