How to improve focus and concentration? | 10 Secret Tricks

Focus and concentration are the key elements required to attain something and you can control your mental effort on something by learning how to improve focus and concentration. In today’s digital world, there are various things that divert our attention. We are connected all the time with others whether in person or digitally, and this distracts our focus and concentration. Not only in a busy and distracting environment but even when we are completely left out at work and are alone, still many things distract us, such as a new friend request, a message, alarm clocks, any SMS or call notifications, etc.

According to Betty Buckley, Good performance is only about the ability to focus and concentrate.

To compete with this quickly moving world, we have so much information that needs us to be attentive and focused. And for this, there is a need to learn how to improve focus and concentration? By improving focus, you can also learn how to study smart? There can be many factors that cause a lack of concentration and focus. So, let’s get started and learn more about what is focus and concentration? What can increase the attention-paying ability? and how to improve focus and concentration?

What is focus and concentration?

While talking in the context of attention, focus and concentration mean to control your attention and make any specific activity, your center of attention. It is the ability to make your mind focus on one subject or a thing. Concentration means controlling your mind by getting affected by internal and external stimuli and ignoring other things to do a certain task or activity. When we have to completely focus and concentrate on one thing, we need to ignore many other things.

Focus and concentration are the basic productivity tips and lead you to success.

Whether you want to study effectively at home, avoid conflict at work or foster a positive working environment, you need to be focused and concentrated on whatever you do. But before talking about how to improve focus and concentration, wait and think that why am I facing a lack of concentration and focus and why do I lose focus easily? Have a quick at the following factors that cause a lack of concentration and focus.

Factors that affect concentration

Focus and concentration can be distributed due to various reasons and conditions. Do you ever realize that you should learn how to improve focus and concentration because many things disturb your attention? Have you ever got distracted when someone suddenly start talking to you? Do you ever feel that you have lost an amazing point, you are going to write when your phone rings? Have you noticed that you feel frustrated when not able to focus due to multiple thoughts in your mind? All these are different situations that can occur and you lose your concentration.

Following are some common factors that distract you from being able to focus on one thing.

• Maybe you are focusing on more than one thing at a time which makes your mind switch from one to another task and this will ultimately break your focus.
• Poor physical health, an unhealthy and stressed mind, restlessness, and an inadequate amount of sleep can be the causes of lack of concentration and focus.
• Due to dehydration, fatigue, and hormonal changes, you can have difficulty with focus and concentration because you are mentally exhausted.
• Any kind of mental or physical problem, brain injury, traumatic event, or emotional difficulties can reduce your focus.
• An environment or a task that is not engaging enough and has less amount of interest can affect mental concentration and be a reason for the lack of concentration and focus.

You should learn how to improve focus and concentration and follow some natural ways to increase focus and concentration. It is not easy to keep your mind focused on one thing and you can not achieve focus and concentration overnight.

It is an ongoing process and as much as you work on your focus, it gets stronger. You should be emotionally strong and have the capability to control your emotions.

How to improve focus and concentration?

Having a strong focus helps you function properly and make effective decisions. Here I have described some beneficial distraction fighting strategies that help you learn how to improve focus and concentration to work attentively.

1. Consume brain refreshing foods

Physical health optimization is the most beneficial tip for improving focus and concentration and you can do it by in taking fresh and nutritious foods.

According to a study, blueberries are high in flavonoids that help in improving cognition. Greater intake of strawberries and blueberries slows down the rate of cognitive decline.

Prefer green leafy vegetables, fruits, and such foods that keep your sugar level balanced and your brain in a rational condition. Other foods to improve focus and concentration such as tomatoes, nuts, avocado, eggs, and dark chocolate should be added to the diet for better focus.

A study on the behavioral effects of caffeine has shown that adding caffeine to your diet improves your focus, attention, and alertness.

Eating healthy food improves your physical health, manages stress, and keeps your brain healthy.

2. Do work out and exercise

Looking for how to improve focus and concentration? Have you thought about doing a workout or concentration exercises? If not, start it right now. Concentration exercises help in improving your attention-paying capabilities and you can perform your task or study for the exam more effectively. Physical movements help in relieving the tension and make your mind relaxed, which improves your focus and concentration ability.

Studies have shown that regular exercise can improve your concentration because physical activity boosts up the brain’s dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine levels which affects attention and focus.

Regularly go for a morning walk to start the day with full concentration and focus and also perform concentration exercises to deal with the lack of concentration and focus.

3. Set up a timetable

A well-constructed timetable helps in performing the tasks on time and managing the thoughts which help in improving focus and concentration. Whether you are a student wanting to learn secret methods of studying or a working person who wants to learn how to improve focus and concentration, this is one of the best and easiest things you can do. If you are randomly trying to focus on one thing, your attention diverts because you have so many things in your mind that you have to do.

A properly developed and well-maintained to-do list helps you do all the tasks on time and enables you to completely focus on the targeted task.

In this way, you can conveniently achieve your desired goals and your brain gets calm and relaxed when you have established a timetable or a to-do list.

4. Remove all the distractions

The biggest cause of lack of concentration and focus is the distractions around you that disperse your attention. When you are working or studying in a place where there is no distraction, no new notifications, or people to scatter your thoughts and break your focus and concentration, you can work more productively because these distractions decline the productivity of your work. In today’s digital world, the biggest distraction is social media and cell phones.

