Since the rise of social media, it seems as though everyone has the attention span of a goldfish. While social media may be entertaining, this decreased focus is terrible news for your productivity. Luckily, there are a couple of things you can do to regain your focus.
- Remove distractions
- Start meditating
- Take breaks
- Don’t multitask
- Have a dedicated workspace
- Make a to-do list
- Take care of yourself
Remove distractions
This is the best thing you can do! By removing distractions, you’re making your work the only option for your brain to focus on. Leave your phone in another room, close your laptop, and turn off your TV to remove distractions!
Start meditating
Meditation is no longer a practice solely for hippies – it’s actually incredibly useful in improving your focus. This is because during meditation, you focus on only one thing for a set period of time. Not only does it decrease stress and reduce negative emotions, but it can also increase your focus, since you’re essentially training your brain to be more focused.
Take breaks
This might seem very counter productive, but taking breaks is one of the best things you can do. If you’ve been studying for hours on end without taking a break, then obviously your focus is going to decrease! Very few people have the ability to focus fully on a task for hours. Take short and frequent breaks while you study (or work) in order to maintain your focus!
Don’t multitask
Multitasking doesn’t exist. When you “multitask”, you’re actually rapidly switching between the two tasks. This severely decreases your focus on each of the tasks, and also decreases the quality of your work. Remember that it’s better to do one thing well than to do a few things badly!
Have a dedicated workspace
If you have a desk or table where you only study, you might find that you’re able to be more focused whenever you study there. This is because your brain starts to associate this place with being productive and focused. Therefore, whenever you go here, you’ll automatically enter this mindset! This is why it is so important to have a dedicated workspace.
Make a to-do list
Though it might seem deceptively simple, making a to-do list is incredibly useful. Not only will you now have a list of things to do, but you’re also externalising the things you’re worrying about finishing. This means that you’re more focused, since you no longer have to remember this long this of things to do!
Take care of yourself
Finally, remember to take care of yourself! Bad sleep habits, a poor diet, and a lack of water are all linked to poor cognitive function and therefore a lack of focus. Because of this, remember to drink water, exercise, and eat!
