How to Focus Your Mind: 7 Easy Steps to Master Concentration, Attention Management & Staying Focused

1. Introduction - How to Focus Your Mind: introduction. You've set your goals, you have your dreams, you know what you want and where you hope to be. The question is, how do you get there? How do you get from where you are right now to become the gold smashing, successful, driven individual you want to be with Better focus Before you can learn to run, you must first learn how to crawl. Before you can begin successfully accomplishing one goal after another, you must first master the path paved towards that goal. That path is your ability to focus and concentrate. They say the path to success is filled with obstacles that will challenge you and push you beyond your comfort zone every step of the way. One of those challenges comes in the form of focus. Your ability to stay focused is going to be the defining factor that separates success from failure. You could have the motivation, the desire, the dream and the willpower to achieve. But if you're not focused enough to stay on track, all of that is not going to help you anyway. Imagine success is a road, and the car you're driving to get to your ultimate destination is the focus. The car focus must stay on the designated path and not Vera, of course, to arrive at the destination the way you intended. Keeping the car on track is not as easy as it sounds because of the distractions that we need to overcome each day. E mails, social media alerts, meetings, noisy environments, chatty colleagues, issues that keep coming up with the intentional ability needed to stay focused. It becomes all too easy to succumb to these temptations, and before you know it, you've lost track and lost momentum. Staying focuses in everyday problem, but it is not a problem you have to face alone. This guide is organized in the seven step logical sequence of events needed. They can help anyone young or old, experienced or beginner to learn it necessary steps they must take to improve their ability to focus. Follow this guide in the order it is presented, and by the end of it you'll have everything you need to shut down the distractions in your life and never struggled to try and maintain focus ever again. There are plenty of guides on this subject on the market. Thank you for choosing this one. Every effort was made to ensure it is full of as much useful information as possible. Please enjoy 2. Chapter 1 - The Focus Frame of Mind: Chapter one. The focus frame of mind multitasking is a fallacy. There's a lot of truth in the old figure of speech that goes. A jack of all trades is a master of none. You simply cannot do your tasks well, when your mind in your attention is scattered in all sorts of different directions, you may be able to do it, but perhaps not as well as you would have if you have been completely and utterly focused on a single task alone. Multitasking is the lie We have all been taught to believe that we could juggle several things at once and still achieve incredible success. So it may work well in the beginning, and you may feel like you're pulling off an impossible feat. Your colleagues watched with admiration, and you seem like an unstoppable force. It just keeps going, going, going. But it won't be long before you end up burned out, stressed out and depleted of any mental energy needed to focus on the remainder of the work that needs to get done. No, the truth is, multitasking robs you of your focus. It stops you from achieving success and ex selling at what you do imagine that you were running a race in that race, there was only one goal. One outcome. Make it to the end and finished with a metal. As you stretch your muscles and line up at the starting block, that outcome becomes the only thing on your mind as your legs pumping your heart pounds with each step you take. All you're focused on is crossing that finish line. You keep your eyes directly in front of you as you stride closer and closer. You don't look left and you don't look right. Why? Because you know as soon as you do, you're in danger of being distracted by the other runners, possibly missing a step in tripping because you refuse to allow yourself that distraction by staying fixated on the finish line, you achieve the goal you set out to do to cross that finish line of Venice to race. That's what focused us. It's been drilled into us from the time we were in school about how important focus was if we wanted to succeed, to stay mentally alert and focused at all times. When you're undertaking an important task, yet we continue to allow ourselves to get distracted and sidetracked, losing focus and missing out on important information. If we know focus matters when it comes to success, why do we still allow ourselves to lose it? The answer is simple. There are too many distractions that we're faced with today. The closest constant distraction you have is probably next to you right now, your mobile phone. There's a lot of pressure on distraction in our busy, hectic world that can make focus a difficult thing, the master. But those who have mastered it have learned to reap. It's incredible rewards, which is what you're here to do, understanding, focus and why it matters. Focus in a nutshell, is your ability to direct your intentions towards one thing and one thing alone. Focus is defined as deliberate action. You're deliberately concentrating on the one thing that you need to and your intentional about it. Two types of focus come into play. Automatic focus. This type of focus is generally short lived, lasting perhaps 10 to 12 seconds. It keeps us alert to detect any possible dangers within our immediate environment, like looking both ways before you cross the street, for example, or when you hear an unexpected noise that startled you and get your attention. Automatic focus distracts from what you were doing previously to momentarily direct your attention elsewhere. Intentional focus. This we consciously control intentional focus happens when we want or need to pay attention to something. When you've got a report for work to finish, you need to intentionally focus on your mind on that to concentrate on so you get it done. This type of focus usually needs discipline and will parent to sustain it for prolonged period neuroscientists Russell Pole Jacks Research highlights just how damaging the bottleneck effect of multitasking can be. Our memories, both long and short term, were not built to handle a lot of information at a single time. Information at best can be retained for about 10 seconds and overloading the short term memory interrupts the information flow we receive. For example, if you interrupted your reading of this chapter by stopping to respond to a text instead of responding after you're done, the information flow from your working memory to your long term memory is disrupted. Long term memories where we store data and copious amounts of other information ready for retrieval in the future when needed. When you're not concentrating on what you're reading, information is not transferred effectively to your short and long term memory. You won't retain the information you read in this chapter, and you definitely won't be able to apply it later because you won't remember to focus. You must immerse yourself completely in its Ask your undertaking to cast aside all distractions for a certain time until you're done with what you need to do. We all have the ability within us to focus for an extended period when we should. The only obstacle in your path now is to discipline and willpower to do it. Getting into the focus frame of mind. It's easier when you enjoy what you do or foot. You're engaged in this something you're passionate about. Onley. When you're tasked with something you don't enjoy, does focus become a challenge? The ability to focus would vary from person to person. Some people are better at it than others. But the good news is you can train yourself to achieve the level of focus your desire, and it begins by setting your goals. Why goals are important for better focus goals are the key to staying focused until the end , just like the example before about running a race. With that a goal. What would be your motivation for crossing the finish line? It's a blackout, any distractions that could put you in danger of losing the race. When a goal is aligned with a passion or desire, it becomes even more powerful than ever. There's a lot that has been written about the importance of setting goals, and you probably already understand. On some level, white goals matter. Aside from motivating you to boost your productivity, goals matter in helping you remain focused because it makes you stronger in the face of challenges. When you know what you want to achieve and why you need to do it, it makes you mentally more resilient against the challenges to come your way without a goal in a purpose, it would be all too easy to give into the temptation of giving up. It helps you make better decisions. Goals give you a sense of direction, a path that pays the way about where you should go and what you need to do to get there. If you were driving, your goal would be the map that gets you to the destination. When you know where you're going, you make better decisions along the way. Goals make you reflect on the actions you take. You ask yourself, Is this going to lead me one step closer to my goal? Your answer will determine the direction you go, and every decision that is made should be a decision that leads you one step closer to your goal. They spur you to action. Ah, goal compels you to keep moving forward to get up and do something because you have a purpose. Let's say you intended to purchase a new car. With that in mind, you set a goal for yourself to save $1000 by the end of three months. That specific goal then spurs unnecessary action needed to accomplish that goal. You put aside more money for your savings and you take on extra work. You do over time. Whatever it takes to bring in that extra income that leads you closer to that goal. It helps you sustain momentum. Seeing progress can be addictive as you watch your car saving fund grow from $0 as it slowly inches his way to the $1000 mark. The dopamine released in your brain triggers a snowball effect that keeps the moments I'm going. Once you get. Is it a group and start seeing progress, you'll be addicted to keeping the ball rolling. They build confidence each time you see yourself inching closer to a goal you thought was impossible. In the beginning, your confidence is increased bit by bit. With each challenge or obstacle, you