Have you ever been in a situation where you knew what you should be working on but instead of engaging in the activity, you just sat there and could not concentrate? There is a gray area between productivity and procrastination, characterized by engaging in the task at hand but not making any progress. You can learn how to avoid lack of concentration by understanding the five points highlighted below.
Understanding Concentration
Concentration is your ability to tune out from everything around you and keep your mind focused on exploring the idea or thought you are working on. Throughout the day, your focus jumps from one thing to another in order to keep you informed of the world around you, like the flickering lightbulb in your hallway, the vibration alert of your phone, the email notification on your desktop, the people talking in the other room, or your need for another glass of water.
You will have to practice your concentration so that you can engage with a single thought for extended periods of time, enabling you to explore your ideas fully and thoroughly. It is easier to concentrate on activities that don’t deliver any value than to concentrate on activities that can develop you towards success because the earlier provides comfort and does not challenge you to attain new knowledge, skills, or view things from different angles like the latter.
In order to develop your concentration, you have to exercise your mind to become comfortable being uncomfortable. Imagine you engage in a session of pushups, and you do ten repetitions before you begin to feel the discomfort in your arms, chest, and shoulders. At this point, your instincts tell you to stop and rest, which is what many people do. However, it is at this point that if you continue to power through and put in a few more repetitions that your muscles will develop and your ability will improve. It is this method that enables you to eventually be comfortable doing more repetitions and take on more intensive training.
Since your brain is a muscle, and concentration is an expression of the capability of your brain, it behaves exactly the same way. You must develop the habit of powering through the sessions where you feel like taking a rest so that you can increase your mental ability, thus improving your concentration.
The Body & Mind Connection
The first step in developing your mind is developing your body. You do not have to exercise as if training for the Olympics, but 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercises like push-ups, jogging, jumping rope, or swimming, should be sufficient to get your concentration up. The objective is to get your heart rate to 60% to 80% of its maximum capacity during those 30 minutes in order to allow your lungs to draw in more oxygen which the heart then pumps, thus improving blood circulation to the brain.
Getting Sufficient Sleep
Although the amount of sleep required differs slightly from person to person, the average amount for a healthy adult is between 7 to 9 hours. It is important that you discover what your number is and stick to it. It has been scientifically proven that the less you sleep, the less effective your brain is. Establish regular sleep times and try to stick to them even during the weekends. Taking a 20-minute nap during the day is also beneficial to improve your concentration and works better than reaching out for a cup of coffee or an energy drink. Just make sure that you are not taking too many nor too long naps as you will not be productive and will feel tired instead of energized.
Diet For The Mind
A healthy diet is essential not just for your mind but for your whole body. The lack of certain nutrients in your body can affect how well your brain concentrates, as well as your mood. Make sure your diet includes salmon or other oily fish, brightly colored fruit and vegetables like spinach or blueberries, nuts, oats, beans, legumes, and eggs. These foods contain fatty acids, antioxidants, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and beneficial fats that help build a strong and healthy brain.
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Mental Activities
Just like your body, your mind needs to stay fit. If you spend many hours doing nothing, it is very unlikely to thereafter shift your brain into full capacity and tackle a complex activity. In order to maintain your mind in good condition, engage in mental and social activities throughout your day. These activities range from doing crossword puzzles to playing board games, reading, or writing. The goal is to engage in activities that require active thinking instead of those that require little brain effort like watching TV.
Social activity is also beneficial for the mind as the positive interaction with other people helps maintain mental alertness. It is important to always remember that your mind is the most advanced piece of equipment in the world and can achieve so much, all you have to do is look around you to find the evidence. However, it requires effort on your part to enable it to achieve greatness.
