Focusing your attention is not easy. Concentration is influenced by so many individual factors, like mental health, physical health, motivation, and environment. Information overload from television, social media, and the Internet can make it difficult to focus on just one thing. A lot of these factors are out of our control, but there are a few strategies to improve your focus and make it easier to complete tasks.
Prioritize physical and mental health. This is not accessible to everyone, and it is okay to have a different focus level from others; we all have unique factors influencing concentration. Sleeping for at least several hours every night restores your energy and improves concentration. Practice deep, controlled breathing when you notice your breath begin to speed up and get shallow. This not only helps you calm down, but placing your attention on your breath is good practice for maintaining focus. Engaging in some form of movement through the day stimulates your brain, and releases excess energy.
Set achievable goals for yourself. Sometimes it can be hard to narrow down what you need to focus on, between schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and other personal activities. Instead of setting time goals, like studying for three hours, try setting goals based on your objective. Maybe you want to study a biology lesson until you feel comfortable enough to teach it to another person. You might want to work on your essay until it is concise, clear, and convincing. These types of goals can be helpful for those who find themselves procrastinating, because they place your focus on your objective, rather than your time frame. Of course, stick to set due dates as best as you can!
Try incorporating intrinsic, or internal, motivation into your daily tasks. Intrinsic motivation is fueled by personal goals and development, rather than external motivators like rewards and grades. By practicing intrinsic motivation, your focus will likely improve because you actively want to work on tasks. Think about your learning goals, your interests, and which skills you are hoping to improve. Finding a purpose to learning, like relevance, future applications or personal interest in a topic, will help you guide your learning actively rather than zoning out and losing interest. Intrinsic motivation transfers your focus to the process of creating or studying, rather than the outcome.
Use good distractions. This may seem like an odd strategy, but it can be helpful to use distractions like background music or frequent breaks to stay focused. If you know you are easily distracted, why not distract your brain in a way that allows you to stay on task? Play around with how much stimulation and distraction you need to maintain focus. Try different ways of learning, through videos, texts, or models. See how long you typically work before needing a break, and allow yourself a few minutes of distraction. Giving your brain a break now and then allows you to focus on the task at hand, rather than the distractions you could be engaging in.
Finding and maintaining focus is a way to combat stress and overwhelm. When I am focusing on too many things at once, it starts to feel impossible and I quickly lose all motivation. I start to think of tasks as huge obstacles. By placing my attention on one activity at a time, it is easier to start and finish my goals. I still struggle with overthinking, and I try not to pressure myself to be intensely focused- everyone gets distracted occasionally. I listen to background music, and take breaks every hour. Taking things at my own pace and finding personal ways to improve my concentration has helped me get things done more efficiently.
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Resources
Harvard Health Publishing. (2020, October). Tips to improve concentration. Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/tips-to-improve-concentration
Shukla, A. (2020, November 4). Learn How to Increase Concentration and Focus while Studying and Working [Scientific Tips]. Cognition Today. https://cognitiontoday.com/how-to-increase-concentration-and-focus-while-studying-and-working/