“One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular”.
The majority of people need help with focus. A shaky mind leads to disorganized thinking, which impairs productivity and performance. Enhancing focus is crucial for success in one’s social, professional, and personal spheres.
Many need help with concentration for a variety of reasons, one of which is information overload. People today are inundated with information, whereas they were insatiably curious in the past. It’s now one of many issues.
Gaining proficiency in the art of focus
You cannot successfully concentrate while your mind is scattered; however, when your mind is focused, you can concentrate.
It is similar to how the Sun’s rays, when focused on an object with a magnifying glass, produce heat several times higher than that of the same source of light and heat when the rays are scattered.
Therefore, you get faster results when you put in your efforts with focus.
Here are some methods to help you focus better.
- Determine when it is most effective for you to work on tasks requiring greater focus. What circumstances and when do you feel most at ease? Nobody is there to need you or divert you during the early morning and late night hours. Turn off your phone and focus on your work.
- Every day, take a short break to improve your focus. Consider your past actions and plans. Now is a good time to reflect so your ideas won’t distract you from your primary task.
- Rewrite what you read, whether it’s an item in the newspaper or a chapter in a book, in a way that keeps the main ideas intact. It improves your ability to focus when reading.
- Locate the stimulant that works for you. Some people find that listening to soothing music in the background helps them concentrate, while others need complete silence to focus. Decide what works for you and embrace it. It is ideal to work in a calm environment to improve concentration.
- Take a few minutes to go about the room as a break. This facilitates increased brain oxygenation. Because of gravity, blood pools in your legs and lower body when you sit for extended periods.
- Determine how long it will take to do the current task. Establish your deadlines. Start working if you have enough time to finish it. Since you have already decided to dedicate your time to the activity, it aids in your ability to concentrate. Steer clear of distractions at this time. By doing so, you can avoid the time-consuming switching costs associated with transitioning between tasks.
- After setting a deadline, try to complete the task beforehand to give yourself more time for leisure or other pursuits. That is a fantastic incentive or reward that you may provide to yourself. Time, as they say, is money.
- Sort the jobs you must do into high- and low-attention categories. Heavy concentration is required for high-attention tasks, which can be done when you have enough time and can focus. Choose low-attention tasks instead.
- A few simple exercises can improve our ability to focus. This is an easy one: count backward from 1 to 100. It is uncomfortable and takes a lot of focus to count backward.
Practice the candle-gazing/Trataka technique.
The “Trataka” technique is another name for the candle gazing activity. This practice will not only help you become more focused, but it will also help you see better.
It enhances mental clarity, intelligence, willpower, decision-making ability, and inner serenity. It helps treat emotional, behavioural, and mental illnesses and sleep-related conditions like headaches, sleeplessness, and nightmares.
After a few minutes, your eyes may start to moisten.
But as you practice, your eyes will get more adept at maintaining focus, and you can perform Trataka for up to twenty minutes or more.
For example, painting improves focus. When drawing designs on canvas, you are absorbed in the patterns and colours. It is well known that many people think when they paint.
Their selection of colours, patterns, and designs reflects their ideas. When you think while engaging in creative exercises, many confusions disappear. Making decisions is less stressful and happens faster.
Writing is beneficial.
There are moments when I write a book when too many things come to me simultaneously, making it difficult to focus. I developed the habit of simultaneously writing down every thought that occurred to me.
I write down those thoughts and then focus on writing again. In this fashion, I can have the cake and eat it too.
It is normal to become distracted from your main ideas and thoughts, but you also need to be able to record new ideas that come to mind and refocus on the task at hand.
Multitasking is essential in today’s world. However, it is a talent that must be developed gradually. Take time for yourself. Take regular pauses to rejuvenate and reorganize. Determine how long a task will take, then start working toward its successful completion.
The strategies and techniques above can increase your focus and aid your success.
