How to Improve Your Concentration and Focus

Have you ever found yourself drifting in and out of focus? Maybe you’re trying to get a project done, you’re on a deadline, but you just can’t seem to pull yourself together to do some work?

You’re not alone!

There could be many factors as to why you’re not able to focus on a task for more than a few minutes. There could be underlying issues as to why you can’t focus at all.

But there are ways in which you can better learn to manage your focus.

Benefits of focused work

It takes 23 minutes to focus after a distraction or while getting into a new task for the day.

If you’re doing a different task every hour, you’re only getting 37 minutes of productive work per hour (about 5 hours per 8 hour day).

If you wait 2 hours before switching tasks, you’ll get 6 1/2 hours of productive work a day.

New task every 4 hours? 7.2 hours of productive work each day.

Over the course of a month, that’s about 60 HOURS of additional work done.

It benefits to work for longer periods.

Start With Mindset

When it comes to focus and concentration, you can either be motivated to do it. Or, it comes naturally. Most of us lie somewhere in between. But we can train ourselves to be better disciplined at increasing our concentration.

Here lies the difference between motivation and discipline.

Motivation comes and goes. It is fleeting. When it comes, you feel spurred to act.

Discipline is a skill.

Like any skill, it can be learned and trained. The same goes for focus. Discipline and focus go hand in hand.

When it comes to learning focus, longevity is key. Learning to focus is a marathon, not a race. In the long run, consistency will trump everything. On days when you feel motivated, it’s easy to focus. But it’s on days you don’t feel like it, you’ll have to rely on your discipline. If you’ve worked long enough at trying to focus, the power of habit and momentum will kick in and catch you when you fall. But you must learn to master it.

Eliminate Distractions

Put your phone away in a drawer. Somewhere you can’t easily reach it.

Anything you would deem a distraction should be placed somewhere inaccessible. Do not check your email. Do not go on social media. Do not go on Reddit. Or, google some random question. For now, you are learning to be a concentration expert.

Do Not Underestimate Doing Small Things Over a Long Period of Time

Even if you can only dedicate 1 minute to a project, do it.

Don’t underestimate the power of doing something every single day. No matter how small.

You will find that you often will dedicate more time to it. And if you work on something for a few minutes when you’ve got the inspiration to do it, when you start to develop the discipline over it, you’ll be glad that you spent that minute on a task.

You’ll come back to the task one day and see that you put in a few minutes of work already. Just having a bit of work done counts for something!

Because now, you can add to that thing every day for short periods. You’ll find that you’ve put in more work than you can imagine.

Watch your pennies and they will turn into dollars. Your minutes will turn to hours to massive amounts of focus and work done.

That’s all it is. You work a little here and there every day, and in the long run, your project will turn into a bonafide finished piece of art.

Work In Time Intervals

Focus can be cultivated when you put in a bit of work every day.

Through practice, practice, and more practice, you’ll find that you can focus for longer periods.

Start with setting a slightly unattainable goal. When I say, “slightly,” I mean something that is within your reach but will also be considered challenging.

Let’s assume you work your way up to working 1 hour uninterrupted.

The trick here is to be consistent and put in the work every day. If you skip a day and tell yourself you’re going to rest another day, then you need to start over.

They say it takes approximately 21 days to build a habit.

Push yourself to commit to working for that hour every single day.

If you fall short, that’s okay. Put in your best effort.

The next day, work the hour again. By putting in an hour a day, you’re conditioning your mind to focus for one hour. Be religious in the art of holding yourself accountable. If you can do it for 21 days, you will build a habit of it.

After the 21 days are up, don’t stop. Keep going. Maximize your hourly focus time.

If you want to work towards working for longer periods, start small. Because as you build up your discipline, it takes over.

Pomodoro Method

Work for 25 minutes and then take a break for 5 minutes.

In one hour, you can do 2 rounds of this. And you’ll be able to work for 50 minutes.

This method works because it’s a short enough time that you can commit yourself to no distractions.

You’ll often find that after the 25 mins are up, you’ll want to keep going.

Block enough time in your calendar so that you can get this amount of work done.

Notice When You’re Losing Focus

You may find that in between sessions (especially longer ones) that you catch yourself drifting.

Maybe you start to think about your lunch or what the heck you’re doing here. Or the dreaded existential crisis.

It’s not uncommon to find yourself in this state. Recognize when you’ve stopped focusing and realize that you can refocus.

All it takes is some mental awareness. The faster you can identify that your attention is elsewhere, the faster you can realign your mind.