overcome your belief in your ability to do. This is renewed. There are very few people in this world who managed to accomplish everything that they set out to do. Knowing that you're one of those people who are close to achieving success can be an extremely empowering feeling. They make you accountable without a goal. There's no sense of urgency to achieve what you need to within a certain timeframe. It could be a humbling and eye opening experience when you look back at the goals you set for yourself in the past but didn't quite accomplish when you realize that you could have done it if only you had been more committed. The new goals you set for yourself will strengthen your resolve as you take on that responsibility, knowing that success is entirely in your hands right now, you and you alone concern your dream into a reality. But it is up to you to do something about it. Staying focused can be hard, but not impossible. Motivation will fizzle in fluctuate with time and stress, which is why it is important to have goals to remind you to keep going. In the moments you wonder why you're doing this. Goals are great, but it is important not to have too many at a time since it defeats the purpose of focus. Ideally, you should have no more than 123 goals at any given time. And if there is more than one, that goal should be linked to the 1st 1 even daily. You should have no more than three primary tasks or goals per day. They become your main focus and priority 3. Chapter 2 - Step 1: Building Your Environment: Chapter two. Step one. Building Your Environment. The first step of the seven step program to focus your mind is to start with building the right environment that is going to facilitate your focus. Most people these days struggle to stay focus because of the shorter attention spans we have. The digital age we live in has a role to play on that front. A study by the Technical University of Denmark confirmed that today we're being faced with more information than we were several years ago. And while we may have more things to focus on, our ability to focus is diminishing. According to the study, the reason behind the shorter attention span is to urge for constant newness that has emerged because of the increasing volume of content. When we keep looking for what the next new thing is, we switch topics more frequently. Microsoft had an even more interesting take on the subject in a 2015 study. Microsoft claim that the average person has an eight second attention span, which they claimed was less than the attention span of a goldfish. That number, by the looks of it is shrinking every year with are increasing dependence on our digital connectivity. Microsoft Canada's Consumer Insights Lead Alison Goolsbee said. No matter what environment we find ourselves in, our survival depends on our ability to remain focused. The right environment matters more than motivation. You could have your goal setting motivation by the bucket load. But if your environment is not designed to facilitate focus, you're going to struggle to stay on track. You've got your computer ready at the desk, prepared to work, but end up getting distracted by social media, standing up frequently to stretch a walk around, making yourself a cup of coffee, going to the bathroom, chatting with friends anything except sitting down for a sustained period focusing on your task. You know you've got a deadline, but you can't help getting distracted. Or can you? If you've fallen behind on your task or goals one too many times, it's time to say enough is enough. Something needs to change, and that's something. Starts with your environment. If you're tired of always having to rush to meet deadlines, scramble to get things done at the last minute, sacrificing a few nights of sleep to burn the midnight oil as you work through the night trying to get things done. Your environment needs to change and fast. Most people believe the ability to focus on its has comes down to self discipline and the willpower not to move from your desk until you've done what you need to do. Unfortunately, that's a misguided belief. It has never been more imperative that we eliminate distractions that rob us of our precious time. Specifically, we can be more aware of the time we're wasting on social media or Web browsing, building the right kind of environment As a modern society. We have been told that multitasking is helpful to get things done. Your Internet browser probably has multiple tabs open at any given time, and your phone is most likely besides you and interrupting at intervals. Even as you read this, this has become the norm. It is how we live. But have you ever tried the Texan drive? At the same time, there is a reason it is dangerous. Doing multiple things at once means that nothing gets done well or efficiently. You know you want to improve your focus and concentration. You've probably thought about it several times, even before you started reading this in truth. The answer to getting started was right in front of you all along. Change your environment. It's incredible what little tweaks in the environment can do. It's a better maintain focus you needs and now design and set up an environment for yourself that is free from any kind of distraction, both digitally and physically. Take a long, hard look at your current surroundings. Is your environment helping you boost your productivity or serving as a distraction because it keeps moving your focus away from what you're supposed to be doing? It is time for an assessment of your current environment to see what elements need to be changed and removed at just your environment to suit you. It's a mobile world we live in these days, with more opportunities to work remotely and on the go. There may be times when we find ourselves having the work at different locations. When that happens, setting up your perfect space could be a challenge, but it's still doable. Depending on where you are, make little tweaks and adjustments to your space until you feel comfortably satisfied with the outcome. If you have to share a desk at work, put a plant between you and your chatty colleagues and minimized distraction. Angle your computer away from any distractions, clear the table of any clutter and put it aside. Temporarily put on noise canceling headphones for better concentration. Getting rid of clutter. There's a reason why minimalists keep their desk practically empty, with nothing on it except the laptop and maybe one pin in no pad for urgent notes. Clutter is a distraction, and building an environment that facilitates focus means you're going to need the de clutter your desk fast. Get rid of the unnecessary pens, paper mugs, random bits and pieces of miscellaneous items. Anything that is not contributing to your task should not be on your desk. Go minimalist and de clutter your workspace and see what a difference it makes when there's nothing except you in your laptop alone. Ergonomic comforts Aside from being better for your overall health and some minimize injury , ergonomic workspaces Improve your productivity. It's easy to stay focused when you're comfortable and not fidgeting left and right, trying to get into a comfortable position. Ergonomic workspaces air More than just making sure you're in a well lit environment or that your chairs comfortable enough. It involves the way you're worked up his position and that it is adjusted to a height that promotes good posture for you. Your desk should be at a height that is comfortable enough for you to type and work for a long time if needed. And your chair should be designed to support good posture to avoid any muscle tension or eggs and pains from sitting down too long. A well lit environment. It could be hard to concentrate when you're squinting and trying to get as close to your screen as possible to make out the words having to re read since his multiple times is not conducive to productivity and the frustration of not being able to see is going to disrupt your ability to focus. Natural lighting is the best, although not always possible. If that's the case, opt for ambient lighting to avoid the glare bouncing off your computer screens when reading documents or books and adjustable low glare lamp works best. So you're reading that Syria was always well, let's disconnect from social media or any digital device that is not going to actively contribute to your task. The Internet is addictive and it's helpful as it is, no doubt been. It is also a major cause of distraction. It's hard to knuckle down and try to get any work done when your phone is beeping every couple of minutes with one notification. After another disconnect from social media, turn off your phone second away in your desk and make it a rule not to pick up any digital device or browse any pages on the Internet that are not related to your task. One window at a time Rule. Tying in with the point before about disconnecting from social media is to make it a rule toe. Only have one window on your computer open at a time. You don't need multiple tabs because those air nothing more than distractions. It may seem like no big deal, but your subconscious is bothered by the unnecessarily overwhelming number of tabs you've got. Open focus requires only one thing at a time. That's a rule of thumb. Make it a rule to have only once half open at any given time when you need to focus the quiet zone. This may be hard to accomplish when you're stuck in a busy office, but where possible. Ensure the environment you're working in is quiet and free from noisy distractions. It's easier to set up such a space in your home, although you might need to test out a few different locations before you find the one. Some people work best in the quiet tranquility of the library. I love this. Find their calming zone at a local coffee shop with headphones own. Seek out empty meeting rooms in your office, where you can sit for a few hours quietly focused on your work. If you find your cubicle far too distracting, change your location, change your environment and find one that you're most comfortable in the right temperature . Staying focused when you're just getting started is easy. After a while, though, being too hot or too cold is going to start to get to you. It won't be long before your discomfort is going to distract you from your task, so it just a temperature to a comfortable level before you sit down and begin your task. If you're an environment where you don't have full control over the temperature, like when you're working in your office or a public space, for example, come prepared with enough water and