In research by Harvard Business Review, When the cell phone was out of sight, rather than just being turned off, the cognitive capacity was considerably better.

No one can shut the brain off but if you want to learn how to improve focus and concentration, you should try to avoid the distractions as much as possible. It will improve your work efficiency and enables you to focus and concentrate.

5. Do one task and switch between tasks

Make sure not to do more than one task at a time because due to this you can lose your focus and concentration. If you are not focused on your task, it will create misconceptions, misunderstandings, and conflict at work.
It is also a good study tip to learn one subject at a time but to not get bored and fatigued. Keep switching between the tasks after a specific amount of time.

For example, if you are studying physics for the last one hour, now switch the subject and set one hour to study and focus on mathematics.
It is a good way of getting your focus and concentration back by providing variation to your mind as it helps you to freshen up your brain and be more productive.

6. Meditation helps a lot

There is a huge number of beneficial effects of meditation on the human body and mind that directly impacts human focus and concentration.

According to the researchers at Columbia University Medical Center, meditation changes the function and structure of the brain through relaxation which reduces stress, anxiety, and depression, and improves your focus and concentration, memory, and attention span.

Meditation and mindfulness remove all the unwanted thoughts from your mind and enables you to focus on your work. Practice mindfulness by doing different activities to strengthen your mental health. Meditation will never go wrong if you want to learn how to improve focus and concentration.

7. Listen to music for concentration

Having noise and disturbance around you will certainly decrease your focus but music is not an unpleasant noise, it is properly organized and can help to enhance your concentration. Listening to music is one of the best activities to improve attention and concentration.

Music will lift your mood if you are feeling fatigued and frustrated, and then, it is way easier to focus and concentrate.

Everyone has a different taste in music and has different preferences but experts believe that listening to classical music and natural sounds rather than music having human voices is a great tip on how to improve focus and concentration?

It depends on you what you listen to if you like music or don’t like it at all to listen to music while working but it is a proven fact that good sounds can help you improve focus and concentration.

8. Take an adequate amount of sleep

One of the natural ways to increase focus and concentration is to have an adequate amount of sleep. Keep track of your sleep patterns because you can never focus if you are dozing and nodding off while working.

National Sleep Foundation recommends 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night for healthy adults and 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night for people over 65. While babies, children, and teenagers require even more sleep for their better growth and development.

When you have taken the recommended sleep regularly, your brain works more efficiently and productively, your memory gets strength, and your focus gets improved. This is one of the best tips on how to improve focus and concentration.

9. Take small gaps or break

Want to learn how to improve focus and concentration? For this, Have you ever noticed that when you work forcibly for a long time, you start getting frustrated? So, this is true, without taking a small gap and continuously working will gradually decline your focus and concentration. Being mentally tired will slow down your ability to fulfill the tasks. Therefore, make sure to take little gaps or small breaks and then continue your work.

For example, if you working or doing a study for an exam for more than 2 hours, take a break, go for a quick walk, freshen up your mind and come back to your work. You will realize that you came back with more motivation, boosted spirit, enhanced willpower, and more focus on work. These breaks will surely help in overcoming the lack of concentration and focus.

10. Make your environment looks natural

If you want to know how to improve focus and concentration, then one of the natural ways to increase focus and concentration is to connect with nature. Natural environments have a good and positive impact on your focus.

According to different experiments and research, it is proven that having green offices or plants in workplaces will help in improving concentration, focus, and also, air quality, and workplace satisfaction.

Studying in your backyard or a quiet corner of the park has a good impact on the eyes as well as focus and concentration. Exposure to green places will also have good benefits for brain development and memory.

FAQs

Some of the frequently asked questions (FAQs) about how to improve focus and concentration are the following.

Q: What causes a lack of focus and concentration?

Lack of concentration and focus can be due to poor physical or mental health, environmental distractions, or emotional disturbances. Focus is necessary that gets declined by various life situations and therefore keep yourself aware of how to improve focus and concentration.

Q: How can I sharpen my focus?

Want to learn how to improve focus and concentration? Focus can be enhanced and sharpened by different kinds of concentration exercises, by playing games to improve focus and concentration, training your brain, following ways to optimize your physical health, and consuming special foods to improve focus and concentration.

Q: Why do I lose focus so easily?

Focus and concentration decline for different reasons. In today’s digital world, we have so many distractions like a busy environment, social media, friends, and family that obstruct the implementation of focus and concentration. Another reason can be thought of doing multiple tasks and a frustrated mind due to many pending tasks. Anyone can also lose focus due to mental health issues or any mental disorder.

Q: How to improve concentration while reading?

It is a little bit difficult but if you want to study fast without forgetting, you need to get focused while reading. Concentration while reading can be improved by removing distractions, turning your cell phone off, reading in a separate and organized place, and improving your physical health.

Final Words

Focus and concentration are the keys to a successful life and due to a lack of concentration and focus, you can never meet your deadlines and lose the quality and effectiveness of your work. To focus on your work, you should surely learn how to improve focus and concentration. It can be challenging in the beginning but will give you numerous benefits.