Tame your mind: 7 sure shot ways to increase your focus

Have you ever found yourself in a meeting, listening to your boss speak or attending a presentation, only to realise that your mind has wandered off? You’re not alone. Maintaining focus and concentration can be challenging, especially in today’s era with so many distractions around us. It gets even more difficult when you see others manage better than you while attending to their day’s work. How to increase focus and concentration in an era riddled with overstimulation and accessibility to mind numbing amount of content?

Well, with the help of effective strategies and techniques, we can improve our ability to concentrate and enhance our focus. Join us as we explore seven sure shot ways of doing so and becoming more engaged in our daily tasks.

Mindfulness meditation

Contrary to common belief, mindfulness meditation is not just about sitting cross-legged and chanting. It’s a simple practice of being fully present in the moment without getting distracted. This practice includes focussing on your breath whenever your mind wanders and gently bringing it back to the present moment. This exercise helps train your brain to stay focussed and reduces distractions. By engaging in mindfulness meditation, you can improve your ability to concentrate on tasks and enhance your mental clarity.

Break tasks into manageable chunks

We have all been there, staring at a mountain of tasks, feeling overwhelmed and unsure where to start. Whether it is at work or home, the to-do list seems never-ending. A simple solution for this is to break big tasks into manageable bits. Think of it like climbing a mountain; we can never reach the summit by taking one single step. The same applies here, by breaking tasks into smaller steps, we can maintain the same level of focus and conquer the task steadily but surely.

Minimise distractions

In today’s fast-paced world, distractions are everywhere, from our phones to the noise of traffic and people around. If you want to boost your focus and concentration, it is important to take control of your environment and minimise distractions. This involves creating a designated workspace free from noise, turning off notifications on your phones and establishing boundaries with colleagues. By getting rid of distractions for a fixed amount of time daily, we can increase our concentration. Our attention span also improves automatically when we make this a daily habit.

Practice active listening

Active listening isn’t about hearing the words someone is saying; it’s about fully engaging with them and paying close attention. When we practice active listening, we can stay present in the moment and give the speaker our full attention. This also helps us retain information better. By practising active listening during meetings, conversations and presentations, we can learn to enhance our focus in all spheres of life.

Take regular breaks

Many of us approach our daily tasks like marathon runners—dashing through it without stopping until its completion. But just like marathon runners, we need to pace ourselves and take breaks to recharge. Taking regular breaks is essential for focus and to prevent mental fatigue. By incorporating short breaks into our schedule, we can increase our energy levels and maintain focus and concentration. During the short breaks, we can complete a quick walk, eat a delicious sandwich, call a buddy and update them on life’s happenings among other things. This activity further freshens us up and motivates us to take on more work.

Stay hydrated

When we’re dehydrated, we feel tired and struggle to concentrate. Many of us don’t know this and go about our days barely drinking two glasses of water. But did you know that proper hydration is crucial for keeping our brains focussed? That is why it’s important to make sure we’re drinking enough water throughout the day. By drinking an adequate amount of water or healthy fluids like fruit or vegetable juices, we can ensure that our brain stays focussed and alert.

Get good sleep

Lack of sleep can seriously hamper our attention span, memory and decision-making skills. That’s why it’s important to make sleep a priority and ensure we’re getting enough rest each night. By giving our body the rest it needs, we can boost our concentration power.

Sleeping is indeed a super power that replenishes all the cells in our body, readying us to strive harder the next day. It is one of the pillars of good health that also improves our focus and attention span.

We see here how one can incorporate simple yet effective strategies throughout the day to focus better. By implementing mindfulness meditation, breaking tasks into manageable chunks, minimising distractions, practising active listening and taking regular breaks, we can cultivate life-long habits that promote focus and concentration and set us up for success!