proper clothing to either stay hydrated or stay warm, depending on what you need, get some plants. Interestingly enough, NASA has proven that some house plants can improve the quality of the air indoors. Having natural green plants in your workspace creates a more serene ambience, and better air quality leads to better focus when you've got a good amount of healthy oxygen flowing to your brain. As admirable is, our determination to stay focused is, there's only so much we can do before we eventually feel tired and need a break rather than forcing yourself to keep doing when you feel your focus waiting. Scheduling planned breaks can actually lead to better focus. At least that's what a study by the University of Illinois claimed in their research. They discovered that when the participants of the study, who are tasked with working for 50 minutes, were given short breaks in between, their performance was much better than those who tried to work straight through without any breaks at all. Based on the study's findings, this phenomenon was referred to as vigilance detriment, in other words, losing focus over a period. Shorter breaks were a way to re energize and recharge your brain. So it comes back to the task fresh and with renewed focus 4. Chapter 3 - Step 2: Brainpower: Chapter three Step two Brainpower. Part of working to improve Your focus is about building mental toughness and brain power you need, as you prove to yourself that you can handle anything. Staying on track and focused on your task is not always an easy thing to do, even harder when you're surrounded by distraction. The ability to concentrate has become a skill, and luckily, it is a skill that can be developed by first working to enhance your mental prowess Before you begin, do a quick assessment of where the strength of your mental focus currently is. Your focus is looking good if you find it easy to remain alert when you need to set goals and accomplish them. Feel recharged after taking short breaks and come back to your task. With me, new motivation and a good amount of focus, your mental focus might need some work done. If you can't seem to block out, distractions struggle to concentrate. Find your thoughts drifting, aimless or daydreaming frequently. And if you find it hard to track your progress, understanding where you stand right now will make the next few steps easier. Our brains are just like every other muscle in your body. If we don't use it, eventually it will start to deteriorate. Your brain power is crucial to your ability to focus. If you don't learn how to control your mind and become the master of your thoughts, then your mind will inevitably end up controlling you. That's when distractions and daydreams easily take over willpower and brain power. The prefrontal cortex of the human brain controls our decision, making our ability to plan for the future and make choices that benefit us in the long run . The choice to focus You can excel in whatever it is you take responsibility for. The prefrontal cortex is in the front of the skull behind the eyes, and studies have mapped what the brains of those with weak and strong willpower look like. Differences in activity were detected in this area of the brain, but what does willpower have to do of brain power? Sometimes distracting thoughts can be so overwhelming that we give in to temptation and find ourselves getting well distracted. Fighting off the temptation to remain focused is going to require a lot of willpower on your part, because you need to now train yourself to deliberately ignore these distractions to keep yourself focused on what you're doing right this minute. When the motivation to stay focused fails, the next logical step is to turn to willpower. Willpower is a limited resource, and it takes a great deal of energy to go against our natural inclinations and exercise the power of our will. The next time you're in the middle of typing out an urgent report and your phone beeps with the text you've been waiting for, observe how hard it is to fight your natural inclination to pick up that phone and immediately responsive a text. Ignoring it and staying focused on the report you're meant to be writing takes a lot of hard work and willpower, and when you're working that hard to concentrate, your brain is too. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, your brain needs a little help to keep going, and that help comes in the form of willpower. And so you've trained your brain to be strong enough to the point it no longer gets distracted or gives in to the temptation of distraction as easily as it once did. Brain power can be developed. Had a professional athlete seemed to maintain the optimal performance that they needed every game because they know how important it is to focus on the present game. They know how important it is to block out the distractions, to threaten to take away their concentration. Whether those distractions air internally or externally, caused. Even if they were to have a slip and lose concentration for a moment, they can quickly gain it back again and return into the zone. They managed to accomplish all of this and more by training and rewiring their brains. The ability for these athletes to stay alert and focused during their game is the difference between performances that are simply all right and performances that were outstanding. If outstanding is where you want to be, then it's time to start concentrating on the right things. If you hope to improve and perform to your true potential, like these professional athletes, we all have the power within us to be great at what we do. We just need to tap into it and hold on to these powers of concentration, especially when under intense pressure, as many athletes often find themselves going through what you're concentrating on. Matters just as much as maintaining your concentration. An example of focusing on the wrong thing would be when you're distracted, thinking about what your colleague is doing and if they're doing it better than you are, instead of concentrating on the things you should be doing to excel. Another rule of thumb to keep in mind is that anything that does not actively contributes your task is going to be a distraction when you've got something you need to pay attention to. That should be the only thing that matters until you finish what you started. Brain power and the ability to concentrate can be trained with the right mental exercises. Like a muscle. Your ability to focus needs to be strengthened with exercises. Eventually, it starts to get stronger over time and your ability to concentrate for longer increases along with it. Train your brain and build its focus. Muscle with the following mental exercises. An object. The focus. Find a quiet zone in place. An object in front of you. This could be any object you like. It doesn't matter. Or if there's already an object in the room, which you can comfortably look at in the seated position, go ahead with that incremental focus with the object ready, start focusing on it for a sustained period. Start with smaller time intervals ranging between 3 to 5 minutes. Maintain your focus throughout that period, concentrating on nothing except the object in front of you. Once you're able to maintain this prolonged period of concentration without breaking it or getting distracted, slowly build on the time increments, increasing it gradually in stages. Bring it up to 10 minutes than 15 minutes, and so on. Train yourself over time to increase your concentration for longer and longer periods. Memory games Memory games are an excellent way to help you exercise your mental muscles and train your brain to enhance his powers of concentration. Over time, these games call, for instance, concentration if you want to win the game. Plus, it is a fun way to get in some mental training because these interactive games can easily be played anywhere on the go and they're usually fun and interactive. If memory games are not your thing, there are other memory techniques that you can employ. Having to memorize stuff also forces you to concentrate on what you're doing to be successful, that committing it's a memory. If you prefer to read, train yourself to memorize at least one inspirational passage. Quote or saying each week as part of your memory, strengthen the exercises or perhaps even a passage out of your favorite book, maybe even a poem or two. The mindset of a focused winner to develop the kind of focus that is the envy of others requires a certain level of mental toughness. The strongest and most successful people in the world are the ones who remain mentally tough and resilience in the face of obstacles that would have defeated others will power the drive that it's termination and the motivation to keep pushing forward to keep challenging yourself to push beyond your boundaries are examples of the mental skills needed to stay focused and stay on track to develop the mindset of a focused winner. Prepping yourself in your mind for anything that may come is the best way to build the brain power of a mentally tough resilience individual, and that could be accomplished by always be ready for change. Our minds could be resistant to change when it's taking us out of our comfort zone. Life is not always going to go according to plan, and the more willing and prepared you are to adapt and change to the circumstances, the easier it will be for your brain to switch back into the focus mode. It needs detaching yourself from failures If you let it, your brain is going to hold on to the setbacks and failures of the past and keep you trapped in that endless cycle of mental negativity. This kind of thinking is a distraction, and it will take away your ability to stay focused on your goals unless you learns that it's had yourself from your past failures. Setbacks happens to everyone, but what matters right now is how you recover and bounce back from it. Do you learn from the mistakes of the past, or do you allow those mistakes to continually haunt your mind and stop you from moving forward? Find strength during stress in times of great stress? Hold on to defect that stressful times are not going to last forever. Don't let your mind get too hung up over whatever stressful situation is happening to you right now, thinking about it and replaying repeatedly in your mind how stressed you feel is only going to make you feel worse and do nothing for your concentration. In times of stress, find strengthen the fact that this storm will eventually pass. You just need to be strong enough to get through it. Be patient. Impatience is your