Enhance Your Concentration Skills with 7 Simple Tricks

Have you ever experienced yourself constantly nodding along absentmindedly during a conversation while your mind flits to a million other things? Does your mind escapes to a wonderland when you settle down to study and try to focus on the task at hand? Do you often get lost in your thoughts and find it difficult to concentrate on something for more than a few minutes?

In the frenetic world that we live in, constant notifications – email, Twitter, Facebook or Whats App messages for instance – provide some sort of excitement every few minutes and we are so accustomed to it that if we are not triggered after every few minutes, we start looking around for something that will do the job. In the age of multi tasking, constant flitting from texting to phone calls to browsing on the web to playing video games and the like, it is but natural to feel scatterbrained.

If you also feel frazzled and despite your best efforts, you are not able to concentrate, by following these simple tricks, you will find a marked improvement in a relatively short period of time.

1. Get organised

An atmosphere of clutter affects the ability to concentrate while an organised environment fosters focus and productivity. An organised approach to study starts from planning what to study to arranging everything you need in your vicinity so that you don’t have to look for your notes, pen, pencil etc while studying as it breaks your focus. Getting organised is also preparing your mind for the task ahead. A prepared mind is able to concentrate better and focus more.

2. Choose your surroundings

While some people prefer a quiet place, others thrive in a bustling environment. Choosing a right place to study plays an important role as it helps your mind to focus better. But first you need to figure out what kind of a setting will boost your concentration skills. Your study environment should be comfortable. It should not be too hot or too cold. It should be free from all electrical devices to keep temptations at bay. Natural surroundings, greenery, plants etc are an added advantage as they tend to improve focus.

3. Set Daily Goals

Don’t let your attention span dwindle, set realistic goals. Setting daily targets is another way of building concentration skills. When you set a goal, you naturally direct your attention towards its achievement. Setting clear goals gives the ability to focus on priorities and allows the task to be completed in a logical order. Goals trigger your focus, thereby increasing productivity and improving concentration skills.

4. Relax, Rejuvenate, Reenergise

When your mind runs haywire, you cannot accomplish your task effectively and efficiently. Constantly worrying and stressing over things keeps you distracted and causes difficulty in concentrating. Try to relax your mind, calm down and indulge in activities that are refreshing and rejuvenating. This will help your brain reenergise and improve your concentration skills. You can do meditation or yoga or simply go for a stroll. Even taking breaks during your study span can help refresh your mind and increase focus.

5. Study Techniques

Most of you struggle to concentrate, thereby making the task difficult and time consuming than it is. Adopting effective study techniques can help you build your concentration. From making notes while studying to highlighting important information to mind mapping, find study methods that work the best for you. This will not only help increase your attention span but also enhance your learning.

6. Train your mind to change it

Like your body even your brain needs training and exercise. Playing brain games such as crossword puzzle, Sudoku, chess etc helps exercise the brain as these games requires concentrated effort and thus helps build focus and improves concentration. The more you use your mind and the more you exercise it the better it becomes.

7. Love the task

If you don’t love what you are doing, you can never accomplish it. If you don’t like any subject, try to juggle it between your favourite subjects. However, do not study the same subject at a stretch. Try to switch between the high and low attention tasks. The high attention tasks comprise of your least favourite subject as it requires more effort and focus and the low comprises of your most favourite subject as you’ll not lose interest while studying it. This will help give your brain rest and recharge your energy when you’ll be working on a low attention tasks, thereby improving your focus.