On our website, we have repeatedly talked about concentration and its development and why it is so important in general in life, particularly to overcome distractions and procrastination. However, the ability to concentrate is so important that this topic will probably never be exhausted.
In today’s article, we will talk about how to quickly and effortlessly learn to concentrate and improve your overall level of development. We are sure that you will find this information very useful and useful in your work, studies and any other sphere of life. And to begin with a few words about the basic principles. When I need to do my paper I depend on concentration as much as possible. These tips allow me to be as productive as possible.
Principles of Concentration Development
The principles presented below should be understood and remembered because they are the basis of any effective method of developing concentration, including the one discussed below. These principles are these:
- Consciousness works in cycles. Periods of concentration and distraction alternate in its functioning, so weakening attention should be accepted as quite normal.
- Caring for oneself is important. Self-development and pumping up one’s skills should not be accompanied by violence or serious discomfort. Training their abilities should be done in the optimal mode for themselves.
- The results are achieved gradually. Start working with the complexity that corresponds to the current level of development. You can only methodically go up from step to step to increase the intensity and complexity.
We think that you will agree that the principles that have been voiced make sense and have a healthy grain. It’s foolish to question them and neglect them. Otherwise, there will be no tangible progress. So you’re advised to fully embrace them and use them in any work on yourself in general. Now let’s move on to the technique itself.
Technique for Developing Concentration
The technique we are considering consists of several stages: selecting a task for concentration, a period of concentration, a period of distraction, and control development. Let’s talk about each of them in more detail.
Choosing a Task for Concentration
First of all, you need to choose a task on which you will start working, i.e., on which you will concentrate. Such a task must be something important to you, and the work on which will bring you results and benefit. Also, this task should not be imposed by someone; you must choose the activity yourself.
If the task is not important to you, and if someone from outside suggests it, any extraneous thought will better draw your attention away. Yes, and the intention itself to concentrate will no longer be as strong, which will reduce the technique’s effectiveness. But in the future, it will be possible to work with any task.
Next, you should begin to act with the periodicity of work of the mind, but you will alternate periods of concentration and distraction on your own. It will allow you to prepare your mind for more effective and conscious work in the future.
Period of concentration
Prepare a timer and time the necessary time – the minimum period from which you are ready to start concentrating continuously. It is better to choose some small period to start with, for example, 5-10 minutes. Press the timer button and concentrate on the task at hand. During the given period, try to think only about what you are doing.
If distracting thoughts come into your head, there is no need to suppress them or fight them. Just go back to what you’re doing. On top of that, thoughts beyond concentration can be very useful and important. If you notice something worthy of attention, fix it, but come back later – at your leisure.
Algorithm for dealing with distracting thoughts:
- Don’t blame yourself for the mental distraction;
- identify the topic of the thought;
- determine the degree of importance and usefulness of the thought;
- continue to concentrate on the task at hand.
If the thought turns out to be worthwhile, memorize it, and as soon as the timer beeps, write it down on paper. If there is nothing useful in the thought, quietly skip it and continue working. Remember that even useful thoughts should not direct your further actions, as there is no need to jump from what you are doing to another activity.
In the first stage, the period of concentration should not take much energy and effort from you. That is why it is necessary, to begin with relatively short intervals of time. As soon as it will not be difficult for you to concentrate for 5-10 minutes, increase the time to 15, 20, 25, 30 minutes, and more.
Distraction Period.
The timer signal indicates the distraction period. It is the time when you can let your thoughts wander. Don’t worry about losing focus and losing focus. On the contrary, do it yourself. Your job is to let your brain and mind rest and gain strength for a new stage of concentration.
In the distraction process, it is also useful to engage in analyzing your state during the concentration. Think about how you felt when trying to concentrate and how often you wanted to be distracted. Don’t forget to write down helpful thoughts that came into your head earlier.
As for the duration of the distraction period, there are no specific time limits. Be guided by how you feel. When you feel rested, start a new period of concentration. But keep in mind, however, that the distraction period should not be longer than the concentration period.
Initially, 3 to 5 minutes may be enough.
The number of both periods will depend on their duration and how much time you have allocated to the exercise. I.e., if it is an hour, there will be about four changes of periods: 10 minutes of concentration and 5 minutes of rest each. Other variations you can calculate for yourself.
Developmental Control
Any change should have some kind of specific end goal, just like any task you do. Even though it’s elementary and everyone understands this, not everyone defines these ultimate goals for themselves. But having goals, and goals that meet certain criteria will allow you to develop and control this process.
It is very convenient to set goals based on the criteria of the SMART technique. One of them is measurability, saying that the achieved result should be able to be measured quantitatively. In the case of concentration development, the following several indicators can be relied upon:
- duration of the period of concentration;
- The intensity of effort to sustain attention;
- Several attempts at distraction.
Once you have determined your performance, you should set a goal to improve it. You should strive to increase the length of the concentration period, minimize the effort to maintain attention, and reduce the number of attempts at distraction. Knowing your initial performance, it is very easy to set the ones you need to achieve.