brain's worst enemy. When you start focusing on how things are not moving as fast as you would like them to, that's all you're going to be able to think about. The more you obsess about it, the more precious time you lose time. You could have spent doing something productive, leading you one step closer to your goal. Any go that is worth achieving is not going to happen quickly. Most of the time, don't let giving up being option. I am not a quitter. I will not give up. Whenever you're attempted to quit, remind yourself that it is not an option. If the option to give up is always somewhere in your mind, the temptation will always be there. Once you start something, make it a commitment to yourself that you're not going to stop until you see it all the way to the end 5. Chapter 4 - Step 3: Energy Management: Chapter four. Step three. Energy Management Time may be your most precious resource, but it is not the only resource that matters. Yes, time is precious, and once a moment has passed, you'll never get it back again. But the thing about time is that it is still a renewable resource. An opportunity may have passed you by today, but there's always tomorrow to try it again. Energy, however, is an entirely different matter. Once you're sick, tired, mentally drained, fatigued or depleted of energy. Even if you had 12 or several hours on your hands, you're not likely to get anything productive done in that state. Focus is not even a possibility when your energy levels are running low, and this time it is energy management, not time. That is what matters when it comes to improving your focus. Even with all the time in the world and motivation by the bucket load, it is unlikely you're going to accomplish much when you've got no energy to back up that motivation. Today, it is not uncommon for many to spend long hours at the office again. That's fine because you've got time to do it, but your energy is another matter. Working longer hours doesn't guarantee a job well done when you don't have the energy and mental strength to focus on what you need to do. Still, the quest for better productivity and maximum efficiency continues, as many continue to find ways of optimizing the hours. They have a day to get more things done. Hence, multitasking, which we've established may seem like it works well in the beginning, but it's not as effective as you may think. The answer to getting more done in a day is not multitasking. Its energy management understanding energy energy is the force that is responsible for giving the physical and mental strength needed to do the activities were supposed to do. Energy is physical and mental. Physically. We get our energy from the food we consume. And when we hydrate with water, energy is renewed physically after a good rest or sleep session. As much as it may do for us. Physical energy alone is not enough to get us to maintain that laser sharp focus we need. It must work together with mental energy for optimal results. The source of mental energy comes from a clear mind and healthy emotional management emotions that are left unregulated can wreck havoc on our mental capabilities. The next time you experience a highly emotional moment observed the way you feel after the moment has passed, do you suddenly find yourself feeling drained and faced with an overwhelming sense of tiredness that all you want to do is lie down and sleep for several hours, hoping you'll feel better. Emotions are powerful force, and when left uncontrolled, can cause immense mental fatigue. That makes it difficult to get anything done, let alone concentrate why time management does not work. Time management is simply a way of describing how person organizes and plans their time according to the specific activities and tests that they need to do at work. For example, you get eight hours to accomplish everything that you need to get, and it is up to you to divide your time and allocate how much time you're planning to spend on each activity. While this is great at helping you stay organized and stay on top of everything you need to do, it does very little in the way of helping you stay focused. Looking busy should not be the primary goal When someone is rushing around the office in a frenzy or furiously clacking away at the keyboard with fervor, it doesn't necessarily mean they're handling their task as effectively as they should be. If you've ever found yourself in a situation where you felt like you were rushing about all day yet felt at the end of the day that you hardly accomplished anything at all. This is why it's because you're not focused enough to effectively achieve results. Time management system simply do not work because that's not how we were built to work. Time management is great for us, but not for us, because it doesn't take our energy levels into account. This system doesn't account for what happens when your willpower fluctuates or when your discipline might wane over the course of the day. Instead of scheduling your day around the test that might be done, what you should be doing is scheduling it around your energy levels. Let your energy be the deciding factor over which tax should take priority. If you continue to pursue the path of better time management, you're never going to improve your focus. Time management is ineffective in the long run and rather than promote better concentration , it promotes anxiety. Instead, when you're chasing the clock instead of focusing on what you're supposed to be doing, you get nervous, flustered and anxious when you notice you're running out of time. In the haste to meet the self imposed time deadline you set for yourself, your focus dissipates. Mistakes get made crucial information gets overlooked and you're feeling emotional from the pressure of rushing to meet your time goal so you can move on to your next task. Anxiety leads to stress, and stress leads to panic attacks and nervous meltdowns. In the end, nothing gets done anyway because of all these unforeseen interruptions that are a by product of time management. That is why, in the long run, time management is not an effective long term success for focusing success. It's right up the same alley is multi tasking of fallacy, and we need to stop entertaining these myths and misconceptions any longer for the sake of improving our ability to focus strategies to better energy management. Better energy management is possible when you've got the right strategies up your sleeve. Here's how you can get a better handle on yours so you're not losing focus while trying to get more done. Pace yourself feeling discouraged or overwhelmed. Just looking at your to do list before you get started is sapping your mental energy. There may be a lot to do, but the key to doing it all is to pace yourself right from the start. Long distance runners don't exhaust all their energy supply as soon as they leave the starting line, they started a steady pace and maintain that momentum, so it's easy enough to sustain themselves until they reached the finish line. Avoid exhausting all your energy right from the start. Pace yourself, listen to your body and take breaks when you need to recharge optimized high energy moments At certain points during the day, we experience spikes in our energy levels. This is when we feel fired up and full of energy and ready to take on anything that comes our way. Energy levels fluctuate during the day, and you need to monitor the way you feel throughout the day and observe when those high energy moments are use. This time to tackle importance has that require a greater level of focus and save the easier to handle tasks for when you need to take it slow to conserve energy, continuously recharging. Unlike robots we were not built, work continuously for hours on end with the same level of energy or focus. Brakes are a necessity, and instead of seeing them as time wasters start to see them for the opportunity that they are an opportunity to recharge your mind and your body, the powering through mentality is nothing more than a myth. Powering through does not guarantee a job well done. Focused us. Listen to your body, and when you feel yourself struggling to maintain focus, take a break. Knowing your needs. What do you need to feel? Recharged? What does it take for you to feel energized? Are you the extrovert who feels alive again after spending some time with people? Does a quick burst of exercise help you feel better? Maybe even sitting by the window, enjoying the sunshine with a nice, warm cup of tea or coffee? Does the trick know what it takes for you to feel refueled and incorporate that into your daily routine? Whenever your energy levels are running low, pick it back up again by tapping into what makes you feel better de clutter your life. Work is not the only culprit that tends to drain your energy. People do it, too. You simply don't have enough time or energy on your hand to juggle both people that drain your energy and the unnecessary work in your day. That takes up more energy than it should. Energy management is going to call for declaring de clutter everything from your daily task list that is not a priority and de clutter the negative people in your life who do nothing more than make you feel exhausted each time you're in their company. Make it a point every three months or so to reassess your life and see if there's an improvement in your energy management after each decluttering session. If there's not much of an improvement, then maybe there's more decluttering that needs to get done. Learning to delegate there's only so much you can get done in a day. Instead of pushing yourself beyond physical and mental limits, the better approach to take to help manage your energy levels is to learn how to delegate. If you know there is someone better suited to this has that could do a better job. Don't be afraid to pass it along. That leaves you have more time, energy and better yet, focus to concentrate on what you should be doing when you're in a leadership position. For example, part of being an effective manager is knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your team members in what each person brings to the table. This will help you to better delegate which person is equipped to handle. The difference has set. Your team will be presented with a good leader is one that delegates the right jobs to the right people. So they come away with excellent results because they know just what to do when a job is given to them. Better yet, assigning a balanced workloads all team members equally makes it easier for everyone to focus on the single task that they're