Take a deep breath and focus on your breath. This is a quick physiological response to alert your senses that you are in the present moment.

When you catch yourself in these moments, instead of taking a break where you check your email or play a video game (and waste a bunch of time), check into yourself and take that moment to pause.

Find Focus in Daily Activities

Learning to focus is as simple as first stating that you are a focused individual.

Every moment you have in your life where you can focus should be taken as an opportunity to do it.

Brushing your teeth, eating your food, reading a book, riding your bicycle, going for a walk, taking a shower. Every single activity you’re doing on a day-to-day basis can be used as a practice ground for building up your focus.

The more you start to feel focused on things, the more you subconsciously affirm that you are capable of being focused.

By focusing on small activities, you’re building yourself up to take on bigger focus challenges. Don’t underestimate the power of your subconscious. It controls you more than you control it.

Meditation

Mediation is all about being in tune with the present moment. You are training your mind to focus for an extended periods.

Get into a comfortable seated position. Set your timer for 10 or 15 minutes.

Put your hands in a comfortable position. Whether it’s palms facing up, one hand over the other. Or on your knees. Find a spot for them where they won’t be bothering you for the duration of your time.

Focus on your breath going in and out of your nostrils. Into your chest and into your stomach. Then focus on that cycle. In and out. Just focus on the feeling. You will begin to see that you are emptying your mind.

Your thoughts might come up to disturb you. This is normal. Simply refocus on your breath. Commit to the full duration of the time you set.

Don’t be disappointed in yourself if you cannot meditate for more than a few minutes at first. In the world of digital entertainment and technology, no one can be blamed for being distracted. Keep practicing.

You’ll find that over time it gets easier. When you find time to meditate every day, it bleeds into other aspects of your life.

Your focus will increase tenfold just by adding the act of meditation to your life.

Exercise, eat healthy, and get good sleep

Life is simple. You can do anything you set your mind to. But you need to set yourself up for success.

Having a balanced, healthy life consists of three important factors. Exercise, diet, and sleep.

If focusing on a task is already a challenge for you, then you need to look at all aspects of your life to better manage your focus.

Your body is a well-oiled machine. If one cog in that machine isn’t functioning properly, it’ll affect all other areas of that machine.

Give yourself the best chance at focusing by improving your overall health.

Gifted Child Syndrome

If you were brought up being told you were smart or gifted, it might have screwed you up in the long term.

You might be wondering why people around you seem to get so much more work done. You’ve been told all your life that you’ve got massive potential. So why aren’t you getting the same amount of work done as your peers?

What these other people have that you don’t have is probably a work ethic. It’s not to say that you don’t have a crazy work ethic, most people who read this blog probably do.

But it’s more so that when you were a kid when you were told you were smart, it led you to rely on your talent more than your grit.

You could get away with doing the minimum amount of work to get decent grades in school. This could have caused you to become bored and inevitably disengage from school. It’s a very common occurrence.

As school progressed, you started getting more and more homework. Because you didn’t do that much homework growing up, you start to fall behind. This then translates to having less focus and a poor work ethic in the adult years.

And because you have a high level of expectations for yourself, you find yourself falling short. But that’s okay. You are not broken. You can learn to build a level of work ethic that will get you to where you want to be.

You just need to realize that you have to work extra hard to meet your own expectations. Everything can be learned. You just need to work at it and be patient.

It’s Time to Learn to Re-Focus

You’ve decided you want to get more done, and now you’re ready to put in the work.

You want to take the path of the least resistance, but you must also be empathetic towards yourself.

Sounds like a double edge sword, doesn’t it?

Start small and work your way up. When you keep small promises to your friends or family members, not only are you building up the resilience to keep promises for bigger projects in life, but you’re also building the mental fortitude and self-identity of someone who does what they say.

In doing so, you become better at your goals.

There is no shame in taking a breather. If you’ve worked for an hour or two, you have every right to take a moment to stop. The more you fight something, the worse it’s going to be for you too.

Focus is hard to master, but once you do it’s so worth it

The people who have achieved the most in life are not just experts in their craft. But they are experts in concentrating on one thing.

Multitasking may seem like you’re doing more. But once you harness the power of focusing on one thing, you can be more productive and get more things done in less time.

When you’re at the level of producing an amazing work because you’re so focused, you are entering flow state. This is where a lot of the best work you do will be in.

It’s as if you’re lost in your own mind, doing amazing work.

You can get to this state if you focus your mind on euphoria.

Reading an article on working hard is good. But getting to work right after is even better.