Suppose you initially manage to concentrate for 10 minutes, constantly reminding yourself of this and noticing that you want to distract yourself frequently. In that case, it is not advisable to immediately learn to focus for 30 minutes with almost no effort or extraneous thoughts. We’ve said it before – working on yourself shouldn’t be too discomforting.
Determine intermediate results, where each of the subsequent ones is a little better than the previous one. Ambition, of course, does not hurt, but also, do not overestimate your strength in any case. Achievability of a new result is one of the fundamental conditions of any success and in any business.
But it is important to consider what has been said and set the time to achieve each new result. Having started with the indicators outlined above, you can set yourself the first goal: 15 minutes of complete calm concentration without the desire to be distracted – in a week after the start of the exercise. Here, again, be guided by your capabilities and initial level.
We wanted to tell you about this technique for developing concentration. As you work with your attention, remember that a mind focused on one thing is much calmer and more relaxed than a mind that jumps from one thing to another. But this knowledge can also be used in reverse: to achieve results faster, try to keep your brain always rested and your mind unencumbered by problems and worries (we gave good advice on this topic in the article “10+ Ways to Fight Distractions”).
And to complete the proposed technique, we want to describe four simple but very effective exercises to develop the ability to concentrate, which can be performed at absolutely any time and in any place.
Four Simple Exercises for Developing Concentration
Attention can be compared to the light of a flashlight, which illuminates the area where you direct it. And when you are not controlling it, which happens at least half the time, this beam of light frantically runs around.
She said people with low levels of mindfulness suffer from the fact that in moments of even mild stress, their attention begins to dissipate. On the other hand, those who develop mindfulness can boast good and stable attention. And mindfulness is meant concentrating on the present moment without emotional reactions.
Conscious Breathing
The first exercise is conscious breathing. It is performed very simply:
- Take a comfortable position and relax, but keep your back straight.
- Concentrate on sensations from the process of breath.
- Try to feel the cool air passing through your nostrils and the warm air when you exhale, the rise and fall of your stomach.
When you start thinking about something else, smoothly redirect your attention to your breathing. You may have to do this more than once, but it shouldn’t throw you off balance. Manage your attention; teach it to obey you. Over time, it will become very malleable and will obey you without question.
Conscious walking
The second exercise is to concentrate on walking. You can do it any time you are walking somewhere: in the office, in a store, at home, on the street, on the beach, etc. It is necessary to concentrate on the sensations arising in the movement process: to feel how your feet touch the ground, how your arms and legs and body muscles move.
It is useful to pay attention to the touch of the wind on the skin and hair, ambient sounds, and objects recorded by peripheral vision. It is possible to focus on these things individually or all at once. There is no particular difference in the development of concentration here, but in the latter case, the exercise will be akin to progressive meditation.
Body Scan
Go back to the flashlight analogy. Begin to direct the beam of light sequentially to all parts of your body. Start with the toes, moving to the feet, calves, knees, and up to the top of the head. Stop for just a few seconds on this part of the body and move on.
Again, pay attention to your sensations in the body. Through close observation, you may feel cold or warmth, tingles, or barely perceptible vibrations. None of this should scare you because it is normal. It’s just that we don’t notice such things in our normal state.
Free Observation
It is best to go to this exercise when you have already learned to concentrate well on one object. Here you have to notice absolutely everything around you, but do not linger on anything in particular. You should open your consciousness to all sensations, noticing them and letting them disappear without analyzing or thinking about them.
You might as well focus on the inner experience. Sit down, get into a comfortable position, and start noting everything that enters your mind, categorizing it simultaneously—memories, plans, resentments, worries, hopes, dreams, etc. As soon as you note one thing, immediately let it go and continue to observe.
Imagine watching the clouds, but your thoughts are flying by instead. You will cling to some thought or sensation at times, but that is quite normal. If the thought becomes intrusive, deliberately focus for a while on something else. Then go back to observing again.
And a few more words of encouragement in conclusion. If you have tried these exercises and are having trouble concentrating, don’t despair. This phenomenon is quite normal because we are not used to controlling our attention, and therefore it is difficult to control it at first.
Keep practicing. Your task is just to gain practice, and the result will come with practice. And it’s not so much about learning not to be distracted as it is about noticing when you are distracted and directing your attention back instead of following your thoughts.
Usually, people start to feel the effects of the exercises after 3-4 weeks, but you have to do them for at least 15-20 minutes five days a week. If it is difficult for you, start with less time, but make sure you do the exercises every day.
Even if you decide to practice one exercise for a couple of minutes, you will probably want to extend the session because it is very interesting and addictive. Gradually, you’ll get to the right minimum of 15 minutes of daily exercise five days a week anyway.
And not to forget about the classes, just put reminders on your phone. It is better to work out in a quiet and peaceful place where no one will distract. But this is only in the beginning – later you can do exercises on the way to work, on a walk, while shopping, and whenever at all.
Bio:
Jeanna Bray is a writer who is always describing the benefits to students receiving services from PaperHelp. She also handles content in general for this company. She has extensive writing experience, backed by university degrees and copywriting courses.