doing, including you 6. Chapter 5 - Step 4: Eliminating Procrastination: Chapter five step for eliminating procrastination. The reason we're sometimes guilty of procrastinating more than we should is a lack of self discipline. Well, that and laziness. When those two are combined, they result in a deadly recipe for UN productivity. Self discipline is the one thing that separates an averagely talented person doing something extraordinary in a naturally talented person, doing something mediocre with their lives, not using their talents to the fullest potential. Self discipline is something we can't see or touch or taste or smell, but its effects are momentous. Success in any aspect of life never happens in the total vacuum, and individuals determination, willpower, intelligence in a little bit of luck determine the outcome of success. Apart from variables that you can control. There was also the surrounding environment that you are in in the outside, circumstances that often influence success rates. To succeed, you must have a burning desire and a reason to achieve it. The path to achieving goals is filled with boredom, procrastination, anxiety, excuses and difficulty. There will be so many times that you will try to talk yourself out of this goal, but to keep going, always remember the reason and the desire of why you wanted to attain the school. Because this helps you stay on track. Procrastination is your own worst enemy. Procrastination the mother of self discipline problems. Most of us think I'll do it later when it comes to accomplishing our task that we set out to do it is either you'll do it later where you are waiting for the perfect time. For example, our goal is to save money. But then say our way to the first day of the month to start or if we're planning so exercise, we might say I have to get the right shoes. Delaying and procrastinating is a hindrance that stops you from achieving your goals. The more you delay, the more excuses you come up with. The solution here is simple is the delay you've given yourself working for you When you procrastinate. Ask yourself why are you doing this? Is this benefiting you? If you delay things now, how will it impact you and say the next few hours? Well, you need to leave work late. Do you have a deadline catching up soon? Will this give you pressure questioning yourself in making you accountable for your actions will help you overcome procrastination or delaying things. Once you begin practicing this in your self discipline journey, you will enjoy doing things on time rather than delaying it. Procrastination is one path that leads directly to laziness when something can be done at that moment, but you choose to postpone it because you don't feel like doing it, which is indirectly indulging in lazing. This Take, for example, a simple task such as washing the dishes. You know it needs to be done. It is easy enough to do right now. Won't take up too much time. But how many times have you thought to yourself? I'll do it later then that later becomes another day and another day in another day. And before you know it, you're looking at a mountain of dishes in the sink, which is now going to take you twice as long to get through. That's procrastination for you. Then there's technology not just a distraction culprit, but a procrastination enabler to it is unlikely you're going to make it through an entire day without your phone lighting up, buzzing and vibrating several times without multiple texts, notifications and alerts. It is just as unlikely that you're going to be able to make it through the entire day without checking your phone several times, even as you sit behind your desk, typing out that urgent report for work. You know it's urgent, and you know the deadline is looming, yet you can't help it when your phone is right there next to you. The strong, inexplicable urge to pick it up is going to get to you eventually procrastination. It just kills your focus. Presumably, the reason behind why we procrastinate is going to differ for each person you procrastinate . When your heart is not in it, you procrastinate when you're tired. You procrastinate when something more interesting comes along and you'd rather be focused on that. Procrastination and a lack of focus are linked inexorably when you're bored and unable to continue what the task is supposed to be doing. It is likely to source of that. Boredom can be traced back to your dwindling ability to focus. As you lose interest, you become bored. Having distractions around you only exacerbates the issue. Overcoming procrastination once and for all strategies are the best weapon that you have against your battles. Overcome procrastination strategies give you a purpose and a clear direction to stay on track. It helps you set your priorities straight, and it can help simplify a lot of things which may otherwise feel like it is too much to handle. Remove the source of temptation before you settle into your work. Look around you and make a note of what the distractions are. Be honest about your assessment because the only way to stay focused in that procrastinate is to remove all sources of temptation. If the temptation isn't there, you're less likely to give into it. If your environment is the cause of your distraction, find somewhere else to work. Whatever the sources, you must remove it to stay focused, hold yourself accountable and make it your responsibility to ensure there's nothing around the tempter. Focus away from your work. Don't try to be perfect. Striving for perfection ism is going to put unnecessary pressure on you when you're pressured, you're stressed when you're stressed. You don't feel like doing work anymore. When you don't feel like it, you start sliding down that slippery procrastination slope, and so hours have passed and you're completely behind on your work. aim to focus, so you know you're giving it the very best of your ability. And until you're satisfied, you've done a good job. If you can make it perfect, go ahead. But otherwise, avoid putting that unnecessary pressure on yourself. Get the hard tasks over with the hardest task so that ones we always feel like procrastinating on the most at the start of the days when we have the most energy and fuel . So start your day with the hardest jobs First. If you found yourself prone to procrastinating the harder task in the past and leaving them to the very last minute, try switching things around and start with the hard stuff first. When you're done with that hard task, move on to smaller, more doable tasks until the end of your work day the next morning. Repeat the process by selecting another hard task in starting your day off with that again . When you get the hard stuff out of the way, you find you feel much happier, lighter and things seem more manageable somehow for the rest of the day. Don't be too hard on yourself. Procrastinators are their own worst enemy. You know, procrastination is not good. You do it anyway and then feel bad about it and start criticising yourself negatively for not having enough discipline and willpower to get the job done. Being too harsh on yourself is not going to resolve anything either. Nor is it going to make it any easier for you to focus. Being stressed, worried that you're not good enough. Feeling like a failure is only negative emotions that will drain you and make it harder for you to concentrate when you know you procrastinated where you shouldn't have acknowledged the mistake that you made and then commit to yourself to be more focused and disciplined. Moving forward Strategies to improve self discipline Strategies for getting rid of bad procrastination habits on their own might not be as effective if a lack of self discipline is still a problem. Therefore, you need to combine those tips with several strategies on hand that will help you build better self discipline habits. Set a morning routine at work. Commit to sticking to a morning workers seem to get you into a more disciplined approach to managing your day. If you spend too much time procrastinating upon your arrival at work. A routine can help you fix that problem. Think about the things that you want to do, the first thing you get into your office. Here's an example of how your morning routine at work and be switch on your computer. Make a cup of coffee, read the newspaper. Speak to your coworkers who can catch up on work related business. Check your calendar to see what you have scheduled for the whole week. Do tests that require your immediate attention. Reply to emails. Start work organizing your cubicle or room if you have one at the office, Organizing your workspace benefits all aspects of your life. An organized work space makes you look forward to work every morning. It keeps your mind Uncluttered, and it also helps of finishing tasks easily. Take some time off after your usual working hours to de clutter your workspace. File papers arranged books. Organize your desk and yours and, most importantly, set the space up so it is conducive and encouraging. Paced a large calendar on your office wall so you can see what's ahead of you. Put up some encouraging words, quotes and even images. Place a mini Terreri, um on your desk to brighten up that space practice responsibility and accountability by practicing self discipline. We also learned to take more self responsibility for our actions and thoughts. This is part of becoming self discipline. Adults. People who constantly complained and make excuses without taking responsibility are generally very unreliable and cannot be trusted. The first action to take today is to realize that this is your life. You are the hero to your own story, so each and every action you take will influence your story line from today onwards. Resolved to take 100% responsibility for everything you are right now and everything that you will become. Don't give excuses. Don't complain and don't explain Control your emotions. People with self disciplined rarely let their emotions control their decisions. To become a responsible person, you need to take control of your emotions. You need to control your emotions, especially the negative ones, or they will control you for today's action. Practice forgiveness. Learn to accept that you have made a mistake in seek forgiveness. If someone is wrongs you and apologized, accept the apology and move on. Overcome your fear. The biggest enemy of self discipline is fear. Fear keeps you from taking the necessary actions because you rather stay in your comfort zone. You have to face fear. If you want to make a change, always tell yourself that you can do it, because what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. A disciplined person. Congress Fear While a coward is controlled by fear for today's action, identify your three biggest fears in life. Ask yourself if you had just a day left to live, what would you do differently, or what would you do differently if you know you couldn't fail? 7. Chapter 6 - Step 5: Shutting Down Distractions: Chapter six, Step five, Shutting Down distractions Nobody likes being interrupted when they're trying to focus. That happens all too often, especially today, when mobile phones have dominated our everyday existence. To effectively focus, you're going to need to try to put away all the distractions before you settle down and start to work. Nearly everything you're surrounded with these days can be considered a form of distraction . Social media, e mails, digital devices, even people around you are a constant cause of distraction. For some, it is very easy to get sucked out of their focus own at even the slightest disturbance. These distractions are not uncommon in the cost of being easily distracted, especially professionally is well documented, too. University of California researchers discovered that when an office worker is interrupted, it typically takes 25 minutes before they can get back to their original task after the interruption. By then, the accuracy of their work has already decreased by 20%. So yes, being distracted when you're trying to focus your mind is something that needs to be addressed. The Ford affect your productivity levels any longer. We no distractions are bad for us, yet we do it anyway, just like procrastination. No good can come of it. But somehow we can't seem to stop ourselves from continually committing these bad habits. Avoiding distractions is hard. The temptation to give in has an immense pool, and it's not easy training your mind to stay on task for a sustained period. What makes it even harder is we were never taught the proper methods to maintain focus. When it comes to focusing your mind. Most of us are left to our own devices to try and figure it out on our own. Add distractions into the mix, and it is no wonder we struggle to stay on track. Overthinking is a form of distraction. Another bad habit many of us engage in is over thinking, especially when we want something to go our way. But over thinking is another form of distraction, and the only way to do something about this is to rewire your brain to stop engaging in this habit. For chronic warriors, overthinking can cause negative consequences. It can also prevent us from enjoying the moment and instead keep us fixated on future uncertain seas that make us anxious and worried when we lack control. overthinking stops you from getting things done because you're too hung up on what could go wrong or what you're not doing. Enough of overthinking stop you from coming up with solutions to the problem because you're far too obsessed about the problem. Overthinking, of course, stops you from staying focused because there's simply too much going on in that busy mind of yours that it can't handle anything more. Before we get into shutting down the external distractions, let's learn to rewire our brains to first stop overthinking so we can shut down the biggest internal distraction of all. Embrace uncertainty. Overthinking happens because we worry about the things we can't control. The uncertainty makes us nervous, and when that happens, our brains kick into overdrive and start running through multiple scenarios, thinking about everything that could go wrong. Things are not always going to work out the way you want it to, but over thinkers tend to dwell in the questions that they cannot answer. There will be things that you will know and can, though, and there are things that you may never know or come across. Rewire your train of thought and keep telling your brain that it is okay not to know the answer at all. Think about the bigger picture each time you overthink. Stop and ask yourself what this is doing for you. What it's doing to your ability to focus. There are more important things to focus on them, worrying about the what ifs. You could spend hours, days and weeks worrying and overthinking, and it will still do nothing to change the outcome. What will change the outcome? Learning to focus, rewire your train of thought and start thinking about the bigger picture. Instead, with each worrying thought that comes, ask yourself. Is this worry worth my time? Don't make it a habit. Getting stuck in your head can quickly develop into a bad habit. If it hasn't already that you don't even realize you're doing it anymore. You need to start paying attention to the thoughts that you have and hit the stop button. As soon as you realize you're overthinking again, Replaying events repeatedly in your mind is over thinking. Hit the stop button, asking yourself the same. Worrying questions several times is over thinking. Hit the stop button. Look for repetitive patterns in your thinking that you noticed start to stress you out or make you worry. Look for repetitive patterns and you're thinking that you notice start to stress you out or make you worry. That's a good indication you're doing it again, and it's time to you guessed it hit the stop button. This is one unproductive bad habit you don't want to keep around. Shutting down the distractions for good. Shutting down distractions is serious business, and it is time to take the following steps to minimize the cognitive disruptions so your focus can thrive. Make use of meeting rooms and quiet spaces. This is one to keep in mind when you're in the office. Meeting rooms exist in the workplace for a reason, and it's time to make full use of them. The best way to remain focused on what you need to do is to keep the distractions to a minimum. In an environment like work where so many people are working near with one another, phones could be constantly ringing off the hook. People will be on the move walking up and down, and several conversations could be going on at once. Not exactly the most conducive environments. Old a discussion much less ineffective conversation. Keep the distractions to a minimum, go into a meeting room and closed the door. Put the phones away and then get to work focusing your mind. Don't check your emails frequently. Make it a point starting from right. Now that you're not going to check your emails until your demo of what you need to do, check your emails before you start to task. You need to focus on or check them after you're done. But don't stop in between to do it. So you avoid disrupting your workflow closure inbox. So you're not even distracted by the notification window. The pops up in the middle of your task. Switch off your phone or set it to airplane mode so you're not tempted by the dings that alert you that a new email has arrived in your inbox. Invest in a planner. Do you schedule your day from start to finish? If you don't, perhaps it's time to consider doing that to minimize being easily distracted throughout the day. When you've got a set to do list sorted out in your planner, you're less likely to indulge in idle time when you know what needs to be done one after the other. Using a planner here would help with your distractions at work and even during the day. The first thing you need to do is to make a list of all the task that you need to get done and label each task with the priority level include everything that needs to be done, including the smaller, more menial tasks so you can get a clearer overall picture of everything that is on your plate, which you need to get out of the way. Using a planner will help you determine exactly how much time you have to complete each assignment, and writing it down will help you clearly see each deadline that is in front of you so you can stay on top of everything that you've got going on. Don't forget the schedule in some break time to so you can recharge your batteries before moving on to the next task at hand. Invest in noise canceling headphones. These air going to be your best friend when it comes to blocking out external distractions , especially when you frequently find yourself working in a noisy environment, invest in a good pair of noise, canceling headphones to do a good job of blocking out at least 90% of the noise as a bonus . If calm, relaxing, soothing music helps you focus better, you get to listen to those tunes to your headphones instead of the chatter in the bus that's going on around you. If you're going to have to listen to noise anyway, it might as well be a noise that helps you concentrate and not distract you getting rid of your extra chair. Depending on your office set up, you might have an extra charity table or somewhere within the vicinity. Unfortunately, this extra chair is an invitation for a chatty colleague to come and plop down next to you and start chatting away, distracting you from your work. Shutting down distractions means you're going to have to minimize the opportunities for other colleagues to come and shut with you, even if you may not like the idea, because you don't want to upset anyone. Your colleagues will understand once you explain your reasons for doing so, shut the door. This only works if you have one of the office. If you work from home, shutting the door is easier to do It may not be the most welcoming gesture, but it is necessary if you want to focus your mind and block out the distractions and so you're done. If you live with others at home, let them know that when the door to your offices shut, it means you need some time to focus on your work. Unless there's an emergency, let them know you would appreciate not being interrupted for the duration of the doors closed. Do this at the office to by talking to your colleagues and letting them know what you would appreciate it if they could respect your focus. Time when the door shut, operate in full screen mode. This kills two birds with one stone. It stops you from getting distracted by anything else on your computer, and it encourages you not to multi task to. When you go full screen, you're forced to Onley, look and focus on whatever it is that is in front of you. Any files and photos on your desktop are kept out of you, and so are any extra tabs or browsers you may have opened 8. Chapter 7 - Step 6: Sharpening Attention: Chapter seven Step six. Sharpening attention, The wandering mind is a hard ones, real back in. As it turns out, our brains are only in the moment and present for only half the time that we're awake. According to Harvard University study, the study places are average attention span a day around approximately 53% of the time we spend awake. This means that we spend the other 47% of the time zoned out, distracted and not paying attention. No wonder we find it hard to retain focus when the mind seems to so easily wander off on its own. Zoning out during meetings, presentations, lectures, seminars Sometimes even when we're in the middle of the conversation looks like technology is not entirely to blame this time, since our brains alone have a hard time paying attention for long. In this case, technology only makes it worse, since our brains are wired by design to seek out new information all the time. Technology feeds into that need, which explains why we have a hard time pulling ourselves away from the tiny screen in the palm of our hands, author Daniel Goleman explains and focus the hidden power of excellence that there are two forms of destruction. One is sensory and the other is emotional. Sensory distractions air. What's happening around you and emotional distractions are your emotions, thoughts, inner dialogue and feelings about the things that are happening around you or in your life . Your ability to focus on your task is severely compromised each time there is a distraction . When your phone beeps, air blinks when someone comes knocking on your office door for Chet, or when there's a sudden loud sound of commotion within your environment. The moment you lose your attention span, you have to start all over again as you lose your train of thought. Getting back into the swing of things might take longer than it should, depending on how quickly you've trained your ability to stay focused. It doesn't help that the society we live in today is constantly pressuring us to do more and move faster. From the moment we wake up, we seem to do most things in a hurry or re multitask. We're impatient, dissatisfied, restless and bored, and the ability to focus our minds seems to be getting harder and harder to do. Why do I struggle to pay attention. The problem we have today is that there's too much going on. We're overstimulated, and that makes it hard for us to focus on one thing at a time. You're not interested. When you're not interested in what you do, there's no incentive to pay attention. A lack of interest actually makes it easier for you to become distracted because, you know, somewhere in your mind you would rather be doing anything else but what you're doing right now, you'll subconsciously welcome any excuse that takes you away from your task, even when you know you're going to pay for it later. Poor energy levels. When you're tired, you can't pay attention. It is a simple is that throughout the day, as your energy levels start to fade, you find it increasingly more difficult to pay attention. You find meetings held at the end of the workday, excruciatingly difficult to stay focused on comparative meetings held in the morning. Yet most of us don't make it a disciplined enough practice to get the adequate sleep hours we need each night. So we're refreshed and focused for tomorrow. Your emotional we're emotional creatures, and that's not a bad thing, but being emotional can affect your ability to pay attention when you need it most. Emotional intelligence is a subject area that repeatedly emphasises how important it is to regulate your emotions and keep them under control so you can master them to your advantage . A by product of the hectic lives we lead is we spend a lot of the time feeling stressed, a negative emotion that can severely impact our ability to pay attention. Emotions tend to be powerful, volatile and overwhelming elements on their own. When you add chronic stress on top of those emotions you might already be dealing with. The physical and psychological effects can be profound, extending beyond just compromising our ability to pay attention. You're hungry paying its engine. It's hard when you're distracted by the hunger pains to go on in your stomach. Hunger is not necessarily attributed to a lack of food, either. Being thirsty gives the same signals that often get mistaken for hunger. But this could be a challenging problem to balance, since you don't want to be too full either, given that an over fed brain lows your ability to focus finding that balance when you're not too full or too hungry is the challenge, but it is important to find a balance that works for you, or this is always going to be a problem. You might be dealing with a D. H d. If you're struggling to stay focused, it might be because you're dealing with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or 80 HD. This symptom affects approximately 5% of Children, and half of these Children will likely carry these symptoms with them as they reach adulthood. Some adults with 80 HD may not even be diagnosed properly if they don't recognize the signs and get the necessary treatment needed. Difficulty paying attention and focusing is merely one sign of possible 80 HD issues. If you still have trouble focusing, despite attempting all the strategies you can think of to try and pay attention better and despite the strategies you've learned in this guide, you should probably consider seeking professional treatment. Reining it in like everything else you've learned so far about how to focus your mind. Raining in your attention when it starts to wander is going to take some getting used to. You're not going to be able to sharpen your attention right away. Training yourself to reach that level takes time specifically because you're adjusting to a new habit, a new way of doing things. Drink your water. Besides being the elixir of life, it turns out we need water to help us pay attention to. A study by the University of Barcelona discovered that mild dehydration around 2% is enough to negatively impact your ability to stay focused and concentrate. A 2% drop in your hydration levels is all it takes to trigger thirst and start distracting you from the task at hand. If you know you're about to begin something that needs you to stay focused, be sure to drink plenty of water before you begin. Bi curious Asking questions is one way to park up your attention. Span meetings at work, providing excellent training ground for this since meetings air one of the hardest places to stay alert. Not surprisingly, the National Statistics Council found that nearly half of the employees surveyed thought meetings were nothing more than a waste of time. Despite how you may feel about, um, meetings are necessary and crucial information is at risk of being missed. If you don't learn to pay attention. However, a quick trip to force yourself to start paying attention is to go into it with the mindset that you're going to ask questions as you listen to what's being said. Start formulating some questions in your mind. So you've got no time to zone out classical music of her concentration. Researchers at the University of Stanford School of Medicine discovered that listening to classical music while you worked could help improve your concentration levels. These short, soothing symphonies engaged areas of your brain that helped you pay attention. And listening to the soothing tones is a nice welcome change for your anxious and stressed out brain. Have a cup of tea that morning joke that wakes you up comes from your usual morning cup of coffee. But the ability to stay alert well, it turns out that comes from tea instead. Black tea to be more specific, healthy in in the type of amino acid found in the tea has a direct impact on the areas of our brain, responsible for helping a stay alert and focused. A study carried out in the Netherlands found that those who drink tea were better able to pay attention compared to their counterparts who were given a placebo drink instead building your capacity for attention. Thankfully, your attention span is like a muscle that could be exercised to gain strength like willpower and self discipline. Certain activities like yoga, journaling exercises and meditation techniques that have been mentioned in this guide already can build up your attention capacity with frequent practice. These activities force you to pay attention manager emotions and filter the distractions. Teaching. You had a mindfully tuned amount as your ability to pay attention for longer gradually increases. Implement a reward system. Let's face it, we all work better when we know there is some reward waiting for us at the end of that road . That reward is motivation. Sometimes we need that extra push in addition to our goals. If you knew there was a reward waiting for you. Once you've completed a task, you'd be more motivated to get it done and get it done well as soon as possible because you're looking forward to that reward. This strategy can now be implemented to help you build your capacity to pay attention for prolonged periods. Let's say there's a project you needed to get done within an hour and delivered back to your boss set up of reward system at the end of it to spur you to stay on track. Tell yourself a soon as you're done committing this one hour of focus to the task, you're going to reward yourself with a nice common cup of tea in the break room. Your reward should be something that makes you happy, something you look forward to. And it could be anything you like, as long as it works for you getting enough sleep at night. You've seen what a difference a good night's sleep can make. The way you operate when you slept a full eight hours a night before, and the way you operate when you've had hardly any sleep is significantly different. The 1st 1 of course, support your ability to pay attention with enough sleep, your energized in control and in a better mood, all the ingredients you need to pay attention better, completely different than when you're sleep deprived in your irritable, moody and so tired to the point. All you can think about is getting this day over with so you can go home and sleep again. 9. Chapter 8 - Step 7: Stress Management: Chapter eight steps. Seven. Stress management stress can cause severe disruption in your ability to focus when you're stressed, the simplest thing or test can appear to be something overwhelming. Your behavior might become frantic and erratic. Even unpredictable is the stress piles on you. And so you finally reach a point where you can't think clearly anymore. Being in a state of frequent emotional turmoil can lead to stress, which, as we all know, is never good for the body. The elevated cortisol levels a journal in pumping through our veins. These referred to a stress hormones, and when they course through our bodies, they're pumping us up to react in a way that is quick and strong. Unfortunately, it is also difficult to concentrate when you're in the state. Despite what you may believe, it is not normal to be living in a constant state of stress. You may think that it can't be helped because of the pressure experienced at work, juggling family and personal responsibilities. Or that's just how your life is and stress is a part of it. But this is not how we were meant to live. Stress can have a tremendously negative impact on our bodies, not just physically, but emotionally, too. On an emotional level, feeling stress and other negative emotions can result in irritability, feeling depressed and worthless. Loss of purpose in life and loneliness. We feel isolated like nobody understands what we're going through. We feel anxious when it seems like things are not getting any better and eventually start to feel depressed because of all the imagined worries were carrying about on our shoulders . That's the kind of impact negative emotions can have in our minds. Managing your stress levels for better focus. Recovering from stress is not something that is going to happen overnight. Nor is it something that you can accomplish all in one go. Change can be difficult, so you should do it in small stages. Baby steps. Change comes easy for some, but for others, it takes a while to get adjusted. Rushing into it may make you feel overwhelmed and unable to cope. Doing too much too soon is going to make you crash and burn really quickly, so slow it down and do things one step at a time. Stress balls saved the day to calm your nerves in times of stress, stress balls or something you always want to have handy when you need it. If you don't have a stress ball, no problem. It is very easy to make one of your own. Simply fill a balloon with either flour, rice or even Plato. Don't forget to double wrapped a balloon at the end to ensure that it is nice and secure. Each time you feel nervous and anxious, distract yourself by using a stress ball. Close your eyes, regulate your breathing and keep it going until you've successfully calmed your mind enough to resume your focus. Make a stress journal. It is like any other journal, except this one is just for you to pour your heart out, or rather poor your stress out. This is the safest way to channel those stressful emotions you're holding inside in a way that is not going to hurt anyone. This includes you, too. No one gets hurt with your words. You don't do something you regret, and you still gets. Release all your pent up emotions by pouring them out into the pages of the journal reserved for your eyes. Only a stress relief toolbox. Having a toolbox with you at the ready, filled with items that help calm your nerves can be extremely helpful when stress threatens to get the best of you. You can fill this toolbox with anything that you like. A few positive affirmation quotes, maybe a personal item of yours. It helps calm you down a picture of the people you love most. Maybe even your stress ball could be kept in there. These items should serve as reminders that everything is going to be all right and you need to pace herself. Breathe, relax, and whether the storm you've probably got a toolbox handy at home to fix any repairs needed . This time, you're going to have a toolbox to heal your emotions, instead being one with nature instead of being cooped up at home, getting more stressed by the minute and nothing gets done in the process. Get moving by going for a walk to change up the environment. Exercise is a great way to improve your mood, and there's nothing like a change of scenery to take your mind off What's worrying you. It removes you from the cause of your stress while at the same time giving you a chance at some exercise and a chance to breathe in all that fresh air. You could also take this time to observe all the beauty that nature has to offer. This could help you calm down significantly and feel much happier in the process. Avoid all negative talk. You've had your fill of negativity in your life with all the stress that you've been carrying around with you. Up to this point, it is time to put that behind. You. Avoid any kind of negative thoughts completely. Negativity only serves to feed into your stress even more and make them seem much worse than what they are. If what you've got to say about yourself is even remotely negative, stop at once. Don't do it. Don't say anything at all because it's only going to make you feel even worse about yourself. Whenever you catch yourself doing this, make an active effort to turn that thought around into something positive. It'll be tough to do in the beginning, but it gets easier with practice. Think about this every moment you spend. Indulging in negativity is another moment wasted when you could have been focusing. Be kind, do good. Immerse yourself in good deeds to help lift the veil of stress. It has been shouting you because when you put your energy into helping others, you're less focused on your own issues. Nothing boost from around quite like the satisfaction of knowing you've done something good for others without expecting anything in return. You did it because you wanted to. Being involved in charity work or doing something for a good cause reminds you that there are other people out there in the world with bigger challenges on their hands. And it will help give you new perspective because if they can, whether the challenge with a smile on their face, you can handle anything that comes your way. Read for inspiration. Any book or media that emphasizes on positivity and empowering yourself in your thoughts is what you should start immersing yourself in. Right now, you are rebuilding yourself once more, training your mind and helping it to crawl out of the negative pit that stresses left. U N think of your mind like you would a growing child for it to become better and stronger . It needs nutrition. Let the inspirational books be the nutrition for your mind and soul, your way to hell inspiring stories help to fuel your motivation once again. And when your motivation is running full steam ahead, it's easier to remind yourself why you should be focusing on getting things done. Flocking together with other birds of a feather, Surround yourself with positive people to see a transformation in your life. It's not that these positive individuals don't deal with stress at all, because they do. They've just learned how to manage it better without losing focus. And that's the lesson you want to take away from yourself from the time you spend with them . When you surround yourself with only people with positive mindsets, you'll slowly adapt away, you think to emulate them as their wisdom, their outlook stories and affirmations slowly seep into your way of thinking, not to mention their stress management techniques. This is great for your healing process, because being surrounded by all this positive energy is going to have an uplifting effect, the complete opposite of what stress made you feel like taking care of yourself again. Stress will always linger at your doorstep, and so you learn to take care of yourself again to prioritize yourself, care more often, performing at our best with a sharp, focused mine can only happen when we take care of ourselves, mentally and physically, even spiritually. Taking care of yourself and focusing on you is going to be an important step in your stress recovery process when you learn to love yourself and feel good about yourself. Staying sharp, alert and focused doesn't feel like the struggle it once did anymore. Because you're happier. Used a following guide to help take care of yourself once more and learn to love yourself again. Eats Will Stress may have had a disruptive effect on your eating patterns. Now that you're trying to be free, you can start trying to eat well again. Don't skimp, Starve, gorge or binge. This is not a productive habit because it is going to put your body through emotional and physical highs and lows, which could result in you crashing and burning long before you should. Keep your mind sharp and your body fit by eating a well balanced diet that meets all your nutritional needs and steers clear of anything, which is going to impact your body negatively. Meditation to kill the soul One of the most calming exercises around is meditation, but practice it is numerous benefits among which include helping you regulate your emotions . Spend a few minutes a day meditating because it is important to stop and calm the busy mind . Every now and again, you have a lot going on in your life, especially with recovering from stress. Meditation teaches you control over your emotions by teaching you how to deliberately slow down your thoughts through mindfulness. Be grateful all day and every day there was the power to be found in expressing genuine gratitude for everything you have in your life. It lifts your spirits and fills you with happiness, which improves your satisfaction levels. It helps you remember all the little blessings you should be. Think before, which can easily be forgotten and taken for granted. Practice an attitude of gratitude every day and look at what a difference it can make in your life. It can do wonders for your healing process. Perhaps that's the reason the phrase too blessed to be stressed exists 10. Conclusion - How to Focus Your Mind: conclusion. Thank you for making it through to the end of how to focus your mind. Let's hope it was informative and able to provide you with all the tools you need to achieve your goals. Whatever they may be, improving your focus is going to change a lot of things in your life. Your mind is your muscle, and you can train it to do anything you wanted to work on your ability to focus by frequently practicing the steps you have gone through in this guide and commit so eliminating the habit of multitasking from your life once and for all. Some of these steps may take time to implement and get into the habit of doing. But take it slow, be patient and give yourself time to adjust. Small steps each day eventually lead to a big improvement, and it takes 21 days for a new habit to stick and become the new norm. Finally, it is important to remember that at the end of the day were only human. We do our best, and that's all we can ask of ourselves. Sometimes you may find your mind still wandering, and that's okay. The important thing is when you do acknowledge it and bring it back to focus on the task at hand again. The ability to focus will get better over time, and until then, stay optimistic, persevere, be patient